EDU-20-11-00001-P District-Wide School Safety Plans and Building-Level School Safety Plans

5/18/11 N.Y. St. Reg. EDU-20-11-00001-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXIII, ISSUE 20

May 18, 2011

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. EDU-20-11-00001-P

District-Wide School Safety Plans and Building-Level School Safety Plans

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

Amendment of section 155.17 of Title 8 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Education Law, sections 207, 305 and 2801-a

Subject:

District-wide school safety plans and building-level school safety plans.

Purpose:

To amend the content requirements of each plan to reflect current confidentiality requirements and concerns.

Text of proposed rule:

Subdivision (e) of section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective August 10, 2011, as follows:

(e) School safety plans. District-wide school safety plans and building-level school safety plans shall be designed to prevent or minimize the effects of serious violent incidents and 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) the identification of sites of potential emergency;

(ii) except in a school district in a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, a description of plans for taking the following actions in response to an emergency where appropriate:

(a) school cancellation;

(b) early dismissal;

[(c) evacuation;

(d) sheltering;]

(iii) policies and procedures for responding to implied or direct threats of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel and visitors to the school;

(iv) policies and procedures for responding to acts of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel and visitors to the school, including consideration of zero-tolerance policies for school violence;

(v) appropriate prevention and intervention strategies, such as:

(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 de-escalate potentially violent situations, and are effectively and fairly recruited;

(b) nonviolent conflict resolution training programs;

(c) peer mediation programs and youth courts; and

(d) extended day and other school safety programs;

(vi) policies and procedures for contacting appropriate law enforcement officials in the event of a violent incident;

(vii) 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;

(viii) 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;

(ix) 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;

(x) 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;

(xi) 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;

(xii) policies and procedures relating to school building security, including, where appropriate, the use of school safety officers and/or security devices or procedures;

(xiii) 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, parents and other persons in parental relation to students of the school district or board, students and other persons deemed appropriate to receive such information;

(xiv) policies and procedures for annual multi-hazard school safety training for staff and students;

(xv) procedures for review and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan, including the use of tabletop exercises, in coordination with local and county emergency responders and preparedness officials;

(xvi) the identification of appropriate responses to emergencies, including protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intrusions and kidnappings;

(xvii) strategies for improving communication among students and between students and staff and 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;

(xviii) a description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school safety personnel, the training required of all personnel acting in a school security capacity, and the hiring and screening process for all personnel acting in a school security capacity;

(xix) 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[; and

(xx) 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].

(2) School emergency response plan. A school building emergency response plan shall be developed by the building-level school safety team and shall include the following elements:

(i) policies and procedures for the safe evacuation of students, teachers, other school personnel and visitors to the school in the event of a serious violent incident or other emergency which may occur before, during or after school hours, which shall include the description of plans of action for evacuation and sheltering, 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) procedures for assuring that crisis response, fire and law enforcement officials have access to floor plans, blueprints, schematics or other maps of the school interior, school grounds and road maps of the immediate surrounding area;

(iv) establishment of internal and external communication systems in emergencies;

(v) definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the National [Interagency] Incident Management System (NIMS)/Incident Command System (ICS);

(vi) coordination of the school safety 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 and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan, including the use of tabletop exercises, in coordination with local and county emergency responders and preparedness officials;

(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.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Chris Moore, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Bldg., Rm. 148, Albany, NY 12234, [phone]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

John B. King, Senior Deputy Commissioner of P-12, State Education Department, Office of P-12 Education, State Education Building, Room 125, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Regulatory Impact Statement

1. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Section 207 of the Education Law empowers the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the laws of the State regarding education and the functions and duties conferred on the State Education Department by law.

Subdivisions (1) and (2) of section 305 of the Education Law grants the Commissioner of Education, as chief executive officer of the State system of education and of the Board of Regents, general supervisory authority over all schools and institutions subject to the provisions of the Education Law, or of any statute relating to education.

