Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024
Section 155.17 - [Effective until 7/1/2025] School safety plans(a) Development of school safety plans. By September first of each school year, every board of education of a school district, every board of cooperative educational services and county vocational education and extension board, and the chancellor of the City School District of the City of New York shall adopt a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan and building-level emergency response plans regarding crisis intervention and emergency response and management, and commencing with the 2023-2024 school year district-wide school safety plans shall include plans for the provision of remote instruction during any emergency school closure, provided that in the City School District of the City of New York, such plans shall be adopted by the chancellor of the city school district. Such plans shall be developed by a district-wide school safety team and a building-level emergency response team, as such terms are defined in subdivision (b) of this section and shall be in a form developed by the commissioner in consultation with the Division of Criminal Justice Services, the superintendent of the State Police and any other appropriate State agencies. Each district-wide school safety plan and building-level emergency response plan shall be reviewed by the appropriate school safety team on at least an annual basis and updated as needed.(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) Educational agencies means public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, public and private nursery schools, approved private schools for the education of students with disabilities as defined in section 200.1(d) of this Title, and public and private schools for the education of preschool children with disabilities.(2) Superintendent means a superintendent of schools or a district superintendent of schools, as appropriate.(3) Disaster means the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, illness, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any incident, such as fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, high water, landslide, mudslide, windstorm, wave action, epidemic, air contamination, drought, explosion, water contamination, chemical accident, communicable disease outbreak, war or civil disturbance.(4) Emergency means a situation, including but not limited to a disaster that requires immediate action, occurs unpredictably, and poses a threat of injury or loss of life to students or school personnel or of severe damage to school property.(5) Emergency services organization means a public or private agency, organization or group other than a governmental agency, which provides police, fire, medical, ambulance, rescue, housing or other services for the relief of human suffering, injury or loss of life or property as a result of an emergency.(6) School cancellation means a determination by school officials that a school or schools should not be in session for one or more school days due to an emergency.(7) Early dismissal means returning students to their homes or other appropriate locations before the end of the school day.(8) Evacuation means moving students for their protection from a school building to a predetermined location in response to an emergency.(9) Sheltering means keeping students in school buildings and providing them with shelter when it is deemed safer for students to remain inside rather than to return home or be evacuated.(10) Lock-down means to immediately clear the hallways, lock and/or barricade doors, hide from view, and remain silent while readying a plan of evacuation as a last resort. Lock-down will only end upon physical release from the room or secured area by law enforcement.(11) Building-level emergency response plan means a building-specific school emergency response plan that addresses crisis intervention, emergency response and management at the building level and has the contents prescribed in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.(12) Building-level emergency response planning team means a building-specific team appointed by the building principal, in accordance with regulations or guidelines prescribed by the board of education, the chancellor in the case of New York City, or other governing body. The building-level emergency response planning team is responsible for the designation of the emergency response team and the development of the building-level emergency response plan and its required components. The building-level emergency response team shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of teacher, administrator, and parent organizations, school safety personnel, other school personnel including bus drivers and monitors, community members, local law enforcement officials, local ambulance, fire officials or other emergency response agencies, and any other representatives the school board, chancellor or other governing body deems appropriate.(13) District-wide school safety plan means a comprehensive, multihazard school safety plan that covers all school buildings of the school district, BOCES or county vocational education and extension board, that addresses crisis intervention, emergency response and management, and commencing July 1, 2023, provision of remote instruction during an emergency school closure, at the district level and has the contents prescribed in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.(14) District-wide school safety team means a district-wide team appointed by the board of education, the chancellor in the case of New York City, or another governing board. The district-wide team shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the school board, teacher, administrator, parent organizations, school safety personnel, and other school personnel including bus drivers and monitors. At the discretion of the board of education, or the chancellor in the case of the City of New York, a student may be allowed to participate on the safety team, provided however, that no portion of a confidential building-level emergency response plan shall be shared with such student nor shall such student be present when details of a confidential building-level emergency response plan or confidential portions of a district-wide emergency response strategy are discussed.