NY Educ L § 2801-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 2 - School District Organization Article 55 - Regulation by Boards of Education of Conduct on School District Property 2801-A - School Safety Plans.

§  2801-a. School safety plans. 1. The board of education or trustees, as defined in section two of this  chapter,  of  every  school  district within  the  state,  however  created,  and  every  board of cooperative educational services and county vocational education and extension board and the chancellor of the city school district of the city of  New  York shall  adopt  and amend a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan and   building-level   emergency   response   plans   regarding   crisis intervention,  emergency  response  and management, provided that in the city school district of the city  of  New  York,  such  plans  shall  be adopted  by the chancellor of the city school district. Such plans shall be developed by a district-wide school safety team and a  building-level emergency response team established pursuant to subdivision four of this section  and  shall  be  in  a  form  developed  by  the commissioner in consultation  with  the  division  of  criminal  justice  services,  the superintendent  of  the  state  police  and  any other appropriate state agencies. The commissioner, in consultation with the  superintendent  of the  state  police,  is  authorized  to  develop an appeals process from duplicative requirements of  a  district-wide  school  safety  plan  for school districts having only one school building.   2.  Such comprehensive district-wide safety plan shall be developed by the district-wide school safety team and shall include at a minimum:   a. policies and procedures for responding to implied or direct threats of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel including  bus drivers  and  monitors,  as  well  as  visitors to the school, including threats by students against themselves, which for the purposes  of  this section shall include suicide;   b.  policies  and  procedures  for  responding  to acts of violence by students, teachers, other school personnel  including  bus  drivers  and monitors,  as well as visitors to the school, including consideration of zero-tolerance policies for school violence;   c. appropriate prevention and intervention strategies such as:  (i) collaborative arrangements with state and  local  law  enforcement officials,  designed  to  ensure  that  school safety officers and other security personnel are adequately trained, including  being  trained  to de-escalate  potentially  violent  situations,  and  are effectively and fairly recruited;  (ii) non-violent conflict resolution training programs;  (iii) peer mediation programs and youth courts; and  (iv) extended day and other school safety programs;   d. policies and procedures for contacting appropriate law  enforcement officials in the event of a violent incident;   e.  policies  and  procedures  for  contacting  parents,  guardians or persons in parental relation to the students  of  the  district  in  the event  of  a violent incident and policies and procedures for contacting parents, guardians or persons in  parental  relation  to  an  individual student  of  the district in the event of an implied or direct threat of violence by such student against themselves, which for purposes of  this section shall include suicide;   f.  policies  and  procedures  relating  to  school building security, including where appropriate the use of  school  safety  officers  and/or security devices or procedures;   g.  policies  and  procedures  for  the  dissemination  of informative materials  regarding  the  early  detection   of   potentially   violent behaviors,  including  but  not limited to the identification of family, community and environmental factors, to teachers, administrators, school personnel including  bus  drivers  and  monitors,  persons  in  parental relation  to students of the district, students and other persons deemed appropriate to receive such information;    h. policies and procedures for annual school safety training for staff and  students;  provided  that  the  district  must   certify   to   the commissioner  that  all  staff  have  undergone  annual  training on the emergency response plan, and that the  school  safety  training  include components  on  violence prevention and mental health, such training may be implemented and conducted in conjunction with  existing  professional development  and  training;  provided  however  that new employees hired after the start of the school year shall receive training within  thirty days  of such hire or as part of a district's existing new hire training program, whichever is sooner;   i.  protocols  for  responding  to  bomb   threats,   hostage-takings, intrusions and kidnappings;   j.  strategies  for improving communication among students and between students and staff and reporting of potentially violent incidents,  such as  the  establishment  of  youth-run programs, peer mediation, conflict resolution, creating a  forum  or  designating  a  mentor  for  students concerned with bullying or violence and establishing anonymous reporting mechanisms for school violence;   k.  a  description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school safety personnel, the training required of all  personnel  acting  in  a school  security  capacity, and the hiring and screening process for all personnel acting in a school security capacity;   l.  the  designation  of  the  superintendent,   or   superintendent's designee,  as  the  district  chief  emergency  officer  responsible for coordinating communication between school staff and law enforcement  and first responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safety  plan.  The chief emergency officer shall also be responsible for ensuring the completion and yearly updating of building-level  emergency response plans; and   m.  protocols  for  responding  to a declared state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease that are substantially consistent  with the provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor law.   3.  A  building  level  emergency  response  plan,  developed  by  the building-level emergency response team defined in  subdivision  four  of this  section,  shall be kept confidential, including but not limited to the floor plans, blueprints, schematics or  other  maps  of  the  school interior,  school  grounds  and  road  maps of the immediate surrounding area, and shall not be disclosed  except  to  authorized  department  or school  staff,  and  law  enforcement  officers,  and  shall include the following elements:   a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations,  such as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, and lock-down. These policies shall  include,  at  a  minimum,  evacuation  routes, shelter sites, and procedures for addressing medical needs,  transportation  and  emergency notification of parents and guardians;   b.  designation  of  an  emergency  response  team comprised of school personnel, law enforcement officials, fire officials and representatives from local regional and/or  state  emergency  response  agencies,  other appropriate  incident  response teams, and a post-incident response team that includes appropriate school personnel,  medical  personnel,  mental health  counselors  and  others  who  can assist the school community in coping with the aftermath of a violent incident;   c. floor plans, blueprints, schematics or other  maps  of  the  school interior,  school  grounds  and  road  maps of the immediate surrounding area;   d. establishment of internal and  external  communication  systems  in emergencies;    e.  definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the national interagency incident management system/incident command system;   f.  coordination  of  the  emergency response plan with the state-wide plan for disaster mental health services to assure that the  school  has access  to federal, state and local mental health resources in the event of a violent incident;   g. procedures for review and the conduct of drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan; and   h. policies and procedures for securing and restricting access to  the crime  scene in order to preserve evidence in cases of violent crimes on school property.   