is not from a piece of equipment -LSB- such as a metal detector -RSB- but from a kid who comes forward and reports it to an adult that he or she trusts . '' See how many homicides have occurred in schools since 1992 '' The Obama administration plans to create secure schools indirectly , by improving overall education , getting kids more involved in their studies and strengthening school communities , said William Modzeleski , a high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Education who handles school security . The trend is reflected in security funding , some of which comes from federal grants . Allocations for the Department of Education 's Safe and Drug-Free Schools program were cut by a third between 1999 and 2008 , to about $ 294.8 million last year . And a program that has put about 6,300 police officers in public schools since Columbine was scrapped by the U.S. Department of Justice after 2005 , according to Corey Ray , a spokesman for the department . Ray said he 's hopeful President Obama 's stimulus package will put more police officers in schools . They act as law enforcement officers as well as
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In the wake of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School , some schools across the country turned themselves into near-fortresses . Kindergarden students huddle beneath desks in a lockdown drill . Such drills have become common . They installed metal detectors and security cameras , banned backpacks , required students to carry IDs and posted police in the hallways -- all in the name of keeping students safe . Now , 10 years after those highly publicized shootings in which two young men killed 13 people and themselves , school security has taken another dramatic turn . Some of the noticeable security measures remain , but experts say the country is exploring a new way to protect kids from in-school violence : administrators now want to foster school communities that essentially can protect themselves with or without the high-tech gear . `` The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained , highly alert staff and student body , '' said Kenneth Trump , president of National School Safety and Security Services , an Ohio-based firm specializing in school security . `` The No. 1 way we find out about weapons in schools