A survey in this magazine last year reported that campus officials rank glass to be the weakest of their defenses against intruders. Their concern echoes the final report on the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, which recommended schools employ “forced entry resistance glazing materials for windows and glazed doors using laminated glass and/or polycarbonate.”
The Sandy Hook panel concluded that glass films, as described, can delay intruders with firearms long enough for law enforcement to respond to a threat. Depending on their cost and materials, these films range from making the underlying glass windows or doors shatterproof — resembling a car windshield — to virtually bullet proof.
Many schools have invested in glass film and state legislatures are considering requiring public schools apply film to their glass. These are sound ideas, but there are safety and legal issues to consider.
First, lawmakers need to understand a key fact about glass film: It is only as effective as the experience level of the person who installs it. Applying the film is not like putting a bumper sticker on a car. Installation is a complex process, which involves making precise measurements, spraying a wet solution, removing bubbles that can weaken the film, trimming excess material, applying a unique sealant, and patiently waiting for the film to set.
Inexperienced installers will make mistakes, weakening the film and making it easier for intruders to enter a campus building before police can arrive. That is why states should consider emulating California, a rare state that requires a license for contractors installing window films. According to digitalconstructive.com, a website for construction workers, the criteria for securing the state’s D-52 contractor’s license includes completing four years of “journey level” experience, getting a contractor to certify that experience, passing courses for blueprint reading, and other skills.
Without a license to help campus officials and other consumers know their glass film installer meets minimum standards, the market for glass film could experience a “race to the bottom,” with opportunistic, naïve or plain fraudulent actors leading the way to cheap, ineffective film installations.
The legal context around campus intrusions and efforts to prevent them is important to consider, too. It goes without saying that campus intrusions, from simple burglaries to disasters that get nationwide news coverage, present litigation risks to schools and other campuses. Public schools and universities may be protected from sovereign immunity enjoyed by the state, but creative plaintiffs’ lawyers have pushed legal theories to evolve with the times. Studies of litigation over mass shootings have revealed mixed results.
License requirements for window film installers could help schools if an intruder attempted a mass shooting. First, if installed correctly, the film could slow the intruder long enough for the police to disrupt the attack. And any suit would be hard pressed to blame the school for using a licensed contractor to install the protective window film. Conversely, if an intruder easily forced his way through a window that was poorly protected by window film installed by a contractor without a license, the school could find itself facing claims of presumptive negligence or even gross negligence. Similarly, manufacturers of window film could face exposure to legal liability if an intruder easily forced his way through a window that was poorly protected by the manufacturer’s window film installed by a contractor without a license.
A further consideration until licensing requirements are in place would be to make it mandatory that the film installing company being contracted is a member in good standing of the industry trade group the IWFA (International Window Film Association – https://iwfa.com/) that sets standards for the installation of field applied window films on glass.
Allen N. Bradley is a corporate attorney in Moye White’s Atlanta office representing clients in corporate and technology law matters, as well as in finance and private securities, negotiation of contracts concerning solar energy projects, corporate and partnership tax, executive and other non-qualified compensation, and wills, trusts and estate law. He can be reached at 404-961-9744 or at [email protected]. What is written here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. If legal advice is needed, you should consult a lawyer.
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