4. Each district-wide school safety team shall  be  appointed  by  the board  of  education,  or  the chancellor in the case of the city school district of the city of New York, and shall include but not  be  limited to  representatives  of  the  school  board, teacher, administrator, and parent  organizations,  school  safety  personnel,  and   other   school personnel  including  bus drivers and monitors. At the discretion of the board of education, or the chancellor in the case of  the  city  of  New York,  a  student  may  be  allowed  to  participate on the safety team, provided however, that  no  portion  of  a  confidential  building-level emergency response plan shall be shared with such student nor shall such student  be  present  where  details  of  a  confidential building-level emergency response plan or  confidential  portions  of  a  district-wide emergency response strategy are discussed. Each building-level emergency response   team  shall  be  appointed  by  the  building  principal,  in accordance with regulations or guidelines prescribed  by  the  board  of education, chancellor or other governing body. Such building-level teams shall  include  but  not  be  limited  to  representatives  of  teacher, administrator, and parent organizations,  school  safety  personnel  and other  school  personnel  including  bus drivers and monitors, community members, law enforcement officials, fire officials  or  other  emergency response agencies, and any other representatives the board of education, chancellor or other governing body deems appropriate.   5. The district-wide safety plan and building-level emergency response plans  shall  be  reviewed by the appropriate team on at least an annual basis and updated as needed.   6. Each board of education, chancellor or other governing  body  shall make  each  district-wide  safety  plan  available for public comment at least thirty days prior to its adoption. Such district-wide plans may be adopted by the school board only after at least one public hearing  that provides  for  the  participation of school personnel, parents, students and any other interested parties. Each district shall file a copy of its district-wide safety plan with the commissioner and  all  amendments  to such plan shall be filed with the commissioner no later than thirty days after their adoption.   7.  Each  board  of  education,  chancellor or other governing body or officer shall ensure a copy of each  building-level  emergency  response plan  and  any  amendments  thereto, shall be filed with the appropriate local law enforcement agency and with the  state  police  within  thirty days  of  its adoption. Building-level emergency response plans shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under article six of the public officers law or any other provision of law. If the  board  of education,  chancellor  or  other  governing body or chancellor fails to file such plan as required by this section, the commissioner may, in  an amount  determined  by  the commissioner, withhold public money from the district until the district is in compliance.    8. The commissioner shall annually report  to  the  governor  and  the legislature  on the implementation and compliance with the provisions of this section.   9. Whenever it shall have been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner  that  a  school  district  has  failed  to adopt a code of conduct which fully satisfies the requirements of  section  twenty-eight hundred  one  of  this  article,  or  a  district-wide  safety  plan  or building-level emergency response plans which satisfies the requirements of this section, or to faithfully and completely  implement  all  three, the  commissioner  may,  on thirty days notice to the district, withhold from the district monies to be paid to such  district  for  the  current school  year  pursuant  to  section  thirty-six  hundred  nine-a of this chapter, exclusive of monies to be paid in respect of obligations to the retirement systems  for  school  and  district  staff  and  pursuant  to collective  bargaining  agreements,  or  the commissioner may direct the district  to  expend  up  to  such  amount  upon  the  development   and implementation of a code of conduct and a school district safety plan as required by such sections. Prior to such withholding or redirection, the commissioner  shall  provide  the  district  an  opportunity  to present evidence of extenuating circumstances; when combined with evidence  that the  district  shall promptly comply within short time frames that shall be established by the commissioner as part of an agreement  between  the district and the commissioner, the commissioner may temporarily stay the withholding  or  redirection  of  funds  pending  implementation of such agreement.  If  the  district  promptly  and  fully  complies  with  the agreement  and  is  in  full  compliance  with  this section and section twenty-eight hundred one of this article, the commissioner  shall  abate the  withholding in its entirety. Any failure to meet the obligations of the  compliance  agreement  by  the  district  within  the  time  frames established  shall be considered a willful violation of a commissioner's order by the members of the district board for purposes  of  subdivision one  of  section three hundred six of the education law. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation, such transfer shall take effect  upon filing  of  a  notice  thereof  with  the director of the budget and the chairs of the senate finance and assembly ways and means committees.   10. Every school shall define the roles and areas of responsibility of school personnel, security personnel and law enforcement in response  to student  misconduct that violates the code of conduct. A school district or charter school that employs, contracts with, or otherwise retains law enforcement or public or private security  personnel,  including  school resource  officers,  shall establish a written contract or memorandum of understanding that is developed with stakeholder input,  including,  but not  limited  to,  parents,  students,  school administrators, teachers, collective  bargaining  units,  parent  and  student  organizations  and community  members,  as well as probation officers, prosecutors, defense counsels and courts that  are  familiar  with  school  discipline.  Such written  contract  or  memorandum  of  understanding  shall  define  the relationship  between  a  school  district  or  charter  school,  school personnel,  students,  visitors,  law enforcement, and public or private security personnel. Such contract or memorandum of  understanding  shall be  consistent  with  the  code  of  conduct,  define law enforcement or security personnel's roles, responsibilities and  involvement  within  a school  and clearly delegate the role of school discipline to the school administration. Such written contract  or  memorandum  of  understanding shall  be incorporated into and published as part of the district safety plan.