National School Safety and Security Services

Kenneth S. Trump, Ed.D. provides experienced, accessible, timely and quality expert services to plaintiff and defense attorneys on preK-12 school safety and security cases. He is an experienced speaker, teacher, news commentator and personal communicator on school safety.

Ken served as an officer, investigator and gang unit supervisor for the Cleveland City Schools' safety division, and as a suburban school security director and assistant gang task force director. During his 30 years in school safety he trained and consulted with school and public safety officials from 50 states and internationally.

Ken is the author, co-author and/or editor of three books, five book chapters and 450 articles on school safety. He appears regularly in national and international news.

Ken is a four-time invited Congressional witness on school safety and emergency preparedness, and testified on bullying to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He presented to the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, Education Commission of the States, FBI National Academy, National School Boards Association, and others.

Ken is experienced with school active shooter, school mass shootings, school wrongful deaths, violent assaults with serious injuries, rape and other sexual assaults, and other school crime, security, emergency/crisis issues, and violence cases.

Related issues:
• Crisis and emergency preparedness plans, teams, first responder relations
• Employee training
• Crisis / emergency drills and exercises
• School safety policies, regulations and procedures
• Security and threat assessments
• Physical security (access control, visitor management, fencing, lighting, communications, etc.)
• Cameras, metal detectors and other security equipment
• Special event and athletic security and emergency preparedness
• Threat assessment, response and management
• School security and police department operations
• Hiring, training, supervision and evaluation of school security officers, guards and school police
• School bus transportation security
• Crime and incident reporting
• Personnel security

Services

Ken is experienced with wrongful deaths, violent assaults with serious injuries, sexual assaults, rapes, and other violence cases.

Ken's services can help plaintiff and defense attorneys on these and/or other preK-12 school safety and security issues including, but not necessarily limited to:

• School security, school safety, school violence, and related issues in pre-kindergarten-12 education settings

• Bullying, school anti-bullying policies and programs, and related issues

• Crimes and/or serious K-12 discipline cases involving issues such as assault, sexual assault, rape, murder, serious injuries, wrongful death, etc.

• School crisis and emergency preparedness, written emergency / crisis guidelines and plans, and crisis teams

• Training school employees on emergency / crisis preparedness, security and school safety issues and practices

• School crisis / emergency drills and exercises School security assessments, premises evaluations and campus threat assessments

• Physical security measures (access control, visitor management, fencing, lighting, communications, etc.)

• Use of cameras, metal detectors and other security equipment in preK-12 settings

• School special event and athletic event security and emergency / crisis planning and preparedness

• Threat assessment and response practices for threats made by students and others

• School security officers, school police, school security department operations and procedures

• Hiring, training, evaluation, and retention of school security officers (proprietary and contract) and school police

• School bus transportation violence, security and emergency / crisis issues, driver training on security and related

• Crime and incident reporting school policies and procedures

• Personnel / employee and internal security best practices

• School board policies and regulations related to school safety, security and emergency / crisis preparedness

• School relationships and planning with first responders / public safety and other community partners

• School crime prevention, school violence prevention, and associated areas

Litigation Support Services

School Safety Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting Services

Testifying and/or Non-Testifying Services may include, but not be limited to:

Case Evaluation: A review of facts and issues with recommendations for further action on the case. Deposition reviews and evaluation of opposing expert reports.

Case Consultation: Advice on potential action, pleadings, discovery, public records searches, deposition questioning, and related case work

Testifying School Safety Expert Witness: Preparation of expert reports, deposition testifying, and trial testifying

Ken's services can help plaintiff and defense attorneys evaluate and focus their approach to a case, potentially saving attorneys and clients thousands of dollars and time in unnecessary efforts.

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Bullying, PreK-12 School Safety, Emergency/Crisis Preparedness, School Safety Communications, School Wrongful Death, School Assaults, School Sexual Assaults, School Rapes, School Emergency, School Police, Security Guards, Security Officers, Student Supervision, School Bus, School Gangs/Crime.

Profile

Kenneth S. Trump, Ed.D., is the President of National School Safety and Security Services. “Dr. Ken” has been making schools safer for more than four decades. Right now, he is working with school and safety officials across the country to make schools safer and better prepared to manage emergencies. He provides keynote and workshop presentations in-person and online for national, state, and regional conferences on school security, emergency planning, threat assessment, school strategic crisis leadership and communications, and managing school safety communications and social media strategy. He counsels state and federal lawmakers on school safety policies and crisis response, and provides litigation consulting and expert witness services on school safety cases, including on some of the nation's highest profile school shooting civil litigation cases.

Dr. Ken is the author, co-author and/or editor of three books, five book chapters and more than 450 articles on school safety issues. He has advised school and public safety officials in all 50 states. He works on the front-lines with principals, superintendents, school board members, school crisis teams, first responders, communications directors and public information officers, parents, and others to make schools safer and better prepared for emergencies while communicating safety issues more effectively and strategically to their school-communities.

Ken started as an officer, investigator and Youth Gang Unit Supervisor for the Cleveland Public Schools, and as a suburban School Security Director. During that time, Ken spoke at national conferences and worked regularly with local reporters on stories related to school safety, security incidents, and gangs.

Ken earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education with a research focus on the intersection of school administrator strategic crisis leadership with school safety communications in highly ambiguous and uncertain contexts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Service (Criminal Justice concentration) and a Master of Public Administration degree from Cleveland State University. He has received special certification in School Safety Leadership from the National School Safety Center, and also for completing the Advanced Physical Security Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Ken has also received more than 2,500 hours of specialized training in gang prevention, intervention, and enforcement; terrorism and homeland security; physical security; school safety and emergency management; and associated topics.

