BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Changes are coming to New York State school district's protocols when it comes to lockdown drills.
Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, NYS schools will have to notify parents, students and staff ahead of lockdown drills and ensure that these drills do not mimic a school shooting or another incident of violence.
The State Board of Regents approved these regulation changes earlier this week, they are aimed at reducing the mental health impact and trauma that these drills can potentially cause.
State law requires that each school must conduct at least eight evacuations and four lockdown drills each school year.
A number of opinions on this topic, which is why I spoke with a superintendent to learn a bit more about this new protocol.
"I think to do something in its most authentic form is always best," Niagara Falls City School District Superintendent Mark Laurrie said.
With that being said, Laurrie said he is aware that students are very sensitive to these types of drills.
He respects parents who feel like they need to pivot because these types of drills may be trauma-inducing, Laurrie added.
"Allowing parents to know ahead of time gives them the parental right to exclude their child from the drill, if they feel necessary, whilst still being allowed and being able to practice as many drills as we need to, to be ready for that horrible thing that could happen," Laurrie said.
He told me the drills will be conducted regardless, you can never be too prepared.
"It's a horrible thing to have to prepare for," Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization co-chair Eve Shippens said. "Honestly, in my 23 years of teaching, I have never been in a classroom that I didn't look for a hiding place or escape roots. I started teaching right after Columbine."
Shippens is also the co-chair of the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization.
The Columbine High School shooting in a Colorado school in 1999 took a heavy toll on Shippens' teaching career.
"I know, especially with children who have witnessed gun violence and have been inundated by stories their whole lives that this is very heavy on them," Shippens added. "So, for parents to be able to talk to kids about the purpose of a drill, and making sure it's age-appropriate, it just seems like the right thing to do."
She said it is very important for kids to be prepared for emergencies.
"But we do also have to keep in mind children's mental health, staff mental health, families mental health and we need to make sure that we are not doing more damage than good," Shippens said.
"It probably is a very good idea because it takes a lot of anxiety when the parents hear there's a lockdown drill. A lot of times people don't know that it's going to be a drill, and then it causes unneeded anxiety where people might freak out and run to the school," David O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell does not have kids but he does have nieces and nephews. He said a lockdown notification a week in advance is important in present-day schools.
"It's a shame that we've gotten to this point, where we have to have drills and shooters and stuff like that, but the reality is that we do," O'Donnell said. "If it saves lives, it's a good thing."
Laurrie said school districts are still waiting on final guidance. He hopes this move allows for schools and school districts to decide what their best method of messaging is, whether it be phone calls, texts, emails, etc.