(15) Emergency response team means a building-specific team designated by the building-level emergency response planning team that is comprised of school personnel, law enforcement officials, fire officials, and representatives from local, regional, and/or State emergency response agencies and assists the school community in responding to a violent incident or emergency. In a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, such emergency response team may be created on the district level with building-level participation, and such district shall not be required to establish a unique team for each of its schools.(16) Post-incident response team means a building-specific team designated by the building-level emergency response planning team that includes appropriate school personnel, medical personnel, school health professionals as defined in section 902 of the Education Law, mental health counselors, and others who can assist the school community in coping with the aftermath of a violent incident or emergency. In a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, such a post-incident response team may be created on the district level with building-level participation, and such district shall not be required to establish a unique team for each of its schools.(17) School safety plan means a district-wide school safety plan or a building-level emergency response plan.(18) Serious violent incident means an incident of violent criminal conduct that is or appears to be, life-threatening and warrants the immediate response by students and/or staff because of an imminent threat to their safety or health, including, but not limited to riot, hostage-taking kidnapping and/or the use or threatened use of a firearm, explosive, bomb, incendiary device, chemical or biological weapon, knife or other dangerous instrument capable of causing death or serious injury.(19) Panic alarm system means a silent security system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation requiring a response from local law enforcement or, in the case of a school building located in a municipality in which there is no municipal police department, a location designated by the superintendent of state police and may include one or more of the following: wired panic button or buttons, wireless panic button or buttons or a mobile or computer application.(20) Trauma means an emotional response to a deeply distressing or disturbing experience such as, but not limited to, an act of violence, natural disaster, abuse, neglect, or loss.(21) Trauma-informed means an understanding of trauma and how it affects the physical, emotional, and mental health of students and adults.(22) Trauma-informed drills mean avoiding tactics in training or drills that may introduce or activate trauma, such as the use of props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting, incident of violence, or other emergency, or inclusion of developmentally or age-inappropriate content. Drills may inadvertently prompt a negative emotional or psychological response in staff or students because of previous exposure(s) to trauma.(c) District-wide school safety plans and building-level emergency response plans. District-wide school safety plans and building-level emergency response plans shall be designed to prevent or minimize the effects of violent incidents, declared state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease or local public health emergency declaration and other emergencies and to facilitate the coordination of schools and school districts with local and county resources in the event of such incidents or emergencies. (1) District-wide school safety plans. A district-wide school safety plan shall be developed by the district-wide school safety team and shall include, but not be limited to: (i) policies and procedures for responding to implied or direct threats of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel including bus drivers and monitors, and visitors to the school, including threats by students against themselves, which for this subdivision shall include suicide;(ii) policies and procedures for responding to acts of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel, bus drivers and monitors, and visitors to the school, including consideration of zero-tolerance policies for school violence;.(iii) appropriate prevention and intervention strategies, which may include: (a) collaborative arrangements with State and local law enforcement officials, designed to ensure that school safety officers and other security personnel are adequately trained, including being trained to deescalate potentially violent situations, and are effectively and fairly recruited;(b) where applicable, the establishment and/or participation of, school or district staff in a multi-disciplinary behavioral assessment team to assess whether certain exhibited behaviors or actions need intervention or other support, including a school or district-level behavioral assessment team or, if available, a county or regional threat assessment team. Where such teams are utilized, the district-wide school safety plan shall describe the school, district, or county team and its purpose, and annual staff training on safety and emergency procedures shall include information regarding the purpose and procedures of such team.