National School Safety Leaders Set to Meet in Orlando, Florida, in July

In early 2023, the School Safety Advocacy Council met with several leaders of our National School Safety Advisory Board and laid the foundation for an exciting move in the School Safety Industry with the creation of the Coalition of School Safety Directors. The industry was becoming overpopulated by product-related strategies, where corporate sales were dominating over the focus of keeping children and staff safe. As such, SSAC laid the foundation for the very first coalition of school safety directors that will not be product-affiliated. 

The Coalition of School Safety Directors will meet in person this July at the National School Safety Conference in Orlando, Florida, where over 1,400 school safety professionals will gather for the 20th-anniversary conference. Attendees will come from all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and over 12 other nations for what has become the largest gathering of school safety decision-makers anywhere on the globe.

We fully support much of the technology that can aid seasoned leaders in the field. However, our seasoned leaders expressed concern that the “one-size fits all” much discussed national standards were being driven with product sales in mind and not the true focus of school safety. Therefore, we are excited to announce the creation of the Coalition of School Safety Directors, where the focus will remain on keeping children and staff safe, not on product sales. Other topics of discussion at the weeklong event will include Arming Teachers, School Safety Standards, Mental Health, Threat Assessment and many more. “We have led the charge in the field of school safety for the past 20 years,” states Curt Lavarello, Executive Director of the group. “Having this many school safety decision-makers under one roof will significantly change our opportunity to save lives,” continued Lavarello.

For additional information about the National School Safety Conference, go to www.SchoolSafety911.org