Guest Post: PASS: An Alliance You Need to Know About

This article was originally published on rAVe Pubs. It has been reposted here with the author's permission because this message is too important to not spread. In addition, the link to the podcast mentioned, can be found here.

PASS: An Alliance You Need to Know About

By Scott Tiner
rAVe Columnist

Last month for rAVe Ed, I wrote an article about school safety. I was inspired by the Parkland students, who suffered a horrible tragedy and decided to do something to make sure others did not have to suffer a similar tragedy. I specifically avoided talking politics and law. I think there is a place for that, but this is not it. I had a vision where those of us in the AV industry could use our skills, talents and numbers to help make schools safer. When I wrote it, I realized it was a huge ask and may not be very likely, but I dared to dream. The morning after the article was first published, I heard from a friend in the industry. He had read the article and was inspired by it. He wanted to host a podcast to try and publicize the idea, and asked if I would...

Chuck Wilson started by spending a few minutes discussing how PASS got started. Chuck had spent a day visiting an inner city Chicago high school. As he walked the school and the surrounding neighborhood, he wondered how students could go there everyday and feel safe. On the way home he made a call to SIA (Security Industry Association) and by the time he was done his drive home that day, NCSA and SIA had created PASS.

PASS currently provides resources for anyone who is interested in helping with school safety. They provide a checklist/assessment for integrators who are doing a school visit. They also provide outlines for four tiers of security over the different layers of a school. This includes everything from the parking lot to the individual classroom. Additionally, they provide estimated costs for each tier of the security protocol based on the square footage of the school. These are powerful tools for integrators and for school administrators and staff. Because the information provided by PASS is manufacturer-agnostic (and in some cases does not involve technology at all), you can provide services no matter who is on your line card. Second, because it’s developed by experts in...