School Safety & Security

P-CCS Department of School Safety & Security

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools is committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all students, staff, and visitors. Our School Safety and Security team works to enhance the safety of our schools by implementing proactive strategies, utilizing cutting-edge technology, and collaborating with local law enforcement and first responders.

P-CCS prioritizes the safety and security of all members of the school community. The district’s comprehensive safety programs include:

Security Operations Center: A state-of-the-art center that monitors security cameras and other systems across all district buildings. This center enables our team to provide real-time information to law enforcement and first responders during emergencies.

Video Surveillance & Access Control: Enhanced video surveillance and secure building entry systems to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Emergency Operations Plans: Regularly updated plans that comply with Michigan’s safety protocols, ensuring the district is prepared for emergencies.

Training & Safety Reviews: ALICE training for staff, regular safety evaluations, and continuous improvements to ensure the district’s readiness.

Director Meier recently provided the Board of Education with an update on our latest safety and security initiatives. To learn more about these initiatives, you can view the presentation or watch the Board Meeting presentation on P-CCS YouTube channel.

Contact

Joshua Meier, Director of School Safety & Security
joshua.meier@pccsk12.com
(734) 416-3015

Eric Kolke, P-CEP School Safety & Security Manager
eric.kolke@pccsk12.com
(734) 582-5653

Security Operations Center
(734) 582-5656

Reporting a Threat

P-CCS encourages students and families to report any threats they encounter. Possible reporting methods include:

P-CCS Safety and Security Anonymous Tip Line: (734) 416-2920
Emergency Services: Call 911
OK2Say: 8-555-OK2Say, Text 65279

Michigan State Police OK-2-SAY Tip Line

Safety Drill Information

Meet Our Director

Joshua Meier, Director of School Safety & Security
joshua.meier@pccsk12.com
(734) 416-3015

Joshua Meier leads the district’s safety and security programs at P-CCS. His responsibilities include overseeing the Security Operations Center, managing surveillance systems and access controls, updating Emergency Operations Plans, and coordinating safety measures for school events. He also leads the district’s security team, implementing annual ALICE training for staff, and offering guidance on safety policy and facility improvements.

Emergency Response & Threat Assessment

The Plymouth-Canton Community School District is committed to ensuring the safety of students and schools, considering it a top priority and a core value within the district. In line with this commitment, P-CCS treats any threats made to a student, staff member, or school with utmost seriousness. The establishment of a secure learning environment is crucial for the primary mission of teaching, learning, and achieving student success.

All schools within P-CCS maintain trained threat assessment teams equipped with specific tools to thoroughly investigate threats and take necessary actions to safeguard students, staff, and school premises. The threat assessment protocol is treated as confidential information among those involved. While specific details may not be shared, the district is committed to disclosing relevant information to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Immediate actions may include emergency removal of a student and, if necessary, the temporary closure of a school based on the nature of the threat.

P-CCS encourages students and families to collaborate with the district in reporting any statements, social media posts, or other information that poses a threat to the school community. Students are advised to share such information with a parent/guardian, trusted adult, or use the following reporting options:

P-CCS Safety and Security Anonymous Tip Line (734) 416-2920
OK2Say: 8-555-OK2Say, Text 65279, OK2SSAY@mi.gov
Emergency Services: Call 911

Steps in Threat Assessment:

When the district staff learns of a threat, immediate action is taken:

Immediate action is taken to determine the origin of the threat.
A thorough assessment is conducted to determine if the threat is transient or substantive, guiding subsequent actions.
Local law enforcement is notified if the threat is deemed substantive.

It is a district protocol to place the student identified as making the threat on emergency removal during the investigation, with potential further time away from school depending on the investigation's outcome. Parents will be asked about the means used if the threat involves any type of weapon, and the police will conduct follow-up. Child Protective Services (CPS) may be contacted based on the situation.

P-CCS collaborates closely with local law enforcement agencies, including Canton and Plymouth Township and City of Plymouth Police Departments. Law enforcement will be engaged, and a police report will be filed. Making threats to schools is a felony under Michigan Law (MCL 750-235b).

All P-CCS schools adhere to these protocols. Trained threat assessment teams work diligently, even during evenings and weekends, to identify the threat's origin and resolve the situation. Efforts are made to support the student who made the threat, emphasizing both assistance and minimizing disciplinary action, as appropriate.

P-CCS urges its community of students and parents to collaborate in fostering a school culture of safety. While the threat assessment process will discern jokes, emails, social media posts, statements made in anger, or figures of speech without intent to harm, students are encouraged to consider the seriousness of their words before making such threats.

