SB 824

Under the bill, the requirements related to school safety plans that apply to

school boards and governing bodies of private schools also apply to operators of

independent charter schools. Specifically, under the bill, an operator of an

independent charter school must do the following:

1. Have in effect a school safety plan that includes a) an individualized safety

plan for each school building and facility that is regularly occupied by pupils; b)

general guidelines specifying procedures for emergency prevention and mitigation,

preparedness, response, and recovery; c) guidelines and procedures to address school

violence and attacks, threats of school violence and attacks, bomb threats, fire,

weather-related emergencies, intruders, parent-student reunification, and threats

to extracurricular events; and d) a process for reviewing the methods for conducting

drills required to comply with the safety plan.

2. Review and approve the school safety plan at least once every three years

after the plan goes into effect

3. Upon the creation and review of the school safety plan, submit blueprints of

each charter school building and facility to local law enforcement and to the Office

of School Safety in the Department of Justice.

4. Annually, conduct a drill at each school building regularly occupied by pupils

to practice the proper response to a school violence event in accordance with the

school safety plan in effect for that school building.

5. File a copy of the school safety plan with the OSS.

The bill also reduces the frequency with which school boards, private schools,

and independent charter schools must submit school safety plans to the OSS. Under

current law, school safety plans must be submitted to the OSS annually. Under the

bill, school safety plans must be submitted to the OSS at least once every three years

and following a modification to the school safety plan.

Finally, under the bill, the OSS must annually review a random sampling of

school safety plans and provide feedback to the school board, independent charter

school, or private school that submitted the plan on whether the school safety plan

complies with state law and, if applicable, how to improve the school safety plan.