Others employ a bar that barricades the door in the center, while still more use a sleeve on the door’s closer arm at the top of most classroom doors. They all work by reinforcing the door, making it virtually impossible for an intruder to break through. But experts have another opinion. Even if legislatures in Kansas, Arkansas, Michigan and New Jersey have recently revised their building codes to allow for barricade devices, it seems there are risks in barricading classrooms. “I can very easily foresee these devices being misused by students or other individuals with ill intentions and creating a bigger security concern with day-to-day issues than what would ever arise in the rare situation of an active shooter in the school,” Kenneth Trump, a Cleveland-based school security expert who has spent over 30 years in the field said. The Ohio Board of Building Standards warned that the devices could hamper escape during emergencies. Finally, it’s up to the schools to decide whether to use such devices but a think is sure: doing this and stressing students all the time will make the life different.
