National Interscholastic Athletics Safety and Security Summit Set for March 28-30

More than eight million students participate in interscholastic athletics sports and after-school programs each year, and 336 million spectators attend these events. When a school-based emergency or incident occurs, often it is the school personnel who are first to arrive on the scene.

In order to make sure these personnel are prepared for safety and security issues, superintendents, principals, athletic administrators, local law enforcement agents and school resource officers from across the country will converge at The University of Southern Mississippi on March 28-30 for the third annual National Interscholastic Athletics and After-School Activities Safety and Security Summit, hosted by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4).

Ian Moffett, Chief of Police and District Security for Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, will serve as a keynote speaker at the Summit. He will discuss how to best prepare for safety and security incidents that occur after the school day ends, but when students are still on campus for various after-school activities. Additional event highlights include:

• Bomb Threat Procedures - Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
• Open and Concealed Carry on School Campuses – Panel Discussion
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design - Jay King, Security Sub-Market Leader, CHA Consulting
• Building District/School-Level Incident Response Teams - Guy Grace, Director of Security and Emergency Planning, Littleton Colorado Public Schools

The summit will provide a mechanism to share ideas and explore solutions to implement best practices by addressing designated major safety and security issues. Attendees of the summit will have the opportunity to participate in a tabletop exercise, as well as hear from top safety experts and participate in moderated discussions for current issues. The issues include such gameday activities, emergency operations planning, identifying threats and hazards, staff training, facilities design and building a safety and security-aware culture.

“To continue to develop and enhance a comprehensive set of best practices, we need a diverse group of school personnel in attendance,” says NCS4 director Lou Marciani. “Whether a school is located in an urban setting or in a rural area, this event will provide a mechanism for safety and security officials to learn from one another and for the first time have a set of best practices to reduce risk at their school programs.”

Pricing to attend the Summit is $235 per person. Limited seats are available. For more information or to register for the Summit, visit www.ncs4.com/interscholastic.