San Rafael High School has implemented new security policies as of the 2025-2026 school year. This year is the first year the campus has had locked gates surrounding it, leaving only the front office as an entry and exit point. Other new policies include the new security officers and ID checkings, within reason, upon entering and exiting campus. 

These new district rules are enforced by the Marin County Office of Education and Marin Health and Human Services. The new private security guards have been hired from IPS Nationwide, a private security firm. San Rafael High School is the first school in the district to experience these protocols. 

“We’re going to focus on four non-negotiables,” said Principal Joe Dominguez. “Staff wearing IDs, a single point of entry, a refined visitor check in process, which we’ve done in the main office, and then uniforms for campus supervisors for our security guards.” 

According to Dean Justin Tomola, a new hire who lives and used to work in Sonoma County, SRHS is catching up with what is normal, not doing something different and extraneous in comparison to other schools. “It’s the way that schools are moving,” said Tomola. “Most schools, or a lot of schools, have even more stringent security measures.”

While this may not seem shocking in light of incidents that have occurred both on this campus and at schools around the country, the new policies have caused confusion and irritation amongst many students and staff. 

All of the students interviewed expressed their annoyance with the new security policies, especially those with free periods. Their biggest irritant was the locked gates, and being forced to enter campus strictly through the front office. Less than half the students recognized the enhanced safety that comes from the protocols, and many of them did not understand why they were implemented in the first place. 

When asked if the policies have changed her experience at SRHS, senior Maya Cux stated, “Yes, it’s made it very bad because I live behind the school and in order to get into school, because I have a free fourth, I have to walk all the way around which takes like 20 to 25 minutes. It should be a 5 minute walk but it’s a 20 minute walk.” 

This problem is very common amongst San Rafael students, as Brady Meyers and other juniors also expressed their frustration with the locked gates and single entry and exit point. “I used to have a free third, I’d be able to go and come back in through the gate, but now I can’t come back in the gate,” Meyers said.

San Rafael High School is surrounded by local eateries as well as residential homes that many students live in. This means that there are several locations for students with free periods to eat, do homework, and be with friends.

The entering and exiting of campus isn’t just an issue with students. Teachers also feel that the new security protocols make commuting and accessing campus harder. 

Juan Pommier is a SRHS math teacher of 12 years who lives in Terra Linda and is inconvenienced by the gates. “I used to ride my bike to come to campus or leave campus, but because the gate’s locked, now I’m having to go around by Whole Foods and then try and cross over San Pedro,” said Pommier. “That is a little bit more dangerous than it was just to be able to come off Mission Street and get onto campus easily.” 

The new policies are coming as a surprise to numerous students and teachers on campus. But, this may just be people taking the previous lack of security for granted. For whatever reason, SRHS has always been an open campus, while many campuses in the United States are not. 

According to the Pew Research Center, “Almost all schools [have] locked or monitored doors and loading docks (97%), or require visitors to sign or check in and wear a badge (98%).” On the contrary, Gwen Pikkarainein, an 18-year chemistry teacher at SR stated that, “For 30 years of my life, I’ve just been on open campuses.” This means that while SRHS may be the first school in Marin County to implement such policies, it definitely is not ahead of the trend in relation to the rest of the country.

What makes this situation stand out and the reason it is causing such a ruckus is that the SRHS administrators aren’t explaining why these changes have been implemented, just that students and staff have to follow them.

Stringent security measures like these haven’t been of concern for schools in Marin County. However, many students and staff can recall when SRHS struggled with gang violence and student altercations. Additionally, SR also faced an issue with people walking through campus during school hours, whether it be someone walking their dog or running around the track. This may seem harmless, but the random people on campus could’ve been anyone, and the school didn’t have a secure way to check that.

Furthermore, Dominguez shared concern over a possible threat to safety, explaining that “there was an event that happened over the summer here in the main office that required us to have more security just so they can be visible.” He chose to keep detailed information on this event private.

More people on campus are also having safety concerns. “My sense that we could have some kind of horrifying event here at school. I don’t know that that goes away because of gates,” Pikkarainen explained. “It might be the likelihood of a horrible event happening might be less, but I don’t know if it goes away.” Pikkarainen has been involved in San Rafael City Schools for a long time, and has expressed that she’s felt both secure and threatened from her time at SRHS. 

There are two sides to this: safety and freedom. No matter which way you look at it, it’s like two sides of a coin, where someone will be upset with either way. The new security protocols are meant to keep students safe and secure from the time they leave their house to the time they return to it. However, many students feel annoyed with the gates and other security measures. 

“The school needs to be less restrictive or find better ways to address it or keep the back gate open,” said Cux. 

As the school year pushes forward, students and staff are becoming more accustomed to the measures. In fact, Mr. Pommier has noticed “significant improvements in attendance.” 

“Change is difficult,” said Principal Dominguez. “I appreciate everyone for rolling with the punches a little bit.” With time, the concern around this issue will hopefully minimize, and it will become common practice for the people of San Rafael High School.