Although crime has occurred in American schools since they opened their doors in the mid-1600's, technology allowing increased information sharing has made school crime common knowledge among the general public. Violent crime in schools remains a rare event, yet incidents such as the highly publicized Columbine High School shootings have caused a public outcry which has driven knee-jerk responses to school security issues. The authors argue that the security measures put in place in many schools across the country in the past several years are overly rigid and, in fact, comparable to security measures taken in the American Correctional System. A table illustrates the similarities between school security and prison security. This type of increased school security could have serious deleterious effects on the Nation's youth in terms of stifling individuality and creativity. Moreover, academic performance may drop as students concern themselves more with personal security issues than school work. It is also important to consider the message of mistrust being sent to students. The authors urge school administrators to conduct a needs assessment before security measures are implemented in order to target the particular issues of the school. Preventative measures should be considered, such as peer mediation conflict resolution programs, and increased access to counselors. Careful planning and thoughtful responses to identifiable problems will dissolve the similarities between prison and school.