Rockford board approves districtwide emergency operations plan, schedules student and staff training

The Rockford Public Schools Board voted to approve the district's updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) as presented at the regular meeting. The plan aligns each building's procedures with the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety template and sets a training schedule for staff and students ahead of the state's October 2026 implementation deadline for standardized response language.

The plan matters because it standardizes emergency terminology and training across Rockford schools and with local public-safety partners, which administrators said will reduce confusion during incidents and improve coordination with law enforcement and fire services. District staff said the plan will be submitted to the state before the January 2026 deadline.

Scott Beckman, the district's executive director for school safety, reviewed the changes and timeline. "So every, 2 years on January of even number of years, school districts are required to submit, reviewed emergency operations plans to the Michigan Department of Education," Beckman told the board. He said Rockford began using the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety template in January 2025 and completed internal reviews this summer.

The plan adopts the I Love You Guys Foundation standard response protocol, which uses five standardized terms for emergencies: "hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate, and shelter." "The 5 that are currently required by the state are hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate, and shelter," Beckman said, adding that the district rolled the staff training out on Aug. 20 and will provide age-appropriate lessons to students in the coming months.

Beckman said the template was circulated to building administrators, law enforcement jurisdictions, fire chiefs and the Kent County Emergency Manager's Office for review and signature. He told the board the district's behavioral threat assessment and management team, housed in special services, already meets the state's requirement and will continue to lead threat-assessment work.

Board members asked how drills and refresher training will be maintained. Beckman said the state requires drills during the year and that school resource officers, security and administrative staff are qualified instructors. "The plan is every single year, September, October, November, there is going to be that whole process in place," he said. Parents will receive a link to a parent handout and a letter before student training begins.

The board moved and approved the EOP as presented. The vote was taken by voice; board members indicated assent. The approved plan will be submitted to the state per the January 2026 deadline and the district will publish posters and parent resources about the standard response language.

The district also noted that completed EOP documents are exempt from public disclosure under the current law because they contain details about building security procedures. The board meeting transcript records additional operational details and questions from members about volunteer training at events and the district's relationship with state office resources.

The superintendent said the security office and school resource officers remain available to answer questions from families.

Ending: The board accepted the EOP and asked administrators to continue updates as the state issues additional guidance and to notify the board before the district submits the final documents to the Michigan Department of Education.