The Rhode Island General Assembly passed new legislation Tuesday that aims to minimize the impact of active shooter drills on students, parents, and staff.
The law builds on the work of a study commission that was launched after several high-profile school shootings across the country.
One of the new laws says that emergency drills must be age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate. This means that drills should incorporate trauma-informed practices, and drills must include all school personnel, including school mental health professionals and substitute teachers.
The law prohibits schools from practicing active shooter simulations, which are drills that simulate an actual school shooting. However, law enforcement personnel can still practice such drills on non-school days.
The law also requires schools to develop a plan for debriefing students and staff after an incident that prompts an unscheduled emergency response. This debriefing must happen as soon as possible after the incident, and it must allow students, teachers, and staff to debrief with school mental health professionals.
Sen. Sandra Cano, D-Pawtucket, one of the bill’s main sponsors, said, “Our school drills prepare students and teachers to respond to emergencies at school, but often parents and students don’t know what to expect from these emergency drills. This legislation ensures prepares students and their parents for what these drills will have in store so that families can prepare for drills that can be scary and confusing to young children.”
The new laws now go to the Rhode Island governor’s desk.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
