Page 72 - Security Today, March/April 2025

K - 1 2 A C C E S S C O N T R O L
WHEN A K-12 CAMPUS GETS AN ACCESS CONTROL UPGRADE
J I L L R E N I H A N I S S E G M E N T D E V E L O P M E N T M A N A G E R , E D U C AT I O N AT A X I S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
S
chools sometimes need guidance to determine where
to start with a security system upgrade, given the vast
number of solutions available today. Funding can be a
complicated piece of the puzzle to work out, so schools
want to ensure that they’re making informed decisions
about their security investments.
Should they upgrade the access control system, which is one
of the most prevalent types of technologies on school campuses?
Or should they add or update video cameras, intercoms, commu-
nication devices, duress buttons or vape detection—what would
work most effectively to enhance their school’s safety and security?
I N S I S T O N O P E N A R C H I T E C T U R E
The key to integrating an access control system with video surveil-
lance, intercoms and network speakers is to buy products that have
open architecture. It allows devices from different manufacturers to
communicate and act as a unified system. Open architecture not
only leads to technology integration, it also helps schools preserve
their prior investments and extend their budgets. Products with
closed architecture are limited in their ability to work with products
from dissimilar manufacturers.
Products in which the architecture is closed also limit a cus-
tomer’s choices to only what that vendor sells. For example, if the
access control manufacturer does not also sell a system that detects
vaping — an epidemic in high schools and somewhat observable
in lower grades — then the school will have to run vape detection
as a separate system without integration to the school’s cameras
or locks, or go without vape detection. When systems are complex
or disparate they are likely to be used less well and less frequently
than if they work together.
H O W T O A P P R O A C H A N A C C E S S C O N T R O L U P G R A D E
If upgrading from mechanical locks to access controlled doors with
electronic locks, one of the first things a school needs to consider is how
authorized people will access the doors. Will they be presenting a card,
keying in a PIN code, or using their smartphone as a credential? Some
high-security areas could even benefit from two-factor authentication,
in which both a card/credential and a PIN are required to open the door.
Adding video surveillance to certain doors, such as a main
entrance, also may be needed to enhance the access control. If a
school wants to read visitors’ IDs before allowing anyone through
an exterior door, then they should consider a video intercom sta-
tion with a good-quality camera and two-way audio.
When determining which doors to upgrade to electronic
locks, schools should consider how technology can reduce labo-
rious tasks. Consider the amount of time it takes for one person
every day to open doors to allow people to come into the school
at a certain time and then go back to lock the doors when that
window of time closes. Technology can do that in seconds, with
accuracy, through careful programming that stipulates, “These
doors should be open at this time, for this amount of time, and
they should not be open for the rest of the day.”
Not only can an access control system ensure that that door
remains closed and locked, it also can facilitate a response to an
unauthorized individual who is detected
trying to open that secured door. When
integrated with an intercom or network
speaker, the system can convey an audio
message that says, “This isn’t the door
you should be using right now. Visitors
must check in at the main office.” An as-
sociated video camera lets staff watch the
situation on their laptop or smart device.
Z O N I N G , A U D I O , L O C K D O W N F E AT U R E S
Upgrading to an access control system that allows the secured
doors to be divided into zones can provide many benefits. With
many older access control systems, doors are either locked or un-
locked in an all-or-nothing state. With zoned doors, a school can
address security situations that affect only certain areas either by
triggering the corresponding zones or by locking down the entire
school and then overriding only the doors in that area.
An essential piece of any security system is the communication
system; it works in tandem with access control in many situations to
direct not only students and staff, but security personnel and first
responders. For critical communication, it is imperative that mes-
sages are broadcast clearly. Older PA systems using analog tech-
nology typically lack the intelligibility that network audio speakers
using SIP protocol can provide.
E S TA B L I S H I N G A N O P E N , W E L C O M E F E E L
Lastly, when upgrading, schools should attempt to balance safety
with openness. Students, teachers and staff must be able to feel
safe without thinking they are highly scrutinized, or their move-
ments are too restricted. When a student is able to go to the library
or see the nurse and come back to class without having to have a
door buzzed open for them, it gives a school an open, welcoming
feel. However, schools still have to be able to secure those doors
instantaneously when necessary.
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