New security protocols are now in effect as Wake County Public School students return to class, with the district transitioning from its three-tiered color system to a more detailed set of actions aimed at giving administrators more flexibility in their emergency responses. 

The district is dropping its "code red," "code yellow" and "code green" system, and moving to a Standard Response Protocol made up of five actions. 

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Those actions are: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

The changes come after school board action in 2025, when officials voted to work with a foundation to improve crisis response for Wake schools. 

The "Standard Response Protocol" consists of five possible measures an organization would take in responding to an emergency, such as one caused by an intruder, a weather event, fire or some other type of accident or incident.

Those five measures are:

  • Hold, indicated by a purple symbol, used to tell people to stay in their room or area and keep out of hallways
    • Secure, indicated by a blue symbol, used to tell people to get inside and lock doors
      • Lockdown, indicated by a red symbol, used to tell people to lock their spaces, turn out their lights and stay out of sight
        • Evacuate, indicated by a green symbol, used to tell people to leave their location and, sometimes, which one to go to instead
          • Shelter, indicated by an orange symbol, used to tell people of a hazard, such as a tornado, and what safety strategies they should take

            While "Hold" signals a new directive for the district, most of the measures are similar to protocols already used by the district but called something else. 

            The school board approved, without opposition, a memorandum of understanding with the "I Love U Guys" Foundation to help implement the foundation's "Standard Response Protocol" -- a move that would mean new training and drills on emergency response for students, school employees and some emergency responders.

            "The SRP provides a more comprehensive response toolkit to keep schools a safe learning environment. The action-based statuses in the protocol also give families a clearer understanding of how staff are keeping their children safe when security concerns do arise," the district says. 

            Last year, three schools initiated a "code yellow" lockdown in one day early in the school year.