8400 - SCHOOL SAFETY

Mechanicsburg Exempted Village School District

Bylaws & Policies

8400 - SCHOOL SAFETY

The Board of Education is committed to maintaining a safe and drug-free environment in all of the District’s schools. The Board believes that school crime and violence are multifaceted problems that need to be addressed in a manner that utilizes all available resources in the community through a coordinated effort of School District personnel, law enforcement agencies, and families. The Board further believes that school administrators and local law enforcement officials must work together to provide for the safety and welfare of students while they are at school or a school-related event or are on their way to and from school. The Board also believes that the first step in addressing school crime and violence is to assess the extent and nature of the problem(s), and then plan and implement strategies that promote school safety and minimize the likelihood of school crime and violence.

Emergency Management Plan ("EMP")

To that end, the Superintendent shall develop, and the Board shall adopt, an Emergency Management Plan ("EMP") with input from community law enforcement and safety officials, parents of students who are assigned to the building, and teachers and nonteaching employees assigned to the building.

The EMP shall be comprehensive and consider each school building under the Board's control. In developing the EMP, the Superintendent shall examine the environmental conditions and operations of each building to determine potential hazards to student and staff safety. The Superintendent shall also consider whether operating changes are needed to prevent potential danger, noting particular remediation strategies to address previously documented safety problems, if any.

The EMP will include:

	A.	protocols for addressing serious threats and emergency events that affect the safety of school property, students, employees, or administrators. These protocols will include appropriate procedures for responding to these threats and emergencies, such as notifying law enforcement, contacting specified emergency response personnel, and alerting parents;

	B.	a floor plan unique to each floor of each school building;

	C.	a site plan that includes all school property and surrounding property; and

	D.	an emergency contact information sheet.

The Superintendent shall prepare and conduct at least one annual emergency management test, in accordance with rules adopted by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). By July 1st of every year, the Superintendent shall review the EMP and certify in writing to the ODE that the EMP is current and accurate. The Superintendent shall update – and the Board shall adopt – the EMP at least every three (3) years, or earlier if a major modification to a school building requires changes to the EMP, or emergency contact information is no longer accurate and requires changes to the EMP.

Upon approval and adoption of the EMP by the Board, the Superintendent shall submit an electronic copy of the EMP to the ODE. No later than the date prescribed by ODE, the Superintendent shall also file a copy of the EMP with the following:

	A.	each law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the school building

	B.	upon request, the local fire department, emergency medical service organization, and county emergency management agency serving the area in which the school district is located

The Superintendent will also file copies of the EMP with the above agencies within thirty (30) days of the Board’s adoption of a revised EMP.

The EMP is not a public record.

The Board shall grant access to each school building to law enforcement personnel and any local fire department, emergency medical service organization, or county emergency management agency that has requested a copy of the EMP, to enable such personnel to conduct training sessions for responding to threats and emergency events affecting the School District and/or a school building. Such access shall be provided outside of student instructional hours and an employee of the Board shall be present in the building during the training sessions.

Prior to July 1st or every year, the Superintendent shall inform each enrolled student and the student's parent of the procedures to be used to notify parents in the event of an emergency or a serious threat to safety. Also, see Policy 8420 – Emergency Situations at School.

Safe and Drug Free Schools

As a part of the EMP, the Board shall verify that it has procedures in place for keeping schools safe and drug-free that include (see also, Form 8330 F15 entitled Checklist of Policies and Guidelines Addressing No Child Left Behind Act of 2001):

A.	appropriate and effective school discipline policies that prohibit disorderly conduct, the illegal possession of weapons and the illegal use, possession, distribution, and sale of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs by students;

B.	security procedures at school and while students are on the way to and from school;

C.	prevention activities that are designed to maintain safe, disciplined and drug-free environments;

D.	a code of conduct or policy for all students that clearly states the responsibilities of students, teachers, and administrators in maintaining a classroom environment that:

	1.	allows a teacher to communicate effectively to all students in the class;

	2.	allows all students in the class the opportunity to learn;

	3.	has consequences that are fair, and developmentally appropriate;

	4.	considers the student and the circumstances of the situation; and

	5.	is enforced accordingly.

Persistently Dangerous Schools

The Board recognizes that State and Federal law requires that the District report annually incidents which meet the statutory definition of violent criminal offenses that occur in a school, on school grounds, on a school conveyance, or at a school-sponsored activity. It is further understood that the State Department of Education will then use this data to determine whether or not a school is considered "persistently dangerous" as defined by State policy.

Pursuant to the Board’s stated intent to provide a safe school environment, the school administrators are expected to respond appropriately to any and all violations of the Student Code of Conduct, especially those of a serious, violent nature. In any year where the number of reportable incidents of violent criminal offenses in any school exceed the threshold number established in State policy, the Superintendent shall convene a meeting of the building administrator, representative(s) of the local law enforcement agencies, and any other individuals deemed appropriate for the purpose of developing a plan of corrective action that can be implemented in an effort to reduce the number of these incidents in the subsequent year.

The Superintendent shall make a report to the Board about this plan of corrective action and shall recommend approval and adoption of it.

In the unexpected event that the number of reportable incidents in three (3) consecutive school years exceeds the statutory threshold and the school is identified as persistently dangerous, students attending the school shall have the choice option as provided in Policy 5113.02 and AG 5113.02.

In addition, the Superintendent shall convene a meeting of the building administrator, representative(s) of the local law enforcement agencies, and any other individuals deemed appropriate for the purpose of developing a plan of corrective action that can be implemented in an effort to reduce the number of these incidents in the subsequent year.

Victims of Violent Crime

The Board further recognizes that, despite the diligent efforts of school administrators and staff to provide a safe school environment, an individual student may be a victim of a violent crime in a school, on school grounds, on a school conveyance, or at a school-sponsored activity. In accordance with Federal and State law the parents of the eligible student shall have the choice options provided by Policy 5113.02 and AG 5113.02.

R.C. 3313.536
Title IX, Section 9532 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.
Public Law 107-110