The district appreciates the partnership of the P-CCS community in developing and ensuring a culture of safety within its schools.

Emergency Response / Threat Assessment

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools uses nationally recognized guidelines to establish district specific Emergency Operations Plans and Threat Assessment protocols. Information on emergency operations planning and threat assessments can be found through these links.

Michigan State Police Office of School Safety

The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines

Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model

U.S. Secret Service Averting Targeted School Violence

Visitor Management Information

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (P-CCS) has partnered with Safe Visitor Solutions to provide the district with a comprehensive visitor management and student check-in / check-out system that integrates with existing school safety technology. This system will be used at all P-CCS buildings to screen and check-in and check-out all visitors. It can also be used for parents to check-in and check-out students while maintaining the security of buildings and minimizing the amount of people entering the school buildings. This system will be deployed through a kiosk located in the building's secure vestibule adjacent to the main office. Parents and visitors will be asked to sign into the kiosk which will screen visitors against a national sex offender database and prohibited visitor database and parents against the district's MiStar student management system.

Policy & Procedure

Visitor Screening

According to school board policy, all visitors including parents must sign-in the visitor log, present a form of government identification (ID) such as a Driver's License upon entering the school during school hours and when children are present. All visitors will be subject to a screen against the national sex offender registry and if applicable, internally created prohibited visitor database. Those exempt from the sex offender screen are officers of the court and first responders. We use either the National Sex Offender Public Website or the Visitor Management System to screen visitors. Any information received from this process is viewed only by the screener and if necessary, the school administrator.

The following are possible outcomes from the screen:

No Match: If there is no match, the visitor will receive a badge to be worn at all times while at the school. The visitor should sign-out and return the badge to the office prior to leaving the school.
Possible Offender Match: If the record indicates a possible match, the screener will discreetly notify school administration and/or the district safety/security team. District administration is available for guidance.
Positive Offender Match: Registered sex offenders and prohibited visitors are prohibited from entering the school grounds. If a positive offender match is detected, the screen discreetly notifies school administration and office staff.

Exceptions include the following, but are subject to requirements:

A student enrolled, or a student visiting from another school participating in any event at the school;
A parent/guardian registered sex offender may enter school grounds for:
- Attending a conference at the school with school personnel to discuss academic and/or social progress of parent/guardian’s child;
- When campus administration has requested the parent/guardian’s presence;
- To pick up and drop off their child from school (outside).

Requirements to the above-mentioned exceptions:

The parent/guardian must notify school administration of the purpose of the visit in advance, including date and time.
School administration notifies district administration of the parent/guardian’s intent to visit.
The parent/guardian must check in at the school administrative office upon arrival and departure from the school. The visitor should sign-out and return the badge prior to leaving school. This includes receiving a badge to be worn while at the school.
The parent/guardian must always remain under the direct supervision of school staff.

Protective Orders

Plymouth-Canton Schools shall comply with all legal restraining and protective orders.

Other Unauthorized Persons; Refusal of Entry; Ejection; Identification, and Appeal:

A visitor who fails to submit a form of government identification shall not be allowed on school grounds. An administrator may refuse to allow a person to enter on or may eject a person from the property under the school’s control if the person refuses to leave peaceably and poses a substantial risk of harm;

The person behaves in a manner that is inappropriate for a school setting; and the school administrator issues a verbal warning and may result in the refusal of entry or ejection;

The person persists in that behavior. School administration will maintain a written record of each verbal warning, including name to whom the warning was issued and the date of the issuance. At the time a person is refused entry to or ejected from the school, the school will notify local law enforcement to have the person formally trespassed from the school. If a parent/guardian of a child enrolled in the school is refused entry, the school shall accommodate the parent/guardian to ensure the parent/guardian may participate in the child’s ARD, 504 meeting, due process hearing, or parent teacher conferences. A person refused entry or ejected may appeal the decision using the student/parent grievance policy. A decision of the superintendent to grant or deny an appeal under this section is final.

Information Security:

School Safety Resources

Resources:

Partner Alliance for Safer Schools

Be Smart for Kids (Safe Gun Storage)

SchoolSafety.gov

Michigan School Safety

Top Questions Parents Ask About School Safety and Security by Partner Alliance for School Safety (PASS)

Partnerships:

P-CCS embraces cooperative relationships with our law enforcement and first responder partners which includes training opportunities, continuous communication, and a unified approach in responding to incidents that may occur within a P-CCS school.

Canton Township:

Plymouth City:

Plymouth Township: