Brief Description: Regarding safe schools.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Rockefeller, McAuliffe, Swecker, Kastama, Regala, Weinstein, Eide, Oemig, Pridemore, Kohl-Welles, Keiser, Shin, Berkey, Murray, Kline and Rasmussen).

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education
Senate Committee on Ways & Means
House Committee on Education

Background: Under current law, the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) must establish timelines for school districts to develop individual comprehensive safe school plans. School districts are required to report progress on their comprehensive safe school plans to SPI on a periodic but undefined basis. SPI is given authority to adopt rules for implementation.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) is required to create and operate a statewide first responder building and mapping information system. Beginning in 2003, the Washington Legislature has provided funding through WASPC to map and assess the security of schools in Washington.
                  
In 2003, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 called for the establishment of a single, comprehensive National Incident Management System (NIMS). Federal preparedness assistance funding for state and local governments is dependent on NIMS compliance. A school district is considered local government. One of the NIMS implementation requirements is to use the Incident Command System (ICS), which provides a common organizational structure for the immediate response to emergencies and coordination of personnel and equipment at the site of an incident. Currently, the Association of Washington School Principals, the Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD), and SPI are providing NIMS and ICS training to school administrators.

Summary: Schools and school districts are required to adopt, by September 1, 2008, and implement a safe school plan, consistent with the school mapping information system. Each plan must include required school safety policies and procedures; address emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; include provisions for assisting and communicating with students and staff; comply with training guidance provided by EMD; require the building principal to be ICS certified; consider how schools can be used in the event of a community-wide emergency; and set guidelines for requesting local emergency management agencies to meet with school districts annually.

School districts are required to annually update their safe school plans; inventory hazardous materials; update the school mapping information system, which includes identifying staff members trained on NIMS or ICS and identifying school transportation emergency procedures; and provide information to all staff on the use of emergency supplies and alert procedures. This information must be reported to WASPC. School districts are encouraged to work with emergency management agencies to conduct one tabletop exercise, one functional exercise, and two full-scale exercises within a four-year period.

Schools are required to conduct no less than one safety-related drill each month, which includes a drill using the school mapping information system, a drill for lockdowns, a drill for shelter-in-place, and six fire drills. Schools should also consider drills for earthquakes, tsunamis, or other high-risk local events. Such drills should be documented. The required safety-related drills are intended to satisfy all federal requirements for comprehensive school emergency drills and evacuations.

Educational service districts (ESDs) are encouraged to apply to federal emergency response and crisis management grants with the assistance of SPI and EMD.

A task force on gangs in schools is created to examine adult and youth gang activities that are affecting school safety. The task force will annually report its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the Legislature starting December 1, 2007.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      47   0
House      97   0   (House amended)
Senate            (Senate refused to concur)
House      98   0   (House amended)
Senate      49   0   (Senate concurred)

Effective:   July 22, 2007