2013 -- H 5941 SUBSTITUTE A

=======

LC02121/SUB A

=======

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

____________

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Diaz, Azzinaro, Ruggiero, and Corvese

     Date Introduced: March 28, 2013

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

1-1

     SECTION 1. Sections 16-21-23, 61-21-24, and 16-21-25 of the General Laws in Chapter

1-2

16-21 entitled “Health and Safety of Pupils” are hereby amended to read as follows:

1-3

      16-21-23. School safety plans - School safety teams and school crisis response teams-

1-4

School safety plans - School safety teams, school crisis response teams, and school safety

1-5

assessments. -- (a) Each school district of each town, city, and regional school department shall

1-6

conduct a school safety assessment in conjunction with local police, fire, school safety team

1-7

pursuant to the provisions of this section 16-21-23 and any other expert said school department

1-8

deems necessary. The assessment shall examine the current status of each school building’s safety

1-9

and shall be performed within thirty (30) days of passage of this act, and every three (3) years

1-10

thereafter. Assessments performed within a year of the date of passage of this act shall satisfy this

1-11

requirement. All meetings regarding the school safety assessment are not subject to the open

1-12

meetings law pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42, and documents produced including, but not

1-13

limited to, meeting minutes and the school safety assessment are not subject to the access to

1-14

public records law pursuant to chapter 2 of title 38.

1-15

     (a) (b) The school committee of each town, city, and regional school department shall

1-16

review and adopt in executive session a comprehensive school safety plan regarding crisis

1-17

intervention, emergency response, and management. The plan shall be developed by a school

1-18

safety team comprised of representatives of the school committee, representatives of student,

1-19

teacher, and parent organizations, school safety personnel, school administration, and members of

1-20

local law enforcement, fire, and emergency personnel. Members of the school safety team shall

2-1

be appointed by the school committee and/or school superintendent of the town, city, or regional

2-2

school district. In creating the school safety plan, the school safety team(s) shall consult the

2-3

model school safety plan developed by the department of elementary and secondary education

2-4

pursuant to section 16-21-23.1.

2-5

     (b) (c) The school crisis response team shall be comprised of those selected school

2-6

personnel willing to serve as members of a psychological response team to address the

2-7

psychological and emotional needs of the school community., and may seek mental health

2-8

resources from the department of elementary and secondary education. Members of the school

2-9

crisis response team may coordinate mental health services for those students and school

2-10

employees affected by acts of violence in the schools, using resources available through the

2-11

department of elementary and secondary education.

2-12

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

2-13

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

2-14

include and address, but not to be limited to, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and

2-15

recovery. The school safety plans shall include, at a minimum, the following policies and

2-16

procedures:

2-17

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

2-18

personnel as well as visitors to the school;

2-19

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

2-20

school personnel and visitors to the school;

2-21

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

2-22

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

2-23

     (4) Collaborative arrangements with state and local law enforcement officials, designed

2-24

to ensure that school safety officers and other security personnel are adequately trained, including

2-25

being trained to de-escalate potentially violent situations, and are effectively and fairly recruited;

2-26

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

2-27

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

2-28

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

2-29

team;

2-30

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

2-31

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

2-32

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

2-33

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

3-34

     (9) Policies and procedures for the dissemination of informative materials regarding the

3-35

early detection of potentially violent behaviors, including but not limited to, the identification of

3-36

family, community, and environmental factors, to teachers, administrators, school personnel,

3-37

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

3-38

deemed appropriate to receive that information;

3-39

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

3-40

crisis response plan for staff and students;

3-41

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

3-42

kidnappings;

3-43

     (12) Strategies for improving communication among students and between students and

3-44

staff and reporting of potentially violent incidents, such as the establishment of youth-run

3-45

programs, peer mediation, conflict resolution, creating a forum or designating a mentor for

3-46

students concerned with bullying or violence, and establishing anonymous reporting mechanisms

3-47

for school violence;

3-48

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

3-49

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

3-50

a school security capacity;

3-51

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

3-52

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

3-53

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

3-54

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

3-55

consider to be a legitimate threat;

3-56

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

3-57

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

3-58

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

3-59

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

3-60

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

3-61

information from any further disclosure; and

3-62

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

3-63

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

3-64

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

3-65

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

3-66

notification.

3-67

     (1) Appropriate prevention, mitigation, preparedness and intervention strategies which

3-68

are based on data to target priority needs and which make use of effective actions based on

4-1

currently accepted best practices and once developed, the appropriate parts of the state model

4-2

plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1 that include consistent, plain language and

4-3

terminology;

4-4

     (2) Formalized collaborative arrangements with state and local law enforcement and fire

4-5

fighter officials, designed to ensure that school safety officers and other security personnel are

4-6

adequately trained, including being trained to de-escalate potentially violent situations, and are

4-7

effectively and fairly recruited;

4-8

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

4-9

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

4-10

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

4-11

crisis response plan for staff and students;

4-12

     (5) Protocols for school personnel and students responding to bomb threats, hostage-

4-13

takings, intrusions, and kidnappings that include consistent, plain language and terminology that

4-14

is recommended by the model plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

4-15

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

4-16

personnel as well as visitors to the school that include consistent, plain language and terminology

4-17

that is recommended by the model plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

4-18

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

4-19

school personnel and visitors to the school that include consistent, plain language and

4-20

terminology that is recommended by the model plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

4-21

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

4-22

EMS/Fire, in the event of a violent incident and that include consistent, plain language and

4-23

terminology that is recommended by the model plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

