Safety planning and safe school review teams
Education Code Section 32286 stipulates that:
- Each school shall adopt its comprehensive school safety plan by March 1, 2000, and shall review and update its plan by March 1, every year thereafter.
- Commencing in July 2000, and every July thereafter, each school shall report on the status of its school safety plan, including a description of its key elements in the annual school accountability report card prepared pursuant to sections 33126 and 35256.
In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech University shooting in April 2007, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell said, “School safety plans must be living documents—students and all staff members must be aware of how to effectively respond to any threat to the safety and well-being of students—from bullying to criminal or terrorist activity. I want to remind the public that schools are required to coordinate with local law enforcement, emergency services personnel, and health and social service agencies on plans for crisis preparedness and response.”1
A California Department of Education publication titled Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action (2002) provides guidelines for planning a safe school. It outlines a team-based process for identifying and addressing safety issues. The school-based team, as defined in the document, should include administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community representatives such as law enforcement officials.
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Footnote
1Jack O’Connell, Schools Chief Jack O’Connell Thanks Officials for Swift Response, Speaks About School Safety, Sacramento: California Department of Education, News Release 07-55 (April 20, 2007).