Florida Senate - 2013 SB 790
By Senator Brandes
22-00490E-13 2013790__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school emergency procedures;
3 amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; defining and distinguishing
4 emergency lockdown drills from emergency evacuation
5 drills; requiring that emergency lockdown drills be
6 conducted at least as often as emergency evacuation
7 drills; encouraging local law enforcement officers or
8 fire officials to participate in and to review at
9 least one emergency lockdown drill at each school each
10 year; requiring a designated staff member to submit an
11 after-drill report to the school district after an
12 emergency drill; providing requirements for the after
13 drill report; requiring that each school annually
14 review and revise its safety policies and procedures
15 as needed; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 1006.07,
20 Florida Statutes, are reordered and amended, and subsection (6)
21 of that section is amended, to read:
22 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
23 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
24 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
25 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
26 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
27 welfare of students, including:
28 (5)(4) EMERGENCY DRILLS; EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—
29 (a) Formulate and prescribe policies and procedures for
30 emergency lockdown drills and emergency evacuation drills for
31 actual emergencies, including, but not limited to, fires,
32 natural disasters, and bomb threats, for all the public schools
33 of the district which comprise grades K-12. District school
34 board policies must shall include commonly used alarm system
35 responses for specific types of emergencies and verification by
36 each school that drills have been provided as required by law
37 and fire protection codes. As used in this paragraph, the term
38 “evacuation drill” means an activity in which students and
39 faculty practice the safest and quickest way to evacuate a
40 school facility in case of an emergency in which evacuation is
41 generally the safest option, such as in the case of a fire. As
42 used in this paragraph, the term “lockdown drill” means an
43 activity in which students and faculty practice securing a
44 school facility or rooms within the facility in case of an
45 emergency in which hiding from a hostile danger is generally
46 deemed safer than evacuating the building, such as in the case
47 of a tornado or the presence of an armed person who is
48 threatening the safety of the students or employees of a school.
49 1. The policies and procedures must require that emergency
50 lockdown drills be conducted at least as often as emergency
51 evacuation drills. This subparagraph does not require an
52 increase in the total number of emergency drills conducted at a
53 school each year.
54 2. Local law enforcement officers or fire officials are
55 encouraged to participate in, and to review, at least one
56 emergency lockdown drill at each school each year. After a
57 drill, participating law enforcement officers or fire officials
58 are encouraged to submit recommendations to the school on how it
59 can improve its safety procedures in case of an emergency
60 lockdown.
61 3. Each school shall designate the principal or a member of
62 its staff as the person responsible for overseeing a school’s
63 emergency drills. Before an emergency drill is conducted, the
64 designated staff member shall review the appropriate, most
65 recent after-drill report required under subparagraph 4.
66 4. After a drill is completed, the designated staff member
67 shall electronically submit to the school district, in a format
68 prescribed by the department, an after-drill report that details
69 the specific drill that was conducted. Such report must include
70 positive observations and recommendations for improvement
71 offered by the school or participating law enforcement officers
72 or fire officials, if any.
73 (b) The district school board shall Establish model
74 emergency management and emergency preparedness procedures for
75 the following life-threatening emergencies:
76 1. Weapon-use and hostage situations.
77 2. Hazardous materials or toxic chemical spills.
78 3. Weather emergencies, including hurricanes, tornadoes,
79 and severe storms.
80 4. Exposure as a result of a manmade emergency.
81 (4)(5) EDUCATIONAL SERVICES IN DETENTION FACILITIES.—Offer
82 educational services to minors who have not graduated from high
83 school and eligible students with disabilities under the age of
84 22 who have not graduated with a standard diploma or its
85 equivalent who are detained in a county or municipal detention
86 facility, as defined in s. 951.23. These educational services
87 must shall be based upon the estimated length of time the
88 student will be in the facility and the student’s current level
89 of functioning. District school superintendents or their
90 designees shall be notified by the county sheriff or chief
91 correctional officer, or his or her designee, upon the
92 assignment of a student under the age of 21 to the facility. A
93 cooperative agreement with the district school board and
94 applicable law enforcement units shall be developed to address
95 the notification requirement and the provision of educational
96 services to these students.
97 (6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES.—
98 (a) Use the Safety and Security Best Practices developed by
99 the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
100 Accountability to conduct a self-assessment of the school
101 districts’ current safety and security practices. Based on these
102 self-assessment findings, the district school superintendent
103 shall provide recommendations to the district school board which
104 identify strategies and activities that the district school
105 board should implement in order to improve school safety and
106 security. Annually Each district school board must annually
107 receive the self-assessment results at a publicly noticed
108 district school board meeting to provide the public an
109 opportunity to hear the district school board members discuss
110 and take action on the report findings. Each district school
111 superintendent shall report the self-assessment results and
112 school board action to the commissioner within 30 days after the
113 district school board meeting.
114 (b) By July 1, 2014, and each year thereafter, review the
115 Safety and Security Best Practices developed by the Office of
116 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability and revise
117 its policies and procedures as needed. A school district may
118 revise its policies and procedures regarding emergency drills
119 without department approval.
120 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.