Hottinger working on school barricade issue

• State Sen. Jay Hottinger has met with parents about a local school barricade issue.
• Hottinger also has met with state leaders.
• The senator says the issue is a state-wide issue%2C not just a SWL Schools issue.

PATASKALA – State Sen. Jay Hottinger said this week that state leaders are working to address the controversial subject of barricading classroom doors.

"As I understand it now, every single (barricade) device out there is in violation of building codes and fire codes," said Hottinger, R-Newark.

Hottinger quickly added that he is doing what he can to address the situation. That includes setting up a future meeting with state officials to discuss a compromise.

"Basically, we've got to answer the question of, in the event of a live shooting, do we barricade doors or do we not barricade doors?" Hottinger said.

Hottinger sent The Standard a March 2 letter from Ohio Department of Commerce Director Andre Porter to Gerald Holland, chairman of the state Board of Building Appeals. The letter referenced the ongoing controversy.

In the letter, Porter asked Holland and the board to examine the state building code to determine if any changes are needed to protect students.

He asked the board to gather information from a variety of sources, including State Fire marshal Larry Flowers, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Department of Public Safety, emergency medical professionals, law enforcement and school administrators.

"Finally, I would like a portion of the Board's investigation to include public comment specifically as it relates to children's safety," Porter wrote in the letter.

Porter asked for the process to begin as soon as possible, and for any recommended changes to be included in Holland's report.

Parents from the Southwest Licking School District no doubt will be monitoring the process closely.

They called on Hottinger to intercede on their behalf both before and after the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Industrial Compliance Board of Building Appeals voted Feb. 23 to deny the district's appeal to use removable door barricade devices.

The parents raised more than $30,000 to outfit every classroom in the district with the devices, but the state ruling temporarily dashed their hopes of seeing them put to use if ever needed.

Hottinger said he met with two of the parents in January, and afterward, he set up a meeting with Flowers, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Porter.

Hottinger intends to meet in the near future with DeWine, Flowers, Porter and officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio Highway Patrol, among other state agencies, to discuss possible resolutions.

"Everyone wants what's in the best interest of our children, teachers and school personnel," he said.

The issue might seem straightforward, Hottinger said, but it is not.

"No one disputes that, in the case of a live shooter, it makes a lot of sense (to use one of the devices)," he said. "The concern is if the devices are used in an inappropriate manner."

Flowers and others have raised some legitimate concerns regarding the use of the devices, Hottinger said.

One of those concerns is that a student could use such a device to lock a door and physically or sexually assault another student.

"Building codes and fire codes have to be cognizant of all different sorts of circumstances," Hottinger said.

Southwest Licking parents have argued that, in the event of an armed intruder, it is much easier for a teacher to grab one of the devices and bar a door as opposed to pushing cabinets, desks and chairs against a door.

A state school safety task force recommended barricading classroom doors in a 2013 report, and so-called ALICE school intruder training also recommends it.

Hottinger agreed it would be much easier for a teacher to use one of the portable devices.

"Our question is are we going to continue with the recommendation of barricading doors or not," he said. "I think we are ultimately going to arrive at that conclusion, and a device is better than pushing desks and cabinets against a door."

Southwest Licking is far from the only district monitoring the issue closely, Hottinger added.

Many districts are likely remaining mum on the issue, he said, for fear they also could run afoul of local and state fire and building codes. Others are keeping quiet because they don't want to reveal a facet of their school safety plans.

"There are school districts all across the state that have proceeded with the purchase of these devices," he said. "This is not just a Southwest Licking issue."