School Safety Drills

The district will conduct fire (evacuation) drills and lockdown drills as required by education law and regulation and the fire code without exceptions. Schools must continue to conduct mandatory fire and lockdown drills according to the existing statutory schedule. Drills have been and will continue to be conducted in a manner that maintains social distancing at exits and gathering points outside the building, while still preparing students to respond in emergencies. 

Education Law §807 requires that schools conduct 8 evacuation and 4 lockdown drills each school year. 

East Rochester UFSD has made modifications to protocol for evacuation and lockdown drills to slow the spread of COVID-19. Regardless of the modification used when conducting a drill, students have been instructed that if it was an actual emergency that required evacuation or lockdown, the most imminent concern is to get to safety; maintaining social distancing in an actual emergency that requires evacuation or lockdown may not be possible and should not be the first priority. 

Modifications to evacuation drill protocols include, but are not limited to: 

● Conducting drills on a “staggered” schedule, where classrooms evacuate separately rather than all at once, and appropriate distance is kept between students to the evacuation site. Staggering by classroom minimizes contact of students in hallways, stairwells, and at the evacuation site. If conducting drills using a modified procedure, it is required that the drill be conducted with all students in the school building on that school day, it may be necessary to do so during a class period that is extended for this purpose; and 

●The District has ensured that all students are receiving instruction in emergency procedures, and participating in drills while they are in attendance in-person. 

Modifications to Lockdown Drills include, but are not limited to: 

● Conducting a lockdown drill in a classroom setting while maintaining social distancing and using masks; 

● Conducting lockdown drills on a “staggered” schedule with smaller numbers of students present to maintain social distancing. However, the District has ensured that all students are receiving instruction in emergency procedures and participating in drills while they are in attendance in-person; and 

● Conduct lockdown drills in classrooms without “hiding”/ “sheltering” but provide an overview of how to shelter or hide in the classroom.