School-safety policy review postponed after state guidance on active-assailant drills

The Policy 111 (School and Workplace Safety) discussion was postponed so staff can incorporate recent state guidance on drills and related requirements.

Staff told the committee that new legislation and guidance from the Maryland Center for School Safety address active-assailant and lockdown drills and require school systems to survey students, parents, staff and administrators after such drills. Because of the new guidance, staff recommended delaying final edits to Policy 111 and the planned decommissioning/merger of Policy 410 until the March policy committee meeting to allow the draft to reflect the state’s guidance.

Committee members asked staff to clarify terminology used in messages to families—particularly the difference between a “hold” and a “lockdown.” Staff explained “hold” is a standard response (adopted from the I Love You Guys Foundation standard response protocol) that asks occupants to remain in their immediate area for minor incidents (for example, localized custodial cleanups); “lockdown” indicates a very serious safety concern on or near campus and instructs occupants to secure rooms and remain out of sight. Staff recommended including definitions or hyperlinks to definitions in the regulation or policy text so the public understands the differences when they receive notification messages.

Staff reported that Maryland requires school systems conducting active-assailant or lockdown drills to send surveys to affected groups and that the Maryland Center for School Safety and MSDE had recently issued guidance. The committee agreed that incorporating the guidance rather than rushing to finalize edits was prudent; staff will bring a revised draft back in March and noted the decommissioning of Policy 410 will accompany the Policy 111 revision.