More locked doors, stricter identification requirements and more intruder drills are being implemented at Lancaster County schools — but no armed guards have been hired, at least not yet.

While schools in other parts of Pennsylvania have added gun-carrying guards to protect students in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, county schools aren't following suit.

But several of the county's 17 districts have upgraded their security procedures, and at least three — Donegal, Manheim Township and Manheim Central — are considering adding armed police officers to their staffs.

Officials at other districts said they're also likely to consider the merits of hiring a municipal police officer, known as a school resource officer or SRO, to work at their schools.

County schools are likely to make more security changes in the coming months after officials get a clearer picture of what happened Dec. 14, when Adam Lanza burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and killed 20 students and six staff members before killing himself.

In the month since the massacre, nearly every county district has reviewed its security procedures and emergency plans, tweaking areas that didn't measure up.

Eastern Lancaster County and Donegal school districts have added an additional layer of locked doors at their schools, and parents in Elanco are now being asked to show IDs to enter schools.

The district also plans to conduct more intruder drills, in which schools go into lockdown mode and students are moved to safe areas of classrooms. The exercises will be both planned and spontaneous.

Elanco also has provided local law-enforcement agencies with electronic "swipe cards" so they can have quicker access to locked school buildings in an emergency.

Since Sandy Hook, Ephrata School District completed a "vulnerability assessment" of each of its schools to recommend changes or additions to locks, cameras and entranceways.

Next month, Pequea Valley administrators will be trained in dealing with violent intruders, including information on "counter measures" to reduce the likelihood of students or staff being shot.

Conestoga Valley staff members will participate in similar training, and the district recently added more surveillance cameras at its elementary schools, although both measures were planned before Sandy Hook.

Other districts have made changes to their security procedures and equipment but declined to share details, citing security concerns.

Every school district in Pennsylvania is required to develop safety plans detailing the procedures to be followed if an intruder gets inside a school. Most districts also have developed specific emergency response protocols with local police and other first responders.

The confidential material includes floor plans and other information about school building access points. Many school districts also provide a means for police to remotely link to a school's surveillance camera feed.

County school officials said they'll take a fresh look at those plans once they learn more details of how Lanza entered the school, his movements inside and the response of school personnel and police.

"I think we should be careful not to rush to judgment or to make any rash decisions until we have some additional facts and common-sense, researched recommendations from professionals and experts in the field," Gerry Huesken, CV superintendent, said via email.

No schools here have publicly proposed hiring armed guards — a recommendation advocated by the National Rifle Association after the Connecticut killings.

Butler County School District in northwestern Pennsylvania recently hired 22 retired state troopers as armed guards at its 14 schools, and Easton School District reportedly is considering hiring armed guards.

But officials here said they favor using trained police officers, instead of guards, despite the higher cost, because of the SROs' level of expertise and their interactions with students.

"I want a trained, uniformed real-live officer," said Fred Cummins, acting superintendent of Manheim Central School District.

SROs serve as mentors and counselors for students, developing relationships that help head off potential problems before they occur, administrators said. The officers also help schools implement and update their security plans and provide safety training for students and staff.

"SROs are well trained to understand not only the police side of things, but also how to work with students, how schools operate," Brenda Becker, Hempfield superintendent, said via email.

Currently, there are 15 police officers working in schools in nine districts, at an average cost to schools of about $75,000 per officer annually.

Manheim Central had two SROs, at the high school and middle school, until this year, when the middle school position was eliminated in a budget cut.

Cummins said he plans to discuss with the school board this month the possibility of restoring that position.

Donegal school board also is investigating whether to add a school resource officer, and Manheim Township School District has begun internal discussions about adding a second SRO.

The district has had an officer at the high school since 2009.

Spokeswoman Marcie Brody said the administration has yet to make a recommendation to the school board.

bwallace@lnpnews.com