Syosset Central School District officials presented an updated district-wide school safety plan at the July meeting and opened a 30-day public review period, with the board scheduled to consider the plan at an August 25 meeting and post an approved version on the district website on August 26.

Mister Kuranishi, assistant superintendent for human resources and the district’s chief emergency officer, told the board, “These plans are designed to protect families and staff by addressing emergency prevention, response and recovery.” He said the district updated its plan to reflect New York State Education Department guidance and best practices and that the district continues to coordinate with local law enforcement, including the Nassau County Second Precinct.

Presenters described prevention, mitigation, protection, response and recovery components. Prevention measures detailed in the presentation include mandatory staff trainings (including mental health training and workplace violence prevention), building walkthroughs with local law enforcement, threat-assessment training for designated staff, and anonymous reporting tools such as Sandy Hook Promise. Ms. Goldthwait, assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services, said the district has trained at least 10–12 staff members per building in its prevention program and that a trained threat-assessment team completed three days of intensive training with clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Kostas Katsebakis.

The presentation noted operational security measures already in place: exterior doors locked during the school day, electronic automatic classroom door locks, visitor management and sign-in at main entrances, district-issued staff identification badges, and a security staff composed of former law-enforcement personnel. The district uses the GoGuardian program for digital monitoring of devices connected to the school network and reported it engaged a private firm described in the presentation as Covert Investigations to advise and lead parts of the security team.

Procedural details in the presentation include the requirement that the district conduct 12 drills annually, including eight drills and two lockdown drills before Dec. 1, and that drills be conducted in a trauma-informed manner to avoid tactics that could re-traumatize students or staff (for example, avoiding the use of props or actors that simulate violence). The presenters said the district notifies families in advance of lockdown drills and provides staff and students advance notice before a drill begins.

After the presentation, Ms. Abramson suggested the district prepare a backup plan for direct student communications in an emergency given changes to cell phone and Wi‑Fi systems. Dr. Park urged continued collaboration with the Town of Oyster Bay on residency and related enforcement matters that can affect operations. The presenters directed the public to submit comments on the safety plan during the 30-day review to the district security email address; the presentation listed security@SASatschools.org in the transcript, and the district website referenced during the meeting is syosetschools.org. The board plans to present the plan for consideration on Aug. 25 and, if approved, post and submit the plan to the New York State Education Department and local law enforcement on Aug. 26.

No formal vote to adopt the plan occurred at the July meeting; the board scheduled the plan for public review and a future vote.