Delaware School Safety Center (DSSC)
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INFORMATION
dssc@delaware.gov
Welcome to the Delaware School Safety Center - a hub for collaboration, training, and innovation dedicated to the safety of our schools, students, and staff.
Rooted in the Comprehensive School Safety Program (CSSP) legacy, our work builds on over a decade of progress made possible by committed partnerships among schools, emergency responders, and state agencies. Established as one of the nation’s first state-level school safety initiatives, the CSSP laid a strong foundation by bringing structure, accountability, and coordination to emergency planning efforts across Delaware.
Today, the Delaware School Safety Center represents the next chapter in that evolution. We are expanding our mission to meet school safety's complex and changing needs by providing centralized resources, training opportunities, technical assistance, and data-informed guidance.
We aim to empower every school in Delaware — public, charter, and private to develop, implement, and sustain comprehensive safety strategies that protect their school communities.
Thank you for joining us in this critical work. Together, we will continue to strengthen and enhance the safety of Delaware schools.
Program Overview
Active Assailant Training
Behavioral Threat Assessment
Emergency Operations Planning
Omnibus School Safety
School Safety Physical Assessment Program
School Safety Conference
Meet the Team
Request Physical Safety Assessment
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For more information or to request a Physical Safety Assessment, contact us at dema.cssp@delaware.gov.
Annual Progress Reports
- 2024 CSSP Annual Report
- 2023 CSSP Annual Report
- 2022 CSSP Annual Report
- 2021 CSSP Annual Report
- 2020 CSSP Annual Report
Additional Resources
- SchoolSafety.gov
Serves as a one-stop access point for information, resources, guidance, and evidence-based practices on a range of K-12 school safety topics. - Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3)
CP3 is committed to preventing targeted violence and supporting safe and healthy communities. CP3 builds partnerships and provides funding, training, and increased public awareness across every level of government, the private sector, and in local communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Each year, the Delaware School Safety Center (DSSC) works with public and charter schools statewide to help administrators update their individual school safety plans. The DSSC certifies schools after completion of two lockdown drills and one table top exercise as required by Delaware law. Many districts and schools arrange drills in coordination with DSSC, law enforcement, school personnel and first responders to ensure staff and students are ready to respond appropriately in a coordinated effort in the event of an emergency.
DSSC offers regular training on all aspects of emergency management as it pertains to school safety including preparation, preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. Examples of regular trainings offered include but are not limited to violent intruders, bomb threats, severe weather responses, mental health awareness and tools, behavioral threat assessments, crime prevention through environmental design and family reunification.
All public and charter schools are required by the Omnibus School Safety act to have a school safety plan that addresses numerous hazards or emergency incidents including violent intruders, and natural hazards.
With the assistance of DSSC, the plans are developed by school safety teams which should be comprised of administrators, teachers, staff, law enforcement, various other first responders and contain detailed information specific to each school.
Schools are required to review, update and test plans annually through drills and tabletop exercises.
In addition to the online training available to school personnel, the DSSC hosts a variety of training seminars for SROs, constables, safety personnel and school staff. The DSSC team works with schools to determine areas of necessity through need's assessments, and couples findings with best practices to determine trainings and initiatives.
