Philadelphia schools implement new lockdown, lock-out, and lock-in procedures

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia School District is implementing new rules for lockdowns to reduce potential trauma to their students.

District officials are now changing their safety procedures in an effort to reduce interruptions of student learning and to make the incidents less traumatic.

Chief of School Safety Kevin Bethel joined Good Day Philadelphia to break down the district’s new three-tier system that includes, Lockdowns, Lock-Ins, and Lock-Outs.

Lockdown: Bethel says a lockdown procedure is focused on reacting to a situation where an active shooter is in the building. Members of the school staff are required to take the students into a lockdown position that includes barricading doors and hiding in classrooms.

Bethel says in the past, Lockdowns have been used in situations other than active shooters, including activity that may be happening outside the school in surrounding neighborhoods.

One of the newest procedures, a Lock-In, was put to use on Monday when multiple fights broke out at Samuel Fels High School. During a Lock-In students are kept inside of their classrooms until an all-clear is given by school officials.

A Lock-Out will go into effect if there is police activity outside the school or in the surrounding neighborhood. Bethel says police will contact the school and ask them to go into a Lock-Out, preventing anyone from getting in or out of the building until police give an all-clear.

Bethel says district schools have already gone into more than 90 lockdown, lock-out, or lock-in situations this school year. He says they average about 150 per school year.