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"As parents, we expect our children to be safe when we send them off
to school each day," said State Fire Marshal David Foreman.
"Emergencies strike suddenly, without warning. Regular drills help
teachers and students know exactly where to go and how to get there
quickly. We hope an emergency never occurs, but when it does, we
want everyone to immediately know what to do to stay safe." Under
the School Safety Drill Act, all public and private schools are
required to conduct three evacuation drills, one bus evacuation and
one severe weather drill each school year. Although not required,
schools also are strongly encouraged to conduct a law enforcement
drill, which could include an intruder scenario or other event that
would require school officials to secure the building or implement a
reverse evacuation.
The new requirements significantly improve school emergency
preparedness by setting clear, minimum requirements and standards
for public and private school emergency planning, for the first
time. The law also requires schools to work closely with emergency
first responder agencies in conducting annual reviews of the school
emergency and crisis response plan.
"School drills are a key tool for ensuring that students and
school personnel are prepared if a disaster ever strikes," said
Foreman. "The fire services and other first responders are eager to
work with their local schools to help ensure the safety of every
child, and the School Safety Drill Act will further promote this
critical interaction between schools and their local first
responders."
By mid-September, schools were to propose potential dates in
October for an evacuation drill to be observed by their local fire
department. If needed, schools and fire departments can agree on a
date outside of October. If the school and local fire department are
unable to find a mutually agreeable date for the drill, the school
can proceed with the drill without the fire department observing.
"Given recent terrorism threats and unfortunate violent incidents
at schools nationwide, the School Safety Drill Act is an important
piece of legislation that helps to ensure our schools are prepared
for any potential emergencies that schools may face here in
Illinois," said Randy Dunn, state superintendent of education. "I
encourage all districts to work with local emergency officials and
first responders, so that we can help to ensure the safety of all
Illinois students."
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Another part of the governor's school security initiatives is
also being implemented this school year. A new "School Emergency and
Crisis Response Plan Template" was developed to provide schools with
a single, comprehensive emergency planning guide. Staff from the
Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Terrorism Task Force
and the Office of the State Fire Marshal collaborated on the updated
document, which replaced multiple, and often conflicting, guidance
documents that previously were referenced by schools.
The "School Emergency and Crisis Response Plan Template" link is
available at
http://www.isbe.net/safety/default.htm. In addition to the
school drills and new emergency planning guidance, the governor's
school security initiative included the development of training for
school district personnel to help them design, implement, and
practice crisis response and management plans. The "Multi-Hazard
Emergency Planning for Illinois Schools" training was launched in
December 2004, and to date personnel from nearly 700 public and
private schools have received that training at one of 45 one-day
sessions conducted throughout the state. The training is funded
through a grant from the Illinois Terrorism Task Force. In addition,
five "Train-the-Trainer" courses have been conducted to expand the
pool of trainers for the emergency planning course.
In October, 2004, Blagojevich announced school security
initiatives aimed at providing better protection for the state's
schoolchildren during emergencies. The governor directed the
Illinois Terrorism Task Force, the Illinois State Board of Education
and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to work with schools and
first responders to refine the maze of fire and tornado drill
statutes and regulations and ensure that school drills effectively
address the hazards facing schools in today's world.
Under the governor's leadership, the three agencies brought
together a group of organizations to write the legislation that
established minimum requirements and standards for public and
private schools to follow in emergency and crisis response plans.
House Bill 2693 was sponsored by Rep. Michael Smith, D-Canton,
and Sen. Arthur Wilhelmi, D-Aurora. Groups that worked to develop
the legislation were the Illinois Principals Association, the
Illinois Fire Services Association, the Illinois Fire Chiefs
Association, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, the Illinois Law
Enforcement Alarm System, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of
Police, the Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Association
of Regional Superintendents, the Illinois Emergency Services
Management Association and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
[News release from the
Office of the State Fire
Marshal]
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