A new implementation of our traditional lockdown procedure, D.E.E, plans to be more effective and productive in the event of an intrusion.

D.E.E. stands for Deny, Evade, Engage. In the case of a lockdown, students and teachers are now expected to defend themselves and engage in behavior in order to properly protect themselves and other students against an intruder.

The first two steps in D.E.E. are precautionary and mainly require students to evade the premises if possible. In previous years, if an intruder were to come into a classroom, students and teachers were told to simply hide under desks; an incredibly ineffective way to protect one’s self from danger.

“The reality is, if someone wants to get in the school, its fairly easy to get into a school. So really our response to this is the most important thing,” said Joe Farley, CUSD Superintendent.

If an intruder were able to get in a classroom with people still inside, the new procedure requires every person to engage in aggressive activity–i.e. use chairs, tables, desks, flag poles or any other useful object–to injure the invader until they are no longer a threat to the class.

“It’s interesting that this didn’t occur to us before. Because what we would do in a lockdown is essentially just hide and try and stay in that room, which really wasn’t the safest response. So with what happened in the most recent situations, the law enforcement studied that and learned that it’s important to train teachers on other options which include to escape and evade, so that’s really been our response,” said Farley.

The recent shootings in Sandy Hook and other areas finally convinced CUSD and other districts in the state to make the change from the traditional lockdown procedure.

D.E.E., although recognized differently, is a transition being made throughout Orange County and the entire country. Many schools are acknowledging the ineffectiveness of the previous procedure and support the current change.