Mich. Comp. Laws § 29.19 — MI Code / Chapter 29 / Act Act-207-of-1941 / Section 29.19
Fire drills in schools and school dormitories; unrestricted emergency egress; compliance; record; minimum drills; weather conditions; tornado safety drills; location of drills; security measures; drills during lunch or recess periods; documentation of completed school safety drill; posting on website; list of scheduled drill days; limitation; protective apparatus or equipment; development of model; cardiac emergency response plan; definitions.
Status: in_force

Sec. 19.

(1) The chief administrative officer and the teachers of all schools, including state supported schools, and the owner, or owner's representative, of all school dormitories shall have a fire drill each month and ensure unrestricted emergency egress during school hours and when the school is open to the public. Each teacher in a school, including a state supported school, and the owner or owner's representative of a school dormitory shall comply with these requirements and keep a record of the drills.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a minimum of 8 fire drills is required for each school year. If weather conditions do not permit fire drills to be held at least once a month, then at least 5 fire drills must be held in the fall of each year and 3 fire drills must be held during the remaining part of the school year.

(3) A minimum of 5 fire drills is required for each school year for a school that operates any of grades K to 12. Three of the fire drills must be held by December 1 of the school year, and 2 must be held during the remaining part of the school year, with a reasonable spacing interval between each drill.

(4) A minimum of 2 tornado safety drills is required for each school year at the schools and facilities described in subsection (1). At least 1 of the tornado safety drills must be conducted during March of the school year. These drills must be conducted for the purpose of preventing injuries caused by severe weather.

(5) A minimum of 3 drills in which the occupants are restricted to the interior of the building and the building secured is required for each school year at a school that operates any of grades K to 12. At least 1 of these drills must be conducted by December 1 of the school year, and at least 1 must be conducted after January 1 of the school year, with a reasonable spacing interval between each drill. A drill conducted under this subsection must include security measures that are appropriate to an emergency such as the release of a hazardous material or the presence of a potentially dangerous individual on or near the premises. The governing body of a school shall seek input from the administration of the school and local public safety officials on the nature of the drills to be conducted under this subsection.

(6) A school that operates any of grades K to 12 shall conduct at least 1 of the drills required by this section during a lunch or recess period, or at another time when a significant number of the students are gathered but not in the classroom.

(7) For a school that operates any of grades K to 12, the governing body of the school shall ensure that documentation of a completed school safety drill is posted on its website not later than 30 school days after the drill is completed and is maintained on the website for at least 3 years. For a school operated by a school district or intermediate school district, the documentation may be posted on the district website. The documentation posted on the website must include at least all of the following:

(a) The name of the school.

(b) The school year of the drill.

(c) The date and time of the drill.

(d) The type of drill completed.

(e) The number of completed drills for that school year for each type of drill required under subsections (3) to (5).

(f) The signature of the school principal or the school principal's designee acknowledging the completion of the drill.

(g) The name of the individual in charge of conducting the drill, if other than the school principal.

(8) Not later than September 15 of each school year, the chief administrator of a school that operates any of grades K to 12, or the chief administrator's designee, shall provide a list of the scheduled drill days for the school buildings operated by the school, school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy to the county emergency management coordinator appointed under section 9 of the emergency management act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.409. A scheduled drill that is not conducted on a scheduled drill day due to conditions not within the control of school authorities, such as severe storms, fires, epidemics, utility power unavailability, water or sewer failure, or health conditions as defined by the city, county, or state health authorities, will not result in a violation of this section if the school conducts the minimum number of drills required under subsections (3) to (5), the school reschedules the drill to occur not later than 10 school days after the scheduled date of the canceled drill, and the chief administrator notifies the county emergency management coordinator of the rescheduled date for the drill. The county emergency management coordinator shall provide this information to the appropriate local emergency management coordinator appointed under section 9 of the emergency management act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.409, if any, and, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local emergency operations plans, to the department of state police district coordinator and the county sheriff for the county or the chief of police or fire chief for the municipality where the school is located, or the designee of the sheriff, chief of police, or fire chief. The information provided under this subsection is exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.

(9) A public school that operates any of grades K to 12 shall not conduct a drill required under this section at a time that would interfere with the conduct of a state-mandated assessment.

(10) The state fire marshal, a fire chief, or a firefighter in uniform acting under orders and directions of the fire chief may cause fire drills to be held in school houses, school dormitories, and other public buildings as the state fire marshal considers advisable. The state fire marshal may order the installation of other protective apparatus or equipment that conforms to recognized and approved modern practices.

(11) The department of state police emergency management and homeland security division shall develop a model to be used by a school in conducting a drill under subsection (5).

(12) Until the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, the governing body of a school that operates any of grades kindergarten to 12 shall adopt and implement a cardiac emergency response plan for the school. The cardiac emergency response plan shall address and provide for at least all of the following:

(a) Use and regular maintenance of automated external defibrillators, if available.

(b) Activation of a cardiac emergency response team during an identified cardiac emergency.

(c) A plan for effective and efficient communication throughout the school campus.

(d) If the school includes grades 9 to 12, a training plan for the use of an automated external defibrillator and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques.

(e) Incorporation and integration of the local emergency response system and emergency response agencies with the school's plan.

(f) An annual review and evaluation of the cardiac emergency response plan.

(13) As used in this section:

(a) "School" does not include a postsecondary educational institution as that term is defined in section 19a.

(b) "School dormitory" does not include a postsecondary educational institution dormitory as that term is defined in section 19a.

History: 1941, Act 207, Imd. Eff. June 16, 1941; CL 1948, 29.19; Am. 1965, Act 200, Imd. Eff. July 16, 1965; Am. 1973, Act 199, Imd. Eff. Jan. 11, 1974; Am. 1978, Act 3, Imd. Eff. Feb. 7, 1978; Am. 1998, Act 45, Imd. Eff. Mar. 30, 1998; Am. 2006, Act 187, Imd. Eff. June 19, 2006; Am. 2006, Act 337, Imd. Eff. Aug. 15, 2006; Am. 2014, Act 12, Eff. July 1, 2014; Am. 2014, Act 481, Eff. Mar. 31, 2015; Am. 2024, Act 36, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025