(c) nonviolent conflict resolution training programs;(d) peer mediation programs and youth courts; and(e) extended day and other school safety programs;(iv) policies and procedures for contacting appropriate law enforcement officials in the event of a violent incident;(v) except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, a description of the arrangements for obtaining assistance during emergencies from emergency services organizations and local governmental agencies;(vi) except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, the procedures for obtaining advice and assistance from local government officials, including the county or city officials responsible for implementation of article 2-B of the Executive Law;(vii) except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, the identification of district resources which may be available for use during an emergency;(viii) except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, a description of procedures to coordinate the use of school district resources and manpower during emergencies, including identification of the officials authorized to make decisions and of the staff members assigned to provide assistance during emergencies;(ix) policies and procedures for contacting parents, guardians or persons in parental relation to the students of the district in the event of a violent incident or an early dismissal or emergency school closure;(x) policies and procedures for contacting parents, guardians or persons in parental relation to an individual student of the district in the event of an implied or direct threat of violence by such student against themselves, which for the purposes of this subdivision shall include suicide;(xi) policies and procedures relating to school building security, including, where appropriate: a. the use of school safety or security officers and/or school resource officers. Beginning with the 2019-20 school year, and every school year thereafter, every school shall define the areas of responsibility of school personnel, security personnel and law enforcement in response to student misconduct that violates the code of conduct. A school district or charter school that employs, contracts with, or otherwise retains law enforcement or public or private security personnel, including school resource officers, shall establish a written contract or memorandum of understanding that is developed with stakeholder input, including, but not limited to, parents, students, school administrators, teachers, collective bargaining units, parent and student organizations and community members, as well as probation officers, prosecutors, defense counsels and courts that are familiar with school discipline. Such written contract or memorandum of understanding shall define the relationship between a school district or charter school, school personnel, students, visitors, law enforcement, and public or private security personnel. Such contract or memorandum of understanding shall be consistent with the code of conduct, define law enforcement or security personnel's roles, responsibilities and involvement within a school and clearly delegate the role of school discipline to the school administration. Such written contract or memorandum of understanding shall be incorporated into and published as part of the district safety plan; andb. security devices or procedures. District-wide school safety teams shall consider, as part of their review of the comprehensive districtwide safety plan, the installation of a panic alarm system;(xii) policies and procedures for the dissemination of informative materials regarding the early detection of potentially violent behaviors, including but not limited to the identification of family, community, and environmental factors to teachers, administrators, school personnel including bus drivers and monitors, parents or other persons in parental relation to students of the school district or board, students and other persons deemed appropriate to receive such information;(xiii) policies and procedures for annual multi-hazard school safety training for staff and students, provided that the district must certify to the commissioner that all staff have undergone annual training by September 15, 2016 and each subsequent September 15 thereafter on the building-level emergency response plan which must include components on violence prevention and mental health, provided further that new employees hired after the start of the school year shall receive such training within 30 days of hire or as part of the district's existing new hire training program, whichever is sooner.(xiv) procedures for review and the conduct of drills, tabletop exercises, and information about emergency procedures and drills, including information about procedures and timeframes for notification of parents or persons in parental relation regarding drills and other emergency response training(s) that include students. At their discretion, schools and districts may participate in full-scale exercises in coordination with local and county emergency responders and preparedness officials. Such procedures shall ensure that: (1) Drills conducted during the school day with students present shall be conducted in a trauma-informed, developmentally, and age-appropriate manner and shall not include props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting or other act of violence or emergency.(2) At the time that drills are conducted, students and staff shall be informed that the activities being conducted are a drill. Provided, however, that students and staff shall not be informed in advance of evacuation drills.(3) Tabletop exercises may be utilized by school and district safety teams as a training resource and may include a discussion-based activity for staff in an informal classroom or meeting-type setting to discuss their roles during an emergency and their responses to a sample emergency situation.