School Safety Experts Discuss AI-Backed Physical Security Tools at CoSN 2025

Physical security technologies have come a long way, said CDW’s Bryan Krause, senior national school safety strategist, and Tom Ashley, education strategist, at CoSN 2025. Previously, all schools could do with camera footage, for example, was review incidents after they happened.

“That might be a student, or it might be bigfoot,” Krause said, remembering times he reviewed footage on older cameras with poor visibility.

Now, cameras are much more powerful. And they aren’t the only safety tools schools have at their disposal. Many modern school security solutions work together to help schools prevent incidents before they occur, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence.

This also means that physical security is increasingly becoming the IT department’s job. “The line between IT and school safety is becoming more and more blurred,” Krause said. We need safety leaders in K–12 districts — whether they’re school resource officers, maintenance and facilities teams, or individuals from another department — to bring IT teams into the decision-making process.

Breaking down these silos is essential to keeping staff and students safe. It takes time, money, forethought and, sometimes, a three-year plan, presenters said. Here are solutions to consider when building out such a plan:

Video surveillance technology is advancing so rapidly that cameras today are vastly better than they were even a year ago, Krause said. Today’s cameras can track an individual’s journey to and through a building. They can also monitor parking lots and campus perimeters to intercept threats before they get to buildings.

These capabilities are due in large part to AI features in the cameras and software. Be aware, presenters cautioned, of face recognition technology laws in your state before implementing these tools.

Think about the layout and operational complexity of a public high school. “A high school is a living, breathing being that’s open almost 24 hours a day and 7 days a week,” Krause said. “It’s one of the most complex systems outside of a hospital.”

Think about how many doors a school has, including interior and exterior access points, he said. School safety leaders must stress the importance of keeping those doors closed.

He added that many access control systems currently put the onus on school front office staff to let the right people access the building and, while it can be hard to implement a new access control system due to pushback from users, it takes liability off front office staff in the event of an emergency. AI can help staff quickly detect whether someone is not supposed to be there — such as a suspended student or a guardian without permission to pick up a child — if they’re lying about their identity or if they’re on any lists that would prohibit them from accessing the building.

“We need to take away the liability and the guilt by using technology,” Krause said.

Environmental sensors benefit school safety in all of the areas you don’t put cameras. This can include school bathrooms, locker rooms in a gymnasium or anywhere else that needs extra protection.

Today, these sensors can detect smoking and vaping, and some can even use AI to pick up on aggressive behavior in the form of audio cues.

Alert system technology has also evolved, in part because communications technology has improved, but also thanks to mandates such as Alyssa’s Law, which require silent alarms in schools. As of now, seven states have passed Alyssa’s Law or variations of it. It’s been introduced in far more states. “It’s important to know what’s coming down the road,” Ashley said.

Not only can alert systems notify law enforcement or send mass messages about incidents, they can also trigger automated lockdown procedures. This can save lives when every second counts.

One of the challenges with bringing in new technologies is the risk of creating overly complex systems. As you collect layers of protection, you need to ensure they work together, presenters said. Some older systems won’t integrate with modern AI and other technologies, so plan investments carefully. 

Schools also need to consider challenges such as data privacy and protect their systems from threat actors that would hack into cameras or steal security data.

IT and safety leaders should work together to raise awareness of any new technologies and help staff and students overcome adoption barriers.

“Get support before you’ve had an event,” Krause said.

He and Ashley shared three action items for CoSN 2025 attendees to take back to their schools:

1. Leverage expertise: K–12 IT leaders “have a lot going on and wear a lot of hats, so they can’t be experts in everything,” Ashley said. Therefore, it’s important to choose partners with the right expertise and to make those connections before your school experiences an incident.
2. Create a school safety committee: A committee can go to schools to see where physical security should be shored up. They can see if doors are propped open or whether they can explore a school without an ID. “Having someone intentionally responsible for these things is really important,” Ashley said. “We can’t all do it in isolation.”
3. Develop one-, three- and five-year plans: Planning always seems to get put on the back burner, but it’s important, Ashley said. “Do the plan, monitor the plan and adjust the plan as needed,” he added.

The presenters reminded attendees that in all of these initiatives, AI is a partner and not a replacement. Human instincts, knowledge bases and actions will continue to be important.

“There’s a lot of work we need to do, but there’s also hope,” Krause said. “You don’t hear about the prevention that was successful.”