Section 2801-a of the Education Law requires that every school district, board of cooperative educational services (BOCES) and county vocational education extension board, as well as the Chancellor of the City School District of the City of New York, develop a district-wide school safety plan and building-level school safety plans regarding crisis intervention and emergency response ("school emergency response plan"). Section 2801-a further grants the Commissioner of Education general supervisory authority over the implementation of and compliance with these requirements.

Section 2801-a of the Education Law prescribes the minimum content requirements of the district-wide safety plan and school emergency response plan and authorizes the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Superintendent of the State Police and any other appropriate State agency to develop the form in which the plans shall be developed. Section 2801-a also requires that each district-wide school safety plan be filed with the Commissioner of Education no later than thirty days after adoption and that each building-level safety plan be filed with the appropriate local law enforcement agency and State Police within thirty days from adoption. Section 2801-a further provides that each school emergency response plan will be kept confidential and prohibited from disclosure pursuant to Article VI of the Public Officers Law, the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

2. LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:

The proposed amendment to section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is consistent with the authority conferred by the above statutes, and is necessary to implement the requirements of developing a district-wide school safety plan and school emergency response plan in accordance with current confidentiality requirements and concerns.

3. NEEDS AND BENEFITS:

The proposed amendment will update the content requirements of the district-wide school safety plan and the emergency response plan to address certain confidentiality requirements and concerns. Currently, under Education Law § 2801-a, each school emergency response plan must be kept confidential and is not subject to disclosure under FOIL in order to ensure the safety of students, staff and the public. Under existing provisions of the Commissioner's regulations, each school district and BOCES, excluding a City School District in the City of New York, must include in its district-wide school safety plan, a description of the plans of evacuation and sheltering in response to an emergency. Additionally, under the regulations, each school district must include in its district-wide school safety plan information on school population, number of staff, transportation needs and the business and home telephone numbers of key officials of each educational agency within such district.

The proposed amendment will merely require that certain information currently being disclosed in the district-wide school safety plan, such as school officials' home telephone numbers, now be included in the school emergency response plan, which is not made available to the public. This amendment will also clarify that the school emergency response plan is building specific in that it will provide, in pertinent part, that "[a] school building emergency response plan shall be developed by the building-level school safety team." For further clarification, it will also specifically provide that any plans of evacuation and sheltering will be included in the emergency response plan in addition to any other policies and procedures for evacuation currently required to be included in such plan.

Since the adoption of this regulation, various emergency and critical events have occurred, including that attacks on September 11, 2001. This amendment will ensure that confidential information including the home telephone numbers of local education officials and the tactical strategies for responding to critical events such as building evacuation and sheltering are not included in any publicly available document. If disclosed, this information could threaten the safety of students, staff and the public. Therefore, this amendment is needed.

4. COSTS:

(a) Costs to State government: The proposed amendment is not expected to impose any additional costs on State government.

(b) Cost to local government: Under existing law and regulations, each school district, BOCES and county vocational education and extension board is currently required to develop a district-wide school safety plan by and through a district-wide school safety team, and to develop emergency response plans by and through a building-level school safety team. This amendment will merely require that certain information currently being disclosed in the district-wide school safety plan now be included in the school emergency response plan, which is not made available to the public. The proposed amendment will not impose any new costs on local government.

(c) Cost to private regulated parties: None.

(d) Cost to the regulatory agency: See Cost to State Government above.

5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:

The proposed amendment is not expected to impose any significant program, service, duty or responsibility upon local governments.

6. PAPERWORK:

Each school district and BOCES must submit its district-wide school safety plan to the Commissioner of Education and all building-level school safety plans must be submitted to local law enforcement and the State Police. The proposed amendment is not anticipated to impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements beyond those already required by law and regulation.

7. DUPLICATION:

The proposed amendment does not duplicate other existing State or federal requirements.

8. ALTERNATIVES:

The proposed amendment is necessary to update the content requirements of the district-wide school safety plan and emergency response plan to address current confidentiality requirements and concerns. Given the nature of the amendment, there were no viable alternatives.

9. FEDERAL STANDARDS:

There are no federal standards applicable to this amendment.

10. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE:

It is anticipated that school districts and BOCES will be able to achieve compliance with the proposed amendment by its effective date.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

1. EFFECT OF RULE:

The proposed amendment applies to each school district, BOCES and county vocational education and extension board within the State.

2. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS:

The proposed amendment merely updates the content requirements of the district-wide school safety plan and the emergency response plan to address certain confidentiality requirements and concerns. Currently, under Education Law § 2801-a, the building-level school safety plan ("school emergency response plan") must be kept confidential and is not subject to disclosure under FOIL in order to ensure the safety of students, staff and the public. Under existing provisions of the Commissioner's regulations, each school district and BOCES, excluding a city school district in the city of New York, must include in its district-wide school safety plan, a description of the plans of evacuation and sheltering in response to an emergency, and each school district must include in such plan, information on school population, number of staff, transportation needs and the business and home telephone numbers of key officials of each educational agency within such district.

The proposed amendment will merely require that certain information currently being disclosed in the district-wide school safety plan, such as school official's home numbers, be included in the school emergency response plan, which is not made available to the public. Accordingly, it is anticipated that this amendment will not impose any additional reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements associated with developing and implementing these plans.

3. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

The proposed amendment imposes no additional professional service requirements on school districts or BOCES.

4. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed amendment does not impose any additional, significant costs on school districts or BOCES. The proposed amendment will merely require that certain information, such as local education officials' home telephone numbers, be included in the emergency response plan, which is confidential, rather than the district-wide school safety plan, which is made publicly available.

5. ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL FEASIBILITY:

The proposed amendment does not impose any technological requirements on school districts or BOCES. Economic feasibility is addressed under the Costs section above.

6. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The proposed amendment is necessary to protect the safety of students, staff and the public. It will not impose any additional costs or compliance requirements on school districts or BOCES.

7. SMALL BUSINESS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION:

Comments on the proposed rule may be solicited from school districts through the offices of the district superintendents of each supervisory district in the State, and from the chief school officers of the five big city school districts.

Rural Area Flexibility Analysis

1. TYPES AND ESTIMATED NUMBER OF RURAL AREAS:

The proposed amendment applies to all school districts in the State, including those located in the 44 rural counties with less than 200,000 inhabitants and the 71 towns in urban counties with a population density of 150 per square mile or less.

2. REPORTING, RECORDKEEPING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

The proposed amendment will update the content requirements of the district-wide school safety plan and the emergency response plan to address certain confidentiality requirements and concerns. Currently, under Education Law § 2801-a, each school emergency response plan must be kept confidential and is not subject to disclosure under FOIL in order to ensure the safety of students, staff and the public. Under existing provisions of the Commissioner's regulations, each school district and BOCES, excluding a City School District in the City of New York, must include in its district-wide school safety plan, a description of the plans of evacuation and sheltering in response to an emergency.

Additionally, under the regulations, each school district must include in its district-wide school safety plan information on school population, number of staff, transportation needs and the business and home telephone numbers of key officials of each educational agency within such district. It is anticipated that this amendment will impose no additional reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements associated with developing and implementing these plans. The proposed amendment imposes no additional professional service requirements on school districts.

3. COMPLIANCE COSTS:

The proposed amendment does not impose any significant costs on school districts or BOCES. School districts are currently required to develop these safety plans. The amendment merely requires that certain information currently disclosed in the district-wide safety plan be included in the school emergency response plan, which is confidential.

4. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:

The proposed amendment is necessary to protect the safety of students, staff and the public. It will not impose any additional costs or compliance requirements on school districts or BOCES.

5. RURAL AREA PARTICIPATION:

It is expected that comments on the proposed amendment will be solicited from the Department's Rural Advisory Committee, whose membership includes school districts located in rural areas.

Job Impact Statement

The proposed amendment merely updates the content requirements of the district-wide school safety plan and the emergency response plan currently required to be developed by school districts and BOCES in order to address certain confidentiality requirements and concerns. Because it is evident from the nature of the proposed amendments that there will be no impact on jobs or employment opportunities, no further steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a job impact statement is not required and one has not been prepared.