New York schools must notify parents ahead of lockdown drills, under newly amended rules
New York education officials are mandating that schools develop procedures to notify parents at least a week in advance of lockdown drills.
The change is part of new regulations set to take effect in 2024-25 requiring that the drills be conducted in “a trauma-informed, developmentally and age-appropriate manner,” according to the amended rules adopted by the state’s Board of Regents on Monday.
To some advocates and lawmakers who for years have sought changes in lockdown drill requirements out of concerns about their impact on student mental health, the amended regulations come as a welcome step. But they fall short of the full reforms that advocates sought.
Currently, New York law requires that public schools conduct at least four lockdown drills each year — a number that critics argue was arbitrarily chosen. Earlier this year, some lawmakers introduced a bill that would lower the requirement to two drills, but it didn’t pass by the end of the legislative session.
That bill included a series of provisions related to school drills — including several that were adopted by the Regents on Monday, such as the requirement that that parents and staff get advance notice and that the drills be trauma-informed, meaning they avoid tactics that could cause or trigger a traumatic response, like using props or actors to simulate a school shooting.
Read more here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/07/15/new-york-board-of-regents-amend-school-lockdown-drill-regulations/
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