Most of state’s schools have interior safety locks, survey finds

A survey of California’s schools conducted by KCRA found that 70% of districts that responded to a survey have interior locks in classrooms, a safety feature that could protect students and teachers during a shooting.

Interior locks allow a teacher to lock the door without stepping into the hallway, potentially putting themselves and their students at risk. Teachers unions have asked schools to install interior locks for years, KCRA reported.

“We’ve been advocating for these type of locks back to probably 2007, 2008,” Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers union, told KCRA. “Door locks are an easy, simple — not necessarily cheap — but cost-effective way to provide that safety.”

Several large districts, including Sacramento City Unified and Stockton Unified, have been slow to install interior locks in all classrooms. At both districts, fewer than half of classrooms have them, according to the report.