ALICE training is an options-based active shooter response program for schools. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It teaches staff and students what to do when locking down alone is not the safest choice.
Lockdown is still part of ALICE. What changed is the guidance around it. Federal guidance for school emergency plans, updated in 2013, tells schools there is no one-size-fits-all response to an active shooter and sets out more than one option. That is why many districts now weigh ALICE against other protocols.
This guide is for the leaders making that call. It covers:
- How the five ALICE strategies work, including enhanced lockdown
- What applies to students at each grade level, and how to drill without causing harm
- What training costs, what certification involves, and how ALICE compares to SRP and Run, Hide, Fight
What is ALICE Training?
ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It’s a response framework developed to help schools and organizations react more effectively during active shooter incidents.
Unlike passive lockdown protocols, ALICE teaches people how to make informed, split-second decisions to improve their chances of survival.
It’s not about teaching kids to fight. It’s about giving them age-appropriate options—like when to hide, how to escape, or how to create distractions if there's no other choice. ALICE Training is structured, scenario-based, and trauma-informed.
It replaces fear with action. Panic with a plan.
The Five ALICE Strategies, in Two Groups
The five ALICE strategies fall into two groups. Alert and Inform are communication strategies: they get accurate information to everyone. Lockdown, Counter and Evacuate are response strategies: the physical actions people take.
They are options, not a sequence. People use whichever one fits what they know at that moment, and they can move from one to another as the situation changes.
Communication strategies:
- Alert: Anyone who sees a threat raises the alarm in plain language, with no codes. "Man with a gun at the main entrance" tells people far more than a code word.
- Inform: Updates keep coming as the event unfolds, so people can decide whether to stay or move.
Response strategies:
- Lockdown: Secure the room, then go further. Barricade the door and get ready to use another option. This is enhanced lockdown, covered below. For drill steps, see our lockdown drill procedure guide.
- Counter: A last resort for someone face to face with the attacker. The goal is to distract and disrupt, so it is harder for the attacker to act.
- Evacuate: Leave the danger area by the safest route available, even an unconventional one such as a window, then go to a rally point.
Why ALICE Training Matters for School Safety
Police response takes time, and in an active shooter incident the people already in the building make the first decisions. In the FBI's study of 160 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013, 60% ended before police arrived.
That gap is the case for options-based training. A lockdown-only plan gives people one action. ALICE gives staff several options and the judgment to choose between them, whether that means locking down, getting out or, as a last resort, disrupting the attacker.
Not every expert agrees on how far that should go. School safety specialist Ken Trump argues that expecting children to make split-second decisions under pressure is unrealistic, and that staff, not students, should be the ones making them.
That concern deserves a real answer, and the answer is age-appropriate instruction, covered in the student section below. Training will not prevent violence. What it can do is give the adults in the building a plan they have practiced.
How ALICE Training for Schools Differs from Traditional Methods
Most traditional lockdown drills follow a simple script: turn off the lights, lock the doors, stay silent, and wait. That approach was never designed for modern threats, it was built for different times, different dangers.
ALICE changes that by recognizing one simple truth: not every threat looks the same, so the response shouldn’t either.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all protocol, ALICE trains staff and students to assess the situation and choose the best option whether that means locking down, evacuating, or disrupting the attacker’s ability to cause harm.
Here’s how ALICE stands apart:
It’s dynamic, not passive
Lockdowns are still part of the plan but not the only option. ALICE adds layers like communication, movement, and distraction, depending on the situation.
It focuses on decision-making, not just compliance
Staff and older students are taught to think on their feet, not freeze and wait for instruction. This helps reduce confusion and panic in high-stress moments.
It includes training for the whole school
ALICE offers tailored approaches for everyone from teachers and bus drivers to support staff and students with special needs.
Traditional drills aim to contain. ALICE trains for response because containment alone doesn’t stop an active shooter.
ALICE Enhanced Lockdown, Explained
Enhanced lockdown is a traditional lockdown plus active steps to deny entry and prepare for what comes next. Instead of locking the door, turning off the lights and waiting, the people in the room lock and barricade the door. Then they use that time to get ready to evacuate or counter if the situation changes.
In practice, an enhanced lockdown usually includes:
- Locking the door, then barricading it with desks, chairs and other heavy furniture
- Moving away from the door and out of sight
- Listening for updates through Inform
- Identifying another way out, such as a window or a second door
- Getting ready to evacuate or counter if the attacker gets in or the threat moves
How quickly a room can be secured depends on the building as much as on training. Doors that lock from the inside, and exterior doors that can be locked from a single alert, both cut that time. Our guide to school lockdown systems covers the options.
ALICE for Students: What Applies at Each Grade Level
No, not every ALICE strategy applies to every student. Instruction is matched to age and ability, and the youngest students learn the simplest version.
Staff carry most of the decisions at every level. They learn to read what is happening, give clear direction and lead an evacuation. That includes bus drivers, cafeteria staff and custodians, who may be the only adult near a group of students.
Parents usually ask about Counter first. For most students, it means distraction and movement, and each district decides how much of it to teach at each age. Explaining why each step matters, at a level a student can handle, keeps the training from becoming frightening.
Why a Trauma-Informed Approach Matters
A trauma-informed approach matters because drills can cause real harm. A drill that feels too real can frighten children, and it can bring back distressing memories for students and staff who have lived through trauma. How a drill is run matters as much as whether it runs.
The most widely cited guidance comes from NASP and NASRO, the national associations of school psychologists and school resource officers. Their latest edition, Best Practice Guidance for School Safety and Lockdown Drills: Preparing for Active Threats, was released in April 2026. It replaces Best Practice Considerations for Armed Assailant Drills in Schools, first published in 2014. The guidance does not endorse any specific training program, ALICE included.
