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Administration 100 Days Blog Post: School Safety Highlight

CISA is tasked with defending against today’s threats and working to build more secure infrastructure on various fronts – including the safety of schools in America. As we mark the first 100 days of the Administration, we reflect on both our recent initiatives and the opportunities that lie ahead in keeping our students and school communities safe.
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Dr. David Mussington, CISA Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security

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How CISA Advances School Safety

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is tasked with defending against today’s threats and working to build more secure infrastructure on various fronts – including the safety of schools in America. As we mark the first 100 days of the Administration, we reflect on both our recent initiatives and the opportunities that lie ahead in keeping our students and school communities safe.

Through the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse (FSSC), an interagency effort comprised of the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Justice, federal partners share actionable recommendations, resources, programs, and tools to strengthen school safety and security through SchoolSafety.gov.

The website reflects a whole-of-government approach to the issue of school safety and is a one-stop access point to information on a range of timely topics like emergency planning; physical security; threat assessment and reporting; and mental health. Through the site, members of the K-12 academic community can learn how to prioritize school safety actions, find applicable resources, connect with school safety organizations, and develop school safety plans.

Keeping Schools Safe During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has put an unexpected and unprecedented strain on schools and students across the Nation. To address the ongoing pandemic and its impact on school communities, SchoolSafety.gov features resources from the four FSSC partners on its COVID-19 Resources for Schools webpage. It serves as a central location for the latest federal guidance on maintaining operations during remote learning and returning to in-person instruction. Resources touch on a variety of topics, including physical spacing & testing; curriculum & distance learning; cybersecurity; and mental health & nutrition.

This year, the CISA School Safety Program also launched a “Virtual School” cybersecurity awareness campaign to promote online safety and security as students and schools continued to operate in a virtual environment. The campaign highlighted interagency resources available on SchoolSafety.gov on issues such as the safe use of videoconferencing and online platforms; best practices for students, educators, and school leaders to practice cyber hygiene; and recognizing and protecting against phishing attempts. The initiative also incorporated K-12 resources aligned with the broader CISA campaign designed to protect users against and mitigate the impact of ransomware attacks.

Ongoing Education on School Safety

SchoolSafety.gov continues to evolve to incorporate additional information and resources on new and emerging threats and risks facing the academic community. The site provides a calendar of events for webinars, training sessions, grant opportunities, and conferences for school safety personnel, administrators, educators, and parents. School communities can also use a State Information Sharing Tool on the site to access state-specific resources, guidance, and contacts in their area.

To bring even greater awareness to school safety-related federal resources, the School Safety Program launched a monthly informational webinar series earlier this year. Held in partnership with the FSSC, the series covers a range of school safety topics and provides information on the resources, tools, and best practices available to create safer and more resilient school systems across the country.

CISA is proud to play a role in keeping our school communities safe.

Additional Information

To learn more about our current and upcoming efforts, visit SchoolSafety.gov and follow on Twitter @SchoolSafetyGov.