With students returning to classrooms later this month, Alexandria City Public Schools has released a new protocol for safety and security measures.

“We are so excited about having all of our students back this fall and are committed to providing a welcoming, safe and secure learning environment that allows them to thrive in school,” said outgoing Alexandria schools superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings Jr. in a letter to families.

Middle school and high school students will now be required to carry their ID at all times. In addition, each school will have designated entry points for students, staff, and visitors to get onto campus. According to the district, the change is meant to “allow for better control regarding facility access.”

Plans for the upcoming school year also include technology upgrades, such as a digital alternative for student IDs. According to the letter, the district will be piloting a program for high schoolers to store their IDs on a smartphone or other digital devices. A “soft launch” for the new forms of identification will take place during the first weeks of the school year but students can continue using a physical ID to gain entry. The district is also expanding cell phone service throughout the King Street campus of ACHS.

The new Alexandria schools protocol will also re-establishing the presence of on-campus police, known as school resource officers, at each middle school and high school – including Alexandria City High School and both Frances C. Hammond Middle School and George Washington Middle School. According to the district, the move will provide wider support for school administrators.

The decision to bring back school resource officers comes after the district faced pressure from parents who were concerned over the threat of school shootings. Last October, the city council voted to temporarily reinstate officers following two separately reported incidents of a weapon on campus. The first occurred when school officials placed ACHS on lockdown after receiving calls about an armed student outside the building. They later retrieved a handgun. On the same day, a high school in nearby Arlington County was also put on lockdown due to an active shooter threat, though no evidence of a shooting was found.

Previously, the council voted to replace officers with mental health professionals in the wake of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. At the time, jurisdictions in the region were reckoning with the presence of law enforcement on school campuses, including nearby Montgomery County which voted to remove officers from campuses. 

Schools will also be implementing 30 minutes of social and emotional support each day. According to the district, students will be able to participate in community circles and small groups to receive social-emotional learning and reinforcement for positive behaviors. The district says it will utilize a tool to assess and develop student strengths.

In an effort to reduce the number of students leaving both ACHS, the district will also maintain its current staggered dismissal system, which is adopted at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year.