PASS Guidelines Updated for 2025: What's New for K-12 School Safety
The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) has released the seventh edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools in July 2025, offering schools a robust framework to address evolving security challenges. As a trusted systems integrator, Communication Company is excited to align our solutions with these updated best practices to enhance school safety across the Midwest. Here’s what’s new in the seventh edition and how it strengthens K-12 security.
Key Updates in the Seventh Edition
The seventh edition, as detailed by Campus Safety Magazine and passk12.org, builds on the sixth edition’s foundation with significant enhancements to reflect modern threats and technologies. While the sixth edition introduced concepts like layers, components, best practices, and tiers (1-4) for physical security, along with an Enhanced Technologies section covering emerging solutions like weapons detection and biometrics, the seventh edition takes a broader, more integrated approach. Here are the major differences:
New Digital Infrastructure Layer: Unlike the sixth edition’s focus on physical security, the seventh introduces a dedicated layer for cybersecurity and digital system management. This addresses rising threats like data breaches, ensuring schools protect both physical and digital assets.
Unified Campus Perimeter Layer: The sixth edition treated property perimeter and parking lots as separate layers. The seventh combines them into a single Campus Perimeter Layer, recognizing their interconnected role in unified safety strategies.
Enhanced Visitor Entry Guidance: The sixth edition provided basic visitor management advice, but the seventh adds detailed processes, including traffic-flow diagrams and floor plans, to reduce vulnerabilities at entry points.
Deeper Physical Hardening Content: Building on the sixth edition’s structural recommendations, the seventh dives into specifics like door construction, window glazings, security film, and classroom wall reinforcement for stronger threat resistance.
Expanded Panic Alarm Guidance: The sixth edition noted emerging technologies, but the seventh offers in-depth advice on panic alarm systems, reflecting their growing importance in emergency response, as seen in recent school safety incidents.
Detailed Door Lock Coverage: The seventh edition provides nuanced guidance on school-specific lock requirements, improving on the sixth’s general recommendations to ensure secure access control.
Why These Updates Matter
The seventh edition’s focus on cybersecurity, unified perimeters, and advanced technologies aligns with evolving threats, such as those highlighted in Campus Safety Magazine’s coverage of Uvalde’s security lapses. By integrating these updates, schools can better deter, detect, delay, and respond to risks. Communication Company supports this through solutions like Siemens video surveillance, DSX access control, and Rauland communication systems, ensuring compliance with NFPA 72 standards.
The updated PASS Guidelines and Checklist, free at passk12.org, empower schools to assess and enhance safety. Contact Communication Company for a consultation to implement these best practices, from panic alarms to cybersecurity, creating safer learning environments.