(4) Schools and districts that opt to participate in full-scale exercises in conjunction with local and county emergency responders and preparedness officials that include props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting or other act of violence or emergency shall not conduct such exercises on a regular school day or when school activities such as athletics are occurring on school grounds. Such exercises may not include students without written consent from parents or persons in parental relations.(xv) the identification of appropriate responses to emergencies, including protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intrusions and kidnappings;(xvi) strategies for improving communication among students, between students and staff and between administration and parents or persons in parental relation regarding reporting of potentially violent incidents, such as the establishment of youth-run programs, peer mediation, conflict resolution, creating a forum or designating a mentor for students concerned with bullying or violence and establishing anonymous reporting mechanisms for school violence;(xvii) in the case of a school district, except in a school district in a city having more than one million inhabitants, a system for informing all educational agencies within such school district of a disaster;(xviii) in the case of a school district, except in a school district in a city having more than one million inhabitants, a system for informing all educational agencies within such school district of a disaster or emergency school closure;(xix) the designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's designee, as the district chief emergency officer whose duties shall include, but not be limited to: (a) coordination of the communication between school staff, law enforcement, and other first responders;(b) lead the efforts of the district-wide school safety team in the completion and yearly update of the district-wide school safety plan and the coordination of the district-wide plan with the building-level emergency response plans;(c) ensure staff understanding of the district-wide school safety plan;(d) ensure the completion and yearly update of building-level emergency response plans for each school building;(e) assist in the selection of security related technology and development of procedures for the use of such technology;(f) coordinate appropriate safety, security, and emergency training for district and school staff, including required training in the districtwide school safety plan and building-level emergency response plan(s);(g) ensure the conduct of required evacuation and lock-down drills in a trauma-informed, developmentally, and age-appropriate manner that does not include props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting or other act of violence or emergency in all district buildings as required by section 807 of the Education Law; and(h) ensure the completion and yearly update of building-level emergency response plans by the dates designated by the commissioner; and(xx) ensure the development of protocols for responding to a declared state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease that are substantially consistent with the provisions of section 27-c of the Labor Law; and(xxi) beginning with the 2023-2024 school year and every school year thereafter, an emergency remote instruction plan. For purposes of this subparagraph remote instruction shall have the same meaning as defined in section 100.1(u) of this Chapter. Emergency remote instruction plans shall include: (a) policies and procedures to ensure computing devices will be made available to students or other means by which students will participate in synchronous instruction and policies and procedures to ensure students receiving remote instruction under emergency conditions will access internet connectivity. Each chief executive officer of each educational agency located within a public school district shall survey students and parents and persons in parental relation to such students to obtain information on student access to computing devices and access to internet connectivity to inform the emergency remote instruction plan;(b) expectations for school staff as to the proportion of time spent in synchronous and asynchronous instruction of students on days of remote instruction under emergency conditions with an expectation that asynchronous instruction is supplementary to synchronous instruction;(c) a description of how instruction will occur for those students for whom remote instruction by digital technology is not available or appropriate;(d) a description of how special education and related services will be provided to students with disabilities, as defined in section 200.1(zz) of this Chapter, and preschool students with disabilities, as defined in section 200.1(mm) of this Chapter, as applicable, in accordance with their individualized education programs to ensure the continued provision of a free appropriate public education; and(e) for school districts that receive foundation aid, the estimated number of instructional hours the school district intends to claim for State aid purposes for each day spent in remote instruction due to emergency conditions pursuant to section 175.5 of this Chapter.