Chapter 04-103

2004 -- H 7305 SUBSTITUTE A

Enacted 06/16/04

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - - HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS

Introduced By: Representatives Anguilla, Amaral, Dennigan, and Malik

Date Introduced: January 21, 2004

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-21-24 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-21 entitled "Health

and Safety of Pupils" is hereby amended to read as follows:

16-21-24. Requirements of school safety plans, school emergency response plans,

and school crisis response plans. -- (a) School safety plans, as required by this chapter, shall

include and address, but not to be limited to, the following policies and procedures:

      (1) Policies and procedures for responding to violence by students, teachers, other school

personnel as well as visitors to the school;

      (2) Policies and procedures for responding to acts of violence by students, teachers, other

school personnel and visitors to the school;

      (3) Appropriate prevention and intervention strategies which are based on data to target

priority needs and which make use of effective actions based on currently accepted best practice;

      (4) 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;

      (5) Policies and procedures for contacting appropriate law enforcement officials and

EMS/Fire, in the event of a violent incident;

      (6) Policies and procedures for notification and activation of the school crisis response

team;

      (7) Policies and procedures for contacting parents, guardians, or persons in parental

relation to the students of the city, town, or region in the event of a violent incident;

      (8) Policies and procedures relating to school building security, including where

appropriate the use of school safety officers and/or security devices or procedures;

      (9) 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,

persons in parental relation to students of the city, town, or region students and other persons

deemed appropriate to receive that information;

      (10) Policies and procedures for annual school safety training and a review of the school

crisis response plan for staff and students;

      (11) Protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intrusions, and

kidnappings;

      (12) 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; and

      (13) A description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school safety personnel,

including the school crisis response team, and the training requirements of all personnel acting in

a school security capacity.;

(14) Policies and procedures for providing notice of threats of violence or harm to the

student or school employee who is the subject of the threat. The policy shall define “threats of

violence or harm” to include violent actions and threats of violent actions either individually or

by groups, but shall not include conduct or comments that a reasonable person would not

seriously consider to be a legitimate threat;

(15) Policies and procedures for disclosing information that is provided to the school

administrators about a student’s conduct, including, but not limited to, the student’s prior

disciplinary records, and history of violence, to classroom teachers, school staff, and school

security, if they have been determined by the principal to have a legitimate need for the

information in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities and for protecting such

information from any further disclosure; and

(16) Procedures for determining whether or not any threats or conduct established in the

policy may be grounds for discipline of the student. School districts, school committees, school

officials, and school employees providing notice in good faith as required and consistent with the

committee’s policies adopted under this section are immune from any liability arising out of such

notification.

      (b) School safety plans, as required by this chapter, shall further include school

emergency response plans specific to each school building contained within each city, town, or

regional school district. School emergency response plans shall include, and address, but not be

limited to, the following elements:

      (1) Policies and procedures for the safe evacuation of students, teachers, and other school

personnel as well as visitors to the school in the event of a serious violent incident or other

emergency, which shall include evacuation routes and shelter sites and procedures for addressing

medical needs, transportation, and emergency notification to persons in parental relation to a

student. For purposes of this subdivision, "serious violent incident" means an incident of violent

criminal conduct that is, or appears to be, life threatening and warrants the evacuation of students

and/or staff;

      (2) Designation of an emergency response team comprised of school personnel, local law

enforcement officials, and representatives from local regional and/or state emergency response

agencies, other appropriate incident response teams including a school crisis response team, and a

post-incident response team that includes appropriate school personnel, medical personnel,

mental health counselors, and others who can assist the school community in coping with the

aftermath of a violent incident;

      (3) Procedures for assuring that crisis response and law enforcement officials have

access to floor plans, blueprints, schematics, or other maps of the school interior and school

grounds, and road maps of the immediate surrounding area;

      (4) Establishment of internal and external communication systems in emergencies;

      (5) Definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the national

interagency incident management system/incident command system;

      (6) Procedures for review and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test

components of the emergency response plan; and

      (7) 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.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00968/SUB A/2

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