One of the most important questions I ask when evaluating a school safety incident is not simply what happened, but whether the school’s actions met the applicable standard of care.

I was recently retained in a civil litigation matter involving a large suburban high school where a student suffered severe injuries after being assaulted on campus by an individual who was not a student. One of the central issues in the case was security operations on campus.

Throughout the school day, the campus perimeter had been secured. Pedestrian and vehicle gates remained locked, directing all visitors through a single controlled point of entry at the front office. However, approximately 15 minutes before dismissal, a perimeter gate on the back side of the campus was unlocked in preparation for students leaving for the day. That pedestrian gate was opened before the dismissal bell and left unmonitored.

That operational decision created a window of opportunity. A non-student entered the campus through this open, unattended gate, and assaulted a student who was still on campus waiting for the dismissal bell.

This is not an isolated practice. Unfortunately, across the country, there are likely many schools that routinely unlock perimeter gates before dismissal for convenience, traffic flow, or operational efficiency.

Once a school establishes a secured perimeter as part of its daily security operations, it assumes a responsibility to maintain the integrity of that security measure. Intentionally compromising that perimeter by opening and leaving a gate unmonitored before student dismissal can constitute a breach of the applicable standard of care.

If a school deliberately removes that critical layer of protection while students remain on campus during normal school hours, an important question must be asked: What standard of care would then exist when that protective measure is knowingly abandoned before students have actually been dismissed?

These moments deserve the same level of planning, supervision, and accountability as every other part of the school day.

School safety is not just about installing fences, gates, cameras, or access control systems. It is about ensuring that operational practices consistently support the very security measures those investments were designed to provide.

Sometimes, the difference between meeting the standard of care and falling below it could be measured in just a few minutes, and one unattended gate.