LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. -- Just two days before students across the nation are planning a school walkout to honor the victims of the Florida school shooting, one local district is continuing to beef up security.
Lancaster County School District recently introduced a new policy, heightening security at the classrooms.
Safety Director Bryan Vaughn tells NBC Charlotte that teachers are now required to keep classroom doors closed and locked at all times to prevent strangers from walking in.
If teachers do not follow the new policy, concerns can be reported to the district’s "See Something, Say Something" hotline by calling or texting 803-320-1672.
“You just wouldn’t have untethered access to the room,” Vaughn said. “There would be a process where you would know somebody out here the teacher could at least alert help.”
If help isn’t immediately available, students are also being trained to fend for themselves. All middle and high school students in Lancaster County are now learning how to run, hide and even fight in the event of an active shooter.
"In my six years of being here we were never taught that,’ said Olivia Crockett, a student in the district. “We were just taught to hide in the corner.”
The new security measures coming into place just days before the one month anniversary of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.
Wednesday, students across the nation, including the Carolinas, are planning to walk out of class for 17 minutes to honor the lives of those killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
CMS, Rock Hill, York and Lancaster Schools Districts tell us they are allowing students to participate but participants are not allowed to walk off campus.