Board adopts districtwide school safety plans; staff to fix incorrect form dates and produce flip-chart guides

The board voted to approve comprehensive school safety plans for all elementary and middle schools in the East Whittier City School District.

Staff told trustees the plans are the product of school-site input and a district safety committee; last year's active-shooter training and lockdown procedures are included under the lockdown umbrella in the plans. Trustees asked staff to confirm that each school's administrative "for administrative use only" fields and school site council approval dates are accurate; staff acknowledged at least one plan contained a previously adopted date and said they would correct paperwork before final filing.

Why it matters: the safety plans govern campus responses to emergencies and are required by state law. Staff said they will also create flip-chart guides for frontline staff so that during an incident employees have a simple, printed checklist to follow.

Board action: the motion to approve the comprehensive school safety plans passed on a roll-call vote. Trustees asked staff to ensure site principals share the plans with staff as part of onboarding and to verify the administrative dates.

Details: staff noted they intentionally keep public versions of the safety plans high-level to avoid providing potential misuse of operational details but confirmed that site teams have more detailed procedures.

Next steps: staff will fix date errors in plan templates, ensure school site council approvals are documented, distribute flip-chart guides, and confirm principals have shared plans with staff.