2023 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. District-wide school safety teams shall
consider, as part of its  reviews  of  the  comprehensive  district-wide
safety  plan,  the installation of a panic alarm system. For purposes of
this paragraph, "panic alarm system" shall mean a silent security system
signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal
a life-threatening or emergency  situation  requiring  a  response  from
local  law enforcement or, in the case of a school building located in a
municipality in  which  there  is  no  municipal  police  department,  a

location  designated  by  the  superintendent  of  state  police and may
include one or more of the following: wired  panic  button  or  buttons,
wireless panic button or buttons or a mobile or computer application;
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 which may include the installation of a panic alarm system;
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.