All NYC Public Schools to Install Doors that Automatically Lock to Protect Students from Shooters

By Yehudit Garmaise

New York City’s Panel for Educational approved, on Wednesday an approximately $43 million to install automatic and remote locking systems in the front doors of all 1,851 of the city’s public schools. 

The new locking system, which includes cameras, aims to protect students from outside threats to keep NYC public school children safe, a representative of the contractor Symbrant Technologies told amny.com.

The public school’s locking system came just two days after what was the 71st mass shooting in just the first six weeks of 2023.

The latest tragedy unfolded last Monday night at Michigan State University (MUSU) in East Lansing, Mich., when three students were shot to death and five were critically injured before a 43-year-old gunman took his own life.

Automatically locking doors should be necessities at every school after terrified MSU students tried to remain safe in their rooms by using desks and other furniture to block the entryways from armed intruders.

“We were told to tell our residents to block doors with dressers or whatever objects and to turn their lights off and to hide,” Eleanor Hoss, a nursing student and resident assistant told USA Today after the shooting.

The city’s Department of Education capital budget will provide the funding for the new door-locking system, for which Mayor Eric Adams earmarked $78 million in his preliminary 2023-2024 budget, which City Council is still negotiating. 

The proposed system will add an additional layer of security to ensure student safety,” said Jenna Lyle, a DOE spokesperson. “Currently, every one of our public schools keeps every door locked and alarmed, except the front door, which is staffed by NYPD School Safety Agents.”