8130 School Safety Plans & Teams
SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS AND TEAMS
Emergencies and violent incidents in schools are critical issues that must be addressed in an expeditious and effective manner. The Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to adopt and amend a comprehensive district wide school safety plan and building-level emergency response plan(s) regarding crisis intervention, emergency response and management.
Taken together, the district and building plans shall provide a comprehensive approach to addressing school safety and violence prevention, and provide the structure where all individuals can fully understand their roles and responsibilities for promoting the safety of the entire school community. The plans shall be designed to prevent or minimize the effects of serious violent incidents and emergencies and to facilitate the district's coordination with local and county resources. The plans shall also address risk reduction/prevention, response and recovery with respect to a variety of emergencies and violent incidents in district schools.
In accordance with state law and regulation, the district shall have the following school safety teams and plans to deal with crisis intervention and emergency response and management:
Comprehensive district-wide school safety team and plan
The Board will appoint a district-wide school safety team that includes, but is not limited to, a representative from the Board, teacher, administrator, and parent organizations, school safety personnel and other school personnel. This team shall be responsible for the development and review of a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan. The plan will cover all district school buildings and will address violence prevention (taking into consideration a range of programs and approaches that are designed to create a positive school climate and culture), crisis intervention, emergency response and management including communication protocols, at the district level. It will include all those elements required by law and regulation, including protocols for responding to declared state disaster emergencies involving a communicable disease that are substantially consistent with the provisions of Labor Law §27-c, and an emergency remote instruction plan.
The district-wide safety plan will include contracts or memoranda of understanding that define the relationship between the district, personnel, students, visitors, law enforcement, and public or private security personnel. These contracts or memoranda will be consistent with the Code of Conduct, and will define the roles, responsibilities, and involvement in the schools of law enforcement or security personnel. The role of school discipline will be clearly delegated to school administration.
The Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee shall be the district’s chief emergency officer and shall coordinate communication between school staff and law enforcement and first responders. The chief emergency officer shall ensure that all staff understand the district-wide school safety plan and receive annual training on the building-level emergency response plan (including all elements required by state law and regulations), violence prevention and mental health, and shall also ensure that district-wide and building-level plans are completed, reviewed annually, and updated as needed by the designated dates. The chief emergency officer shall ensure that the district-wide plan is coordinated with the building-level plans, and shall ensure that required evacuation, emergency dismissal, and lockdown drills are conducted.
Building-level emergency response teams and plans
Each Building Principal shall be responsible for appointing a building-level emergency response planning team that includes representation from teachers, administrators, parent organizations, school safety personnel, other school personnel, law enforcement officials, fire officials and other emergency response agencies. The emergency response planning team shall be responsible for the development and review of a building-level emergency response plan for each district building. The plan(s) will address response to emergency situations, such as those requiring evacuation, shelter/shelter-in-place and lockdown at the building level and will include all components required by law and regulation, including measures necessary to comply with Labor Law § 27-c to respond to public health emergencies involving a communicable disease. These confidential plans will include evacuation routes, shelter sites, medical needs, transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardians, and as of July 1, 2025, considerations for the access and functional needs of student and staff, and procedures for the reunification of students with parents/persons in parental relation following an emergency.
To maintain security and in accordance with law, the building-level emergency response plan(s) shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law or any other law.
Building-level emergency response plans will include protocols in response to carbon monoxide alarms or detection. Alarm or detection of carbon monoxide will result in the appropriate actions as described by the emergency response plan.
Within each building, the building-level emergency response planning team shall designate:
• an emergency response planning team that includes appropriate school personnel, law enforcement officials, fire officials and representatives from local, regional and/or state emergency response agencies to assist the school community in responding to a serious violent incident or emergency; and
• a post-incident response team that includes appropriate school personnel, medical personnel, school health personnel, mental health counselors and other related personnel to assist the community in coping with the aftermath of a serious violent incident or emergency.
During emergencies, staff are authorized to temporarily cover classroom door vision panels when it is likely to protect staff and students. For example, covering vision panels may prevent an intruder from determining if a classroom is occupied, thereby discouraging attempts to gain access. During emergencies, staff are also authorized to temporarily block doors to slow the access of intruders. Building-level emergency response plans must address the temporary covering of door vision panels and the temporary blocking of doors during emergencies.
The district-wide school safety plan will establish building-level multi-disciplinary behavioral assessment teams. The plan will include a description of the team and its purpose. Such team will assess whether certain exhibited behaviors or actions need intervention or other support.
Students and families shall be encouraged to bring their concerns to any district employee. Annual staff training will include information on the purpose and procedures of the team. The Building Principal is responsible for keeping the Superintendent informed about the activities of the team. Team members will receive appropriate training.
Drills
The Building Principal is responsible for conducting drills every school year of the emergency response procedures under the building-level emergency response plan including procedures for evacuation, lockdown and emergency drills as required by state regulations.
Any drill conducted during the school day with students present must be done in a trauma-informed, developmentally and age-appropriate manner, and will not include tactics intended to mimic an actual act of violence or emergency. Except for evacuation drills, at the time a drill is conducted, students and staff will be informed that it is a drill. The district will give parents or persons in parental relation advance notice (within 7 days) prior to each drill.
Team Appointments
The members of all district and building-level teams shall be appointed on an annual basis. In appointing team members, the Board and the Building Principal will make an effort to include other persons beyond those groups identified in law and policy who can contribute to ensuring continuity among the plans.
Annual Review and Report
Each plan shall be reviewed by the appropriate school safety team by July 1st every year and updated as needed. In conducting the review, the building-level teams shall consider any changes in personnel, local conditions and other factors including an evaluation of the results of the annual test of the emergency response procedures which may necessitate updating of plans. If the plan requires no changes, then it shall remain in effect. If the district-wide plan requires change, then the updated plan shall be submitted to the Board of Education in time to allow 30-days of public comment and to hold a public hearing which provides for the participation of school personnel, students and other interested parties prior to Board adoption. All plans must be adopted by the Board of Education by September 1.
The Superintendent of Schools shall be responsible for filing the district-level school safety plan and any amendments to the plan with the Commissioner within 30 days after their adoption. The district-wide plan will be posted on the district’s website. Each Building Principal shall be responsible for filing the building-level emergency response plan for his or her building and any amendments to the plan with the appropriate local law enforcement agency and the state police within 30 days after their adoption, but no later than October 15 of each year.
Cross-Ref:
0115, Bullying and Harassment Prevention and Intervention
5300, Code of Conduct
8120, Accident Prevention and Safety Procedures
8133, Bomb Threats
8134, Emergency Closings
Ref:
Education Law §2801-a (school safety plans)
Executive Law §2B (state and local natural and manmade disaster preparedness)
8 NYCRR Part 155 (Educational Facilities)
School Safety Plans Guidance, New York State Education Department, June 2010
Adoption date: November 22, 1993
Revised: September 15, 2009
Revised: September 21, 2021
Revised: March 25, 2025