Sniper Arrests Ease Tensions For Districts

By Rhea R. Borja

The safety measures that schools in the Washington region enforced over the past three weeks during a string of deadly sniper attacks were perhaps excessive at times, some school security and risk experts say. But the precautions, they are quick to add, were a natural response to an unprecedented crisis.

As schools returned to a more normal footing late last week after two arrests in the case, experts and educators were already mulling the lessons that school leaders could learn from the ordeal.

More than 1 million students and roughly 65,000 teachers in about 30 districts, some as far as 125 miles from Washington, had experienced "lockdowns" or other heightened security measures. Four of those school districts also shut down for two...