(2) Building-level emergency response plan. A building-level emergency response plan shall be developed by the building-level emergency response planning team, shall be kept confidential, including but not limited to the floor plans, blueprints, schematics, or other maps of the immediate surrounding area, and shall not be disclosed except to authorized department or school staff, and law enforcement officers, and shall include the following elements: (i) policies and procedures for the response to emergency situations, such as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, and lock-down, which shall include, at a minimum, the description of plans of action for evacuation, sheltering, lock-down, evacuation routes and shelter sites, and procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation and emergency notification to persons in parental relation to a student;(ii) designation of an emergency response team, other appropriate incident response teams, and a post-incident response team;(iii) floor plans, blueprints, schematics, or other maps of the school interior, school grounds, and road maps of the immediate surrounding area that are clearly labeled and readily understandable to first responders navigating the building and grounds. At a minimum; (a) floor plans shall include the school name and address; a key to define any symbols used; a compass indicating North as well as labels indicating building entrances/exits with alphabetic or numeric identifiers assigned (e.g. "Door A" or "Entrance 2"); windows, interior doors, room numbers, common areas and administrative offices labeled by use; location of water, gas and electrical shutoffs; location of fire alarm panels, fire sprinkler control valves, and if applicable fire department key boxes; and location of emergency and security equipment; and(b) area maps shall include the school name and address; a key to define any symbols used; a compass indicating North as well as labeled buildings, outbuildings, fields, parking lots, building entrances/exits with alphabetic or numeric identifiers assigned (e.g. "Door A" or "Entrance 2"); parking area and property entrances/exits; designated fire lanes and fire apparatus access roads, evacuation routes; street names; and emergency response areas.(iv) establishment of internal and external communication systems in emergencies which may include the installation ofa panic alarm system;(v) definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the National Incident Management System (NIMS)/Incident Command System (ICS);(vi) coordination of the building-level emergency response plan with the statewide plan for disaster mental health services to assure that the school has access to Federal, State and local mental health resources in the event of a violent incident;(vii) procedures for an annual review of the building-level emergency response plan and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test components of the building-level emergency response plan, including the use of tabletop exercises, in coordination with local, county, and state law enforcement and emergency responders and preparedness officials. The purpose of the drills is to practice staff and student actions during an emergency. Except for evacuation drills, at the time that drills are conducted, students and staff shall be informed it is a drill. All drills shall: (a) be conducted in a trauma-informed, developmentally, and age-appropriate manner and shall not include props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting, incident of violence, or other emergency;(b) occur after annual training in emergency procedures has been provided to students and staff;(c) be completed on different dates, days of the week, and during different times of the school day; and(d) parents or persons in parental relations shall be given advance notice of each drill being conducted within one week preceding any such drill.(viii) policies and procedures for securing and restricting access to the crime scene in order to preserve evidence in cases of violent crimes on school property;(ix) in the case of a school district, except in a school district in a city having more than one million inhabitants, certain information about each educational agency located in the school district, including information on school population, number of staff, transportation needs and the business and home telephone numbers of key officials of each such agency.(3)(i) Each board of education, chancellor or other governing body shall make each district-wide safety plan available for public comment at least 30 days prior to its adoption. Such district-wide plans may be adopted by the school board only after at least one public hearing that provides for the participation of school personnel, parents, students and any other interested parties. Each district shall submit its district-wide safety plan and all amendments to such plan to the commissioner, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, within 30 days after its adoption. Commencing with the 2019-2020 school year, such district-wide plans must be submitted no later than October 1, 2019, and each subsequent October 1 thereafter.(ii) Each board of education, chancellor, or other governing body or officer shall ensure that each building-level emergency response plan and any amendments thereto, is submitted to the appropriate local law enforcement agency and the State Police within 30 days of its adoption, but no later than October 1 for the 2020-2021 school year and each October 1st thereafter. Building-level emergency response plans shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under Article Six of the Public Officers Law or any other provision of law.(d) Use of school property. Each board of education and board of cooperative educational services shall cooperate with appropriate State, county and city agencies in developing agreements for the use of school-owned facilities and vehicles during a disaster. School districts and boards of cooperative educational services are required to relinquish to the appropriate State or county agencies the control and use of school transportation vehicles and facilities in accordance with county emergency preparedness plans or directives.(e) Communication liaisons. (1) Except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, each district superintendent, during a local or State emergency, shall act as the chief communication liaison for all educational agencies within the supervisory district territorial limits.(2) The superintendent of schools in the Cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, during a local or State emergency, shall act as the chief communication liaison for all educational agencies located within the city district.