Delaware school visitor management law
Delaware requires a secured vestibule to screen visitors and classroom doors that lock from the outside, but only when a new school is built or a major renovation is done.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 26, 2026
What does the Delaware law require?
Whenever a new school is built or a major renovation is done, the work must include at least the safety features listed in 14 Del. C. § 2306(b). The primary entrance must be a secured vestibule used to screen visitors, with an intercom or video call box and interior doors that staff release electronically. The vestibule, lobby and office areas used to screen visitors must have ballistic-resistant glass or material, or security film. Classroom doors must be able to lock from the outside with a key or magnetic card system. Classroom doors that lock from both sides must meet the Delaware State Fire Prevention Regulations or the National Fire Protection Association's Life Safety Code (NFPA 101).
Which projects are covered?
A "major renovation" is one costing at or above the state's Major Capital Improvement threshold. State law calls for a review of school construction plans with the Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS), to check them against § 2306 and apply Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles (designing buildings and grounds to discourage crime). If DSHS finds a district's plan falls short, the district may ask the DSHS Secretary for a further review.
When did it take effect?
The requirements were enacted as House Substitute 1 for House Bill 49. That Act took effect on the January 1 after it became law and does not apply to projects whose certificate of necessity (the Department of Education's sign-off on the project) was issued on or before that date. SB 273, signed June 24, 2026, amended § 2306. Per its synopsis, SB 273 treats security film as distinct from ballistic-resistant materials, and construction meets the rule if ballistic-resistant materials are used in the required locations.
How can schools pay for it?
Delaware's School Safety and Security Fund provides partial or full funding to school districts, vocational technical schools and charter schools for projects meant to improve school safety or security. The fund started with $5,000,000; after that it depends on appropriations. Eligible expenses include vestibule improvements, door and window locks, magnet security systems, swipe card systems, visitor pass cameras and security systems, and door jamb sensors. Money is split proportionately among school districts, vocational technical schools and charter schools, based on a state school-funding count from the previous year. Charter schools cannot use the fund for improvements that count as major capital expenditures. Two state appropriation acts, SB 200 and HB 500, each list $9,138,000 for School Safety and Security; SB 200 sends its money to the Department of Education for the fund.
How can QuickSecure help?
Visitors sign themselves in at an iPad kiosk in your front office by scanning their driver's license or state ID.
Each visitor gets a printed badge, and checks out by scanning the badge's code on the way out.
Visitors are checked against the sex-offender registry and your school's own block list before they're let in.
When a visitor needs a second look, front-office staff get an alert and approve or deny entry from their phones.
Only guardians and contacts your school has authorized can pick up a student. A one-time exception needs an administrator's approval, and it's logged.
Every visit is kept in a log your administrators can search.
This is not a statement that any product satisfies Delaware's requirements; that reading belongs to your district and its counsel.