2026 School Safety Training Forum

Provides actionable prevention and planning strategies while also serving as a bridge to the full Advanced SRO course. The objective would be to equip SROs to confidently communicate safety concerns and lead productive conversations with school leadership.

Across the country, school divisions continue to make meaningful investments in security technology, emergency plans, and training. Yet many K–12 leaders still wrestle with fundamental questions: How do I know our school safety investments actually work? Is our safety and security approach designed around our schools’ unique risks and needs? Are our investments strategic and sustainable for today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges? And as school leaders, how do we ensure we are building a coherent safety system—rather than a patchwork of fixes? In this session, Drawing on a decade of work with divisions of every size, Hough—former senior federal school-safety official—will outline why compliance-driven approaches often stall and what it looks like to move toward holistic, risk-based safety systems that support not only survival, but learning, growth, and development. This is not a session about buying the next tool. It is about building the conditions in which young people feel safe to learn, belong, and thrive.

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This presentation provides an overview of how schools and public safety agencies coordinate their response to critical incidents such as mass attacks. The session highlights lessons learned from real-world events, the importance of multi-agency coordination, and the management of complex incidents involving law enforcement, fire/EMS, and school personnel. The curriculum is informed by the analysis of more than 780 incidents and related after action reports. The material aligns with nationally recognized guidance and best practices for incident management and school safety.

This session orients participants to CPTED as a practical school safety lens: how design and environment shape behavior, supervision, and risk. Participants will then receive a guided tour of the School Safety Inspection Checklist structure (exterior to interior), including tips for conducting efficient walkthroughs, capturing meaningful notes, and ensuring consistent completion across diverse team members. Recommended for school administrators, SROs, emergency managers, safety specialists, and audit team members who want a clearer, more confident approach to the checklist that is required as part of the Virginia School Safety Audit program.

Provides actionable prevention and planning strategies while also serving as a bridge to the full Advanced SRO course. The objective would be to equip SROs to confidently communicate safety concerns and lead productive conversations with school leadership.

Across the country, school divisions continue to make meaningful investments in security technology, emergency plans, and training. Yet many K–12 leaders still wrestle with fundamental questions: How do I know our school safety investments actually work? Is our safety and security approach designed around our schools’ unique risks and needs? Are our investments strategic and sustainable for today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges? And as school leaders, how do we ensure we are building a coherent safety system—rather than a patchwork of fixes? In this session, Drawing on a decade of work with divisions of every size, Hough—former senior federal school-safety official—will outline why compliance-driven approaches often stall and what it looks like to move toward holistic, risk-based safety systems that support not only survival, but learning, growth, and development. This is not a session about buying the next tool. It is about building the conditions in which young people feel safe to learn, belong, and thrive.

• 
  

This presentation provides an overview of how schools and public safety agencies coordinate their response to critical incidents such as mass attacks. The session highlights lessons learned from real-world events, the importance of multi-agency coordination, and the management of complex incidents involving law enforcement, fire/EMS, and school personnel. The curriculum is informed by the analysis of more than 780 incidents and related after action reports. The material aligns with nationally recognized guidance and best practices for incident management and school safety.

This session orients participants to CPTED as a practical school safety lens: how design and environment shape behavior, supervision, and risk. Participants will then receive a guided tour of the School Safety Inspection Checklist structure (exterior to interior), including tips for conducting efficient walkthroughs, capturing meaningful notes, and ensuring consistent completion across diverse team members. Recommended for school administrators, SROs, emergency managers, safety specialists, and audit team members who want a clearer, more confident approach to the checklist that is required as part of the Virginia School Safety Audit program.

Provides actionable prevention and planning strategies while also serving as a bridge to the full Advanced SRO course. The objective would be to equip SROs to confidently communicate safety concerns and lead productive conversations with school leadership.

Across the country, school divisions continue to make meaningful investments in security technology, emergency plans, and training. Yet many K–12 leaders still wrestle with fundamental questions: How do I know our school safety investments actually work? Is our safety and security approach designed around our schools’ unique risks and needs? Are our investments strategic and sustainable for today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges? And as school leaders, how do we ensure we are building a coherent safety system—rather than a patchwork of fixes? In this session, Drawing on a decade of work with divisions of every size, Hough—former senior federal school-safety official—will outline why compliance-driven approaches often stall and what it looks like to move toward holistic, risk-based safety systems that support not only survival, but learning, growth, and development. This is not a session about buying the next tool. It is about building the conditions in which young people feel safe to learn, belong, and thrive.

• 
  

This presentation provides an overview of how schools and public safety agencies coordinate their response to critical incidents such as mass attacks. The session highlights lessons learned from real-world events, the importance of multi-agency coordination, and the management of complex incidents involving law enforcement, fire/EMS, and school personnel. The curriculum is informed by the analysis of more than 780 incidents and related after action reports. The material aligns with nationally recognized guidance and best practices for incident management and school safety.

This session orients participants to CPTED as a practical school safety lens: how design and environment shape behavior, supervision, and risk. Participants will then receive a guided tour of the School Safety Inspection Checklist structure (exterior to interior), including tips for conducting efficient walkthroughs, capturing meaningful notes, and ensuring consistent completion across diverse team members. Recommended for school administrators, SROs, emergency managers, safety specialists, and audit team members who want a clearer, more confident approach to the checklist that is required as part of the Virginia School Safety Audit program.