Let Schools Lock Front Doors During The Day: Bayside Lawmakers

BAYSIDE, QUEENS -- The deadly mass shooting inside a Parkland, Florida, high school has sparked a nationwide conversation about what can be done to keep students safe at school. Two Queens lawmakers want to start with the basics: Keep the doors locked.

State Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) joined forces on Tuesday in calling on the NYC Department of Education to allow schools to lock their front doors during the day, which they are currently barred from doing.

The Bayside lawmakers' demand comes after a 19-year-old gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and killed 17. The Feb. 14 shooting prompted students and legislators to fight for policy changes as large as stricter gun laws and as small as giving principals the power to lock their school doors.

The DOE currently requires principals to keep their schools' front doors unlocked during the day, a policy Braunstein fears could put students in harm's way.

"This allows an individual to enter the building before a determination can be made if they represent a danger or not," he said.

Such was the case at P.S. 184 Flushing Manor School just two weeks ago, when a suspicious man had to be escorted off school grounds after entering the Whitestone building multiple times, Vallone said.

"Incidents like the one at P.S. 184 clearly show that our students are not as safe as we think and changes need to be made to make sure that they can learn and grow in the safest environment possible," he said.

Braunstein suggested the DOE adopt policies of some area private schools, where visitors must ring a bell and announce themselves before they can enter, calling it "a change we must consider."

"Granting public school principals this same authority to confirm whether or not an individual represents a threat before allowing them into a school could prevent dangerous incidents from taking place," Braunstein said.

Vallone noted allowing schools to lock their doors wasn't the be-all, end-all solution to the fear that's plagued students and parents since the Marjory Douglas Stoneman shooting, but rather "the first step in a series of changes that must be made."

"This must remain our top priority from here on out as we lead the charge for safety in our schools," he said.

Lead photo via Shutterstock.