Drills are part of preparing for a variety of potential school situations. Education Code mandates the district have both fire drills and earthquakes drills (see below). The most important element for our drills is preparing staff to exercise sound judgment to keep students as safe as possible in an emergency.
All responses begin with three key elements:
Observe, Think, Act
Fire Alarm and Fire Drills - Education Code 32001
Every public, private, or parochial school building having an occupant capacity of 50 or more pupils or students or more than one classroom shall be provided with a dependable and operative fire alarm system. Every person and public officer managing, controlling, or in charge of any public, private, or parochial school shall cause the fire alarm signal to be sounded upon the discovery of fire, unless the school is equipped with an automatic fire detection, and alarm system, which may include, but for the purposes of this section is not required to include, a sprinkler system, as described in Section 17074.52. Every person and public officer managing, controlling, or in charge of any public, private, or parochial school, other than a two-year community college, shall cause the fire alarm signal to be sounded not less than once every calendar month and shall conduct a fire drill at least once every calendar month at the elementary level and at least four times every school year at the intermediate levels. A fire drill shall be held at the secondary level not less than twice every school year.
Earthquake - Education Code 32282
A drop procedure whereby each pupil and staff member takes cover under a table or desk, dropping to his or her knees, with the head protected by the arms, and the back to the windows. A drop procedure practice shall be held at least once each school quarter in elementary schools and at least once a semester in secondary schools.