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Duluth committee reviews major rewrite of crisis management policy, including new drill language and mental-health recovery team
Summary
The Duluth Public Schools Policy Committee reviewed a first reading of Policy 806, updating crisis response language to reflect recent state legislation, clarify district terminology and procedures, require post‑drill debriefs, and emphasize mental‑health recovery supports.
Duluth Public Schools’ policy committee on Jan. 21 reviewed the first reading of Policy 806, the district’s crisis management policy, which incorporates recent state legislative language and clarifies how the district will plan, train and debrief around emergencies.
The draft policy directs each site to maintain a tailored Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and names district‑level and site‑level Emergency Operations Committees (EOC) to coordinate response. It also clarifies terminology used in practice, discontinues active shooter simulations with students, and strengthens post‑drill mental‑health support procedures.
Why it matters: The revisions respond to state statutory changes while seeking to reduce trauma for students and staff. The changes affect how drills are named in policy, how the district notifies families and staff, and what training and follow‑up the district must provide after drills or incidents.
Committee staff described how the policy will link to a more detailed, site‑specific EOP stored on the district’s Google Drive rather than embedding every operational procedure in policy. Lexi Neff, the district’s health, safety and environmental coordinator, said the district will no longer use the ALICE model and emphasized that the district “does not conduct active shooter simulations with students or staff in this district any longer.” Neff added the policy will continue to provide scripts and materials sites can use to run drills and will make clear when an announcement is a drill.
Danette Seewell, principal on special assignment, described a standing mental‑health recovery team led by Todd McGowan that is available after incidents to provide counselors, social workers and school psychologists to support recovery needs. Seewell said the team’s work covers incidents beyond violent intrusions, including student deaths or transportation accidents.
The draft reflects several statutory requirements that the committee said it cannot change, including terminology the state uses for “active shooter drill.” Committee members and staff discussed how to reconcile that mandated wording with the district’s approach and emphasized the district’s practice of notifying sites, using clear PA scripts and allowing flexibility to reschedule practices when a nearby real event would make a drill inappropriate. Staff noted an example earlier this school year near Denfeld when conducting a practice lockdown would have been ill‑timed.
The policy also requires debriefs after drills and incidents, and staff said the district will collect site feedback — by staff meetings or Google forms — and elevate unresolved issues to the district team. Neff said the debriefs will collect operational problems (for example, missed announcements in a band room) and mental‑health concerns that may require follow‑up.
The policy text also highlights a legal distinction between “active shooter drills” and “active shooter simulations”; staff said simulations — which had involved role players and staging — are no longer used because they can be traumatic.
The draft calls for violence prevention training tied to the drill requirements; staff said Director Crane will present on that training, which is intended for middle and high school students and staff and will be integrated with bullying‑prevention programming.
Discussion points: committee members raised questions about how calendar notices and advance notification would work in practice, how the district will handle opt‑out requests for any mandated elements, and how the district will summarize debrief results for the full board.
Directions and next steps: staff offered to present the EOP and portions of the plan at a Committee of the Whole meeting (with some operational material kept confidential). Committee members asked that the district provide a brief emergency operations update at a regular or special board meeting summarizing debrief themes and any district‑level follow up.
No formal action was taken at the Jan. 21 meeting; the draft will return for additional review as part of the policy adoption process.