He has been interviewed by all network and cable news outlets, the top 50 U.S. daily newspapers, local community newspapers, and radio stations nationwide. Ken is familiar with the unique operations and needs of each type of media outlet. During recent high-profile school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings and the Chardon (OH) school shootings, Ken provided on-site live analysis and commentary for The Today Show, CNN, and Fox News Channel, along with satellite live shots and taped interviews for ABC World News Tonight, CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, and others. He has also worked as a freelance investigative producer, content consultant and online reporter for the ABC affiliate in Cleveland.

Dr. Ken has testified four times before Congress about school security and crisis issues, and before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about the role of the federal government in local school bullying issues. He was a guest at the 2006 White House Conference on School Safety. Ken has also advised the Connecticut Governor's Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, the Oklahoma School Security Commission, the New Jersey School Security Task Force, the Council of State Governments, the Education Commission of the States, and other public policy and governing entities.

Areas Served

All States

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Legal Experience & Services

Ken is experienced an expert on mass school shootings, school active shooter and other wrongful deaths, school stabbings, gang violence, violent assaults with serious injuries, rape and other sexual assaults, and other school safety and security cases.

Related issues might include:

• PreK-12 school crime, violence and serious disciplinary incidents
• School safety, security, and emergency/crisis preparedness best practices, policies, regulations, and procedures
• Crisis and emergency preparedness plans, teams, first responder relations
• Employee school safety, security, emergency preparedness and related training
• Crisis / emergency drills and exercises
• Security and threat assessments
• Physical security (access control, visitor management, fencing, lighting, communications, etc.)
• Metal detectors, weapons detection, surveillance cameras, and other security equipment program implementation
• Special event and athletic security and emergency preparedness
• Threat assessment, management, and response
• School security and police department operations
• Hiring, training, supervision and evaluation of school security officers, guards and school police
• School bus transportation security
• Crime and incident reporting
• Personnel security
• Student child abductions, non-custodial parents
• Visitor management, access control, and related security protocols
• Safety, security and emergency preparedness issues in before-school, after-school, summer school, pre-school, child care, and related youth and educational service programs

Affiliations

• American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
• Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP)
• International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC)
• Education Law Association
• National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)

Prior/historical affiliations have included:

• Co-founder, Ohio Chapter, Midwest Gang Investigators Association (MGIA)
• Former 6-year member of board of directors of the National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers
• Past chair, K-12 Subcommittee, Educational Institutions Security Standing Committee, American Society for Industrial Security
• Former member and advisor to the National Association of School Resource Officers' executive director and board, including conducting the nation's first four, largest surveys of SROs

Seminars & Training

Dr. Ken is a seasoned presenter, trainer, and educator capable of effectively communicating online and in-person to diverse, multidisciplinary audiences. He has decades of experience speaking before audiences ranging from school support staff, teachers, principals, and superintendents to school board members, state and federal elected policymakers, professional association conference attendees, first responders, attorneys, academicians, and the media.

In addition to public school districts, parochial schools, independent schools, regional education offices, and other schools nationwide, examples of organizations that have engaged Ken's presentations include:

Education, Public Safety, Prevention, and Other Professional Associations: National School Boards Association (NSBA), American Association of School Administrators (AASA), National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO International), National Christian School Association, National PTA, National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), National Governors Association, National Lieutenant Governors Association, National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), National Police Athletic/Activities Leagues (National PAL), Education Writers Association, Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio Schools Council, Ohio Association of Pupil Service Administrators, Ohio Education Association, Ohio PTA, Texas School Safety Center, Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association, Kentucky Prevention Network, Student Assistance Professionals Association of Georgia, Montana Behavioral Institute, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Michigan Schools Educators Police Liaison Association (SEPLA), Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Association of Nova Scotia Educational Administrators (ANSEA), Education Law Association, Ohio Catholic Education Association, and others.

Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Other First Responders: FBI National Academy, California Gang Investigators Association, Midwest Gang Investigators Association, MAGLOCLEN Law Enforcement Network, New Jersey State Police Street Gang Unit, Minnesota Juvenile Officers Institute, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, Indiana Governor's Summit on Homeland Security, Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, Western Regional Institute for Community Policing, Michigan State Police – Emergency Management Division/Homeland Security, Wisconsin Department of Justice, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, Central Illinois Police Training Center, and more.

Governmental Entities and Public Policymakers: United States Senate (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee), United States House of Representatives (House Education and Labor Committee), United States House of Representatives (House Homeland Security Committee), U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. State Department, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity, Executive Office of the United States Attorneys, U.S. Attorney's Offices in 10 states, U.S. Department of Justice, Hawaii Department of Education, Indiana Department of Education, Illinois Department of Education/Regional Offices of Education, South Carolina Department of Education, Arkansas Department of Education, Arizona Department of Education, Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, New Jersey School Security Task Force, Oklahoma Commission on School Security, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Council of State Governments, Education Commission of the States, City of Cleveland – Healthy Cleveland Sub-Committee on Violence, and others.

Education

• Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education with a research focus on the intersection of school administrator strategic crisis leadership with school safety communications in highly ambiguous and uncertain contexts.
• Master of Public Administration degree from Cleveland State University
• B.A. in Social Service (criminal justice concentration) from Cleveland State University
• Advanced Physical Security Training Program (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center)
• Certified in Red Team Thinking, a critical and contrarian set of decision making tools
• School Safety Leadership Certification (National School Safety Center)
• State-certified private police training
• More than 2,500 hours of specialized training on topics on school safety and security, crisis preparedness planning, gang and drug issues, terrorism and emergency management, and related school and youth safety topics