Politics & Government

House Approves Trio of School Safety Bills

Two of the bills were sponsored by Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston).


The House of Representatives has approved bills developed by the General Assembly and the governor’s office in the wake of the Newtown, CT, shootings that are expected to markedly improve safety in Rhode Island’s schools.

Passed this week by the House were three bills that comprised the school safety legislative package announced at a State House news conference earlier this month – 2013-H 5941, sponsored by Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston), and 2013-H 5940 , introduced by Representative McNamara on behalf of Gov. Lincoln Chafee; 2013 H-5152A, sponsored by Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr. (D-Dist. 69, Bristol, Portsmouth).

The bills will require a comprehensive safety assessment by schools in conjunction with local police, fire and school safety teams; will require annual certification of schools safety plans, and call for several fire and lockdown drills in the schools during the school year.

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“The tragedy in Connecticut prompted us to move aggressively to review our current procedures and to make sure our laws and regulations are explicit in their implementation requirements,” said Representative McNamara about the legislation passed today. “The legislation we have approved will ensure that we are regularly monitoring our procedures, constantly improving them where we can and ensuring that all the lines of communication among the schools and various state agencies are open and working toward a common goal of keeping schools and the children and employees in them safe.”

Representative Gallison complimented the vote in the House for the three bills, saying that “we cannot sit by and think that what we are doing about school safety is good enough. We must act to make sure safety in our schools is the best it can be, that every appropriate step is taken to ensure the well-being of children and employees in our state’s schools.”

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Specifics of the bills approved last week:

2013-H 5941 will require all schools to perform a school safety assessment in conjunction with local police, fire and school safety teams within 30 days of passage of the legislation and every three years thereafter. The school safety assessments and school safety plans are exempt from the public records law and all meetings of the school safety team are not subject to open meetings law. When school committees are reviewing school safety plans and emergency response plans, it shall be done in executive session.

The school safety plans require formalized collaborative arrangements among school and local law enforcement and firefighters. The plan must be developed and approved by local law enforcement and fire officials. The plan also requires the use of plain and consistent language in emergencies.

2013-H 5940 (governor’s bill) requires the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education to certify annually that all school safety plans and school emergency response plans have been reviewed and updated as appropriate. School safety plans and school emergency response plans are available for public comment unless deemed confidential and school safety team meetings may be held in closed session.

2013-H 5152A aligns state law regarding fire drills with national standards set by the NFPA life safety code. Also, the education code and the fire code as applicable to schools will now be consistent. The Fire Marshal’s office has jurisdiction over the drills as schools are required to submit paperwork to the Department of Education and the State Fire Marshal’s office. Accordingly, if a school does not hold a lockdown drill it will be under the Fire Marshal’s purview for enforcement rather than the Department of Education.

Current law requires schools to conduct 15 emergency egress drills each school year, but is not specific about how they should be spaced out.  The legislation requires that they be held monthly to keep the procedures fresh in students’ minds, that one additional drill be held early in the school year so students are prepared from the start, and that at least one out of every four drills include one or more blocked exits and stairways to prepare students for that possibility. The legislation also requires that the two lockdown drills – drills during which students and teachers lock themselves in their classrooms and shelter in place – occur in September and January, so students who are new each semester are made familiar with the lockdown alert and procedure right away. Additionally, it requires that the lockdown drills be held with the participation of the local police if possible.

The legislation also changes requirements for colleges and universities and other postsecondary educational institutions, requiring two drills or rapid dismissals per semester in every school building and dormitory, plus one held the first week of summer classes if they are offered. At least one drill annually must include obstructed exits and stairways. Fire-specific drills would be required only in dormitories.

The House bills now go to the Senate for consideration. Two companion Senate bills, 2013-S 0800<http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText13/SenateText13/S0800.pdf> and 2013-S 0801<http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText13/SenateText13/S0801.pdf>, introduced by Sen. Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick), are still before the Senate Committee on Education. The third bill, 2013-S 0014Aaa<http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText13/SenateText13/S0014Aaa.pdf>, introduced by Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton), has already passed the Senate.


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