(f) Reporting. (1) Whenever the building-level emergency response plan is activated and results in the closing of a school building, the superintendent or their designee shall notify the commissioner as soon as possible and shall provide such information as the commissioner may require in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. In addition, school districts within a supervisory district shall provide timely notification to the BOCES district superintendent. Such information need not be provided for routine snow emergency days.(2) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, each chief executive officer shall report to the Commissioner, no later than June 30 of each school year, on a form and format prescribed by the Commissioner, the results of the survey on student access to computing devices and access to internet connectivity required pursuant to subparagraph (xxi) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of this section.(g) Instruction. Each public school superintendent and each chief school administrator of an educational agency other than a public school shall take action to provide written information, by October 1st of each school year, to all students and staff about emergency procedures.(h) Evacuation, Lockdown, and Emergency Dismissal Drills. (1) Each school district and board of cooperative educational services shall practice emergency response procedures under its district-wide school safety plan and each of its building-level emergency response plans, where possible in cooperation with local law enforcement, emergency preparedness plan officials, and other first responders as follows: (i) Evacuation drills shall be conducted with students at least eight times in each school year, six of which shall be held between September 1 and December 31 of each such year. Four drills shall be through the use of the fire escapes on buildings where fire escapes are provided or through the use of identified secondary means of egress, such as through different corridors, hallways, stairways, and exit doors. Drills shall be conducted at different times of the school day. Students shall be instructed in the procedure to be followed if a fire occurs during the lunch period or assembly, provided, however, that such additional instruction may be waived where a drill is held during the regular school lunch period or assembly. Four additional drills shall be held in each school year during the hours after sunset and before sunrise in school buildings in which students are provided with sleeping accommodations. At least two additional drills shall be held during summer school in buildings where summer school is conducted, and one such drill shall be held during the first week of summer school.(ii) Lockdown drills shall be conducted with students at least four times in each school year, two of which shall be held between September 1 and December 31 of each such year. Lockdown drills shall be conducted at different times of the school day. Pupils shall be instructed in the procedure to be followed if an emergency occurs during a lunch period or assembly, provided however, that such additional instruction may be waived where a drill is held during the regular school lunch period or assembly.(iii) One Emergency Dismissal drill shall be conducted to test emergency response procedures that require early dismissal, at a time not to occur more than 15 minutes earlier than the normal dismissal time.(2) Parents or persons in parental relations shall be notified at least one week prior to the Emergency Dismissal drill.(3) Emergency Dismissal drills shall test the usefulness of the communications and transportation system during emergencies.(4) The provisions of section 175.5(a) of this Title regarding the length of school day for State aid purposes shall not apply to school days in which less than the minimum number of hours is conducted because of an early dismissal drill pursuant to this subdivision.(i) Reports by educational agencies. Except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, the chief executive officer of each educational agency located within a public school district shall provide to the superintendent of schools information about school population, number of staff, transportation needs and the business and home telephone numbers of key officials of such educational agencies.(j) Nothing contained in subdivision (a) or (c) of this section shall prevent an educational agency from using, in part or in total, an emergency management plan previously developed in cooperation with a county or other municipality as the emergency management plan required in this section until the adoption of school safety plans as required by subdivision (b) of this section; provided, however, that all applicable requirements of this section shall be met.(k) Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner of Education or his or her designee may order emergency response actions by individual school districts in the event that the local officials are unable or unwilling to take action deemed to be appropriate by State and/or county emergency personnel in accordance with county or State emergency preparedness plans or directives.N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 8 § 155.17
Amended New York State Register September 28, 2016/Volume XXXVIII, Issue 39, eff. 9/28/2016Amended New York State Register October 23, 2019/Volume XLI, Issue 43, eff. 10/23/2019Amended New York State Register April 28, 2021/Volume XLIII, Issue 17, eff. 4/28/2021Amended New York State Register July 28, 2021/Volume XLIII, Issue 30, eff. 7/28/2021Amended New York State Register November 3, 2021/Volume XLIII, Issue 44, eff. 11/3/2021Amended New York State Register September 28, 2022/Volume XLIV, Issue 39, eff. 9/28/2022Amended New York State Register January 25, 2023/Volume XLIV, Issue 04, eff. 1/25/2023Amended New York State Register July 31, 2024/Volume XLVI, Issue 31, eff. 7/31/2024