Trauma-informed drills tend to share a few features:
- Students and families know a drill is coming
- No simulated gunfire, actors or props in drills that involve students
- Age-appropriate language, with the reason for each step explained
- A plan for students who become upset, including a way to step out
- Mental health staff involved in planning and available afterward
- A debrief, so people can talk through what happened
Practice is still the point. A plan people have rehearsed is easier to carry out under stress than one they have only read. Run this way, drills build that familiarity without making school feel unsafe. Our guide to types of school emergency drills shows where ALICE drills fit alongside the others.
Inside the ALICE Training Program
The ALICE program follows a blended learning model: online instruction for foundational knowledge, followed by in-person, scenario-based training. This format helps schools introduce the material at scale and reinforce it through hands-on application.
It includes role-specific modules for:
- Educators
- Administrators
- Support staff (bus drivers, cafeteria staff, custodians)
- Students, with adaptations for age and ability
The goal is to build consistency across your entire campus so everyone responds with the same language, the same logic, and a shared plan.
What Should Schools Expect During ALICE Training?
Expect a mix of eLearning, interactive discussions, and physical walkthroughs.
Instructors lead staff through real-world simulations like classroom evacuations, communication drills, and barricade techniques. Training sessions often include:
- Scenario planning with different threat levels
- Debriefs to reflect on decisions made
- Safety planning tailored to each school’s layout and population
It’s not a one-time session. Schools that implement ALICE treat it as an evolving part of their safety culture – updated, practiced, and reinforced throughout the year.
Putting Alert and Inform Into Practice
Alert and Inform only work if the message reaches everyone fast. Picture a teacher two hallways from the threat. Whether that teacher locks down or gets students out depends on what they know and how soon they know it. That makes Alert and Inform a systems question as much as a training one.
Most districts already own the tools. Among the 85 K-12 leaders in Coram's State of Physical Security 2026 survey, emergency alerts and lockdown were in place at 83.5% of districts. Yet they were fully integrated at only 61.2% of all districts surveyed. Owning an alert system is not the same as having it work with the doors, cameras and phones around it.
For an ALICE plan, a working setup does five things:
- Lets any staff member raise the alert from wherever they are
- Notifies everyone in the building at once, with specifics instead of a code
- Gets 911 on the way without a separate phone call
- Secures doors, where the access control system allows it
- Keeps updates coming, then supports reunification once it is over
Coram Emergency Management is built around those steps. Staff can raise an alert with a panic button or from the mobile or web app, and an alert can dispatch 911 through a dispatch partner. Coram Firearm Detection can start the process too: a person confirms the AI alert on web or mobile, with no panic button needed. Door lockdown requires Coram Access Control and is enabled per organization, so it is not automatic for every district. Reunification is built in for the step after Evacuate.
Drill Mode labels practice runs and skips the 911 call, so districts can rehearse ALICE drills on the same system they would use for real. Big Springs Charter Schools is one district that made the switch.
ALICE vs. Standard Response Protocol vs. Run, Hide, Fight
There is no single right protocol. ALICE, the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Run, Hide, Fight overlap more than they differ, and some districts use parts of more than one.
SRP gives a district one shared vocabulary for every kind of emergency, but its lockdown is the traditional one. ALICE and Run, Hide, Fight add options for an active threat. ALICE comes with a structured training and certification program; Run, Hide, Fight is simpler to teach. The right choice depends on your state's requirements, your emergency operations plan and what your community will support.
How Much Does ALICE Training Cost?
ALICE training cost depends on how a district rolls it out. The main costs are:
- Instructor certification for the staff who will train everyone else, a two-day course
- eLearning seats for staff who complete the online modules
- Staff time for training sessions and drills
- Instructor recertification, renewed online
Get a quote based on your staff count and the number of instructors you plan to certify. Some school safety grant programs may cover training costs.
ALICE Training Certification: Is It Required?
ALICE certification is a training credential, not a legal status. Schools are expected to have emergency operations plans, but the 2013 federal guidance does not require any one active shooter protocol. State rules vary, so check your state's drill and training requirements.
There are two ways staff get trained:
- ALICE Certified Instructor: a two-day, 16-hour in-person course that ends with a teach-back and a test. Certified instructors run training inside their own organization and renew online.
- eLearning: online courses for individual staff, often used as the foundation before hands-on sessions.
Certification gives a district trainers who know the material and can adapt it to each building. It does not replace drills, and it does not make a plan work on its own.
Challenges in Implementing ALICE Training
Like any change in safety policy, ALICE can meet resistance—especially when it involves new behaviors or emotionally charged scenarios.
Here’s what schools often struggle with:
- Parent concerns around teaching children to “counter” or move during an attack
- Staff discomfort with deviating from traditional lockdown-only methods
- Time and budget constraints for full training implementation
- Lack of legal clarity in states without specific active shooter training regulations
What helps?
Clear communication. Schools that share the research, training goals, and safety priorities behind ALICE often get more support than pushback. Peer data helps make that case, too: our 2026 K-12 survey shows where peer districts are investing in safety and security. Start with internal alignment, and build outward from there.
Want Safer Schools Without the Guesswork? Start Here.
ALICE gives staff more than one way to respond. Taught by age and drilled with care, it can do that without frightening students. Whichever protocol you choose, ALICE, SRP or Run, Hide, Fight, each one depends on the first minute of communication.
If your alert still depends on a phone call or a radio, start there. See how Coram Emergency Management turns one alert into building-wide notifications, a 911 dispatch and live updates.
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