4-24

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

4-25

team that include consistent, plain language and terminology that is recommended by the model

4-26

plan pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

4-27

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

4-28

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

4-29

     (11) Policies and procedures for the dissemination of informative materials regarding the

4-30

early detection of potentially violent behaviors, including, but not limited to, the identification of

4-31

family, community, and environmental factors, to teachers, administrators, school personnel,

4-32

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

4-33

deemed appropriate to receive that information;

5-34

     (12) Strategies for improving communication, including use of common, consistent plain

5-35

language by school district officials, school officials and emergency responders, among students

5-36

and between students and staff and reporting of potentially violent incidents, such as the

5-37

establishment of youth-run programs, peer mediation, conflict resolution, creating a forum or

5-38

designating a mentor for students concerned with bullying or violence, and establishing

5-39

anonymous reporting mechanisms for school violence;

5-40

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

5-41

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

5-42

a school security capacity and policies and procedures for students, personnel who are in the

5-43

hallway during a lockdown situation that include consistent language and terminology that is

5-44

recommended by the department of elementary and secondary education;

5-45

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

5-46

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

5-47

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

5-48

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

5-49

consider to be a legitimate threat;

5-50

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

5-51

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

5-52

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

5-53

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

5-54

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

5-55

information from any further disclosure; and

5-56

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

5-57

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

5-58

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

5-59

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

5-60

notification.

5-61

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

5-62

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

5-63

regional school district., and shall be developed and approved in consultation with local police

5-64

and fire. The state police shall provide consultation for those school districts that for whatever

5-65

reason may not have access to local police. School emergency response plans shall include, and

5-66

address, but not be limited to, the following elements:

5-67

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

5-68

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

6-1

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

6-2

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

6-3

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

6-4

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

6-5

and/or staff;

6-6

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

6-7

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

6-8

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

6-9

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

6-10

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

6-11

aftermath of a violent incident;

6-12

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

6-13

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

6-14

and road maps of the immediate surrounding area;

6-15

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

6-16

include consistent, plain language and terminology that is recommended by the model plan

6-17

established pursuant to general laws section 16-21-23.1;

6-18

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

6-19

the national interagency incident management system/incident command system;

6-20

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

6-21

of the emergency response plan; and, including use of checklists as described in section 16-21-

6-22

23.1;

6-23

     (7) Policies and procedures created in conjunction with local or state police for securing

6-24

and restricting access to the crime scene in order to preserve evidence in cases of violent crimes

6-25

on school property.; and

6-26

     (8) Policies and procedures for ensuring timely access to mental health services for those

6-27

students and school employees affected by a violent incident.

6-28

     16-21-25. Review of school safety plans - Waiver. -- Review of school safety plans -

6-29

exemption from open meetings and public records requirements. --

6-30

     (a) Each city, town, or regional department school safety plan and school emergency

6-31

response plans shall be reviewed on an annual basis by the school committee and updated as

6-32

appropriate annually. These reviews and updates shall be completed by November 1 of any given

6-33

year, and by December 31 of that year, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education

6-34

shall report to the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, and the governor that such

7-1

reviews or updates have been completed.

7-2

     (b) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education and school committee

7-3

shall make each city, town, or regional department school safety plan and school emergency

7-4

response plan available for public comment at least thirty (30) days prior to its adoption. All

7-5

meetings of school safety teams shall comply with not be subject to and be exempt from the open

7-6

meetings law pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42., and documents produced by the school safety

7-7

teams shall not be subject to the access to public records laws as set forth in chapter 2 of title 38.

7-8

     (c) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education may grant a waiver of the

7-9

requirements of §§ 16-21-23 and 16-21-24 to any city, town, or regional school department for

7-10

period of up to two (2) years upon a finding by the commissioner that the town, city, or regional

7-11

district had adopted a comprehensive school safety plan or school emergency response plans

7-12

which are in substantial compliance with the requirements of §§ 16-21-23 and 16-21-24.

7-13

Provided, however, no waiver shall extend beyond June 30, 2003.

7-14

     SECTION 2. Chapter 16-21 of the General Laws entitled “Health and Safety of Pupils"

7-15

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

7-16

      16-21-23.1. Model school safety plans and checklists-Development and

7-17

dissemination. -- (a) It shall be the duty of the department of elementary and secondary

7-18

education to collaborate with the Rhode Island emergency management agency, state police, state

7-19

fire marshal, the department of behavioral health, developmental disabilities, and hospitals, and

7-20

other safety officials to develop a model school safety plan to be consulted by school safety teams

7-21

in accordance with section 16-21-23. This model plan shall be based on best practices in school

7-22

safety planning and the department of elementary and secondary education shall communicate the

7-23

plan electronically to all school committees and school safety teams in the state.

7-24

     (b) It shall be the duty of the department of elementary and secondary education to

7-25

develop and disseminate school safety check lists that school districts can use on a regular basis

7-26

and at least annually to assess the strengths and weaknesses of school safety in accordance with

7-27

section 16-21-24. The check lists shall incorporate best practices in school safety planning and

7-28

the department of elementary and secondary education shall communicate the plan electronically

7-29

to all school committees and school safety teams in the state.

7-30

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

=======

LC02121/SUB A

========

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS

***

8-1

     This act would direct school districts to conduct a school safety assessment in

8-2

conjunction with local municipal police and fire departments. The act would also direct the

8-3

department of elementary and secondary education to develop a model school safety plan. The act

8-4

would also amend and expand the requirements as to what must be in each school district's school

8-5

safety plan.

8-6

     This act would take effect upon passage.

=======

LC02121/SUB A

=======