Public Act 100-996 recently amended the School Safety Drill Act to require all schools in Illinois to conduct at least one (1) annual active shooter or active threat drill, effective January 1, 2019. The drill must occur within 90 days after the first day of each school year. These drills are to be conducted in order to evaluate the preparedness of school personnel and students in response to a school shooting threat, which has unfortunately become all too common in recent years.
This requirement previously provided that drills could be conducted on days and times when students were not present in the school building. Following the amendment, the Act now requires active shooter drills to be conducted on days and times when students are typically present in the school building, and the drills must involve participation from all personnel and students present at the school at the time of the drill. The Act does provide that administrators or school support personnel may, in their discretion, exempt students from participation in the drill. Finally, the Act now provides that the appropriate local law enforcement agency must observe administration of the drill.
(105 ILCS 128/20)
(c) During each academic year, schools must conduct a law
enforcement drill to address a school shooting incident. No
later than 90 days after the first day of each school year,
schools must conduct at least one law enforcement drill that
addresses an active threat or an active shooter within a school
building. Such drills must be conducted according to the school
district’s or private school’s emergency and crisis response
plans, protocols, and procedures to evaluate the preparedness
of school personnel and students , with the participation of the
appropriate law enforcement agency. Law enforcement drills
must may be conducted on days and times when students are
normally not present in the school building and must involve
participation from all school personnel and students present at
school at the time of the drill, except that administrators or
school support personnel in their discretion may exempt
students from the drill. The appropriate local law enforcement
agency shall observe the administration of the drill. All
drills must be conducted at each school building that houses
school children.
(1) A law enforcement drill must meet all of the
following criteria:
(A) During each calendar year, the appropriate
local law enforcement agency shall contact the
appropriate school administrator to request to
participate in a law enforcement drill. The school
administrator and local law enforcement agency shall
set, by mutual agreement, a date for the drill.
(A-5) The drill shall require the on-site
participation of the local law enforcement agency. If a
mutually agreeable date cannot be reached between the
school administrator and the appropriate local law
enforcement agency, then the school shall still hold
the drill without participation from the agency.
(B) Upon the participation of a local law
enforcement agency in a law enforcement drill, the
appropriate local law enforcement official shall
certify that the law enforcement drill was conducted
and notify the school in a timely manner of any
deficiencies noted during the drill.
(2) Schools may conduct additional law enforcement
drills at their discretion.
(3) (Blank).