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Dearborn Public Schools outlines drills, access-control upgrades and reporting tools in school-safety briefing
Summary
District safety leaders presented procedures on environmental testing, mandatory drills, emergency operations plans, traffic-flow coordination with Dearborn Police, camera and access-control upgrades funded by state grants, and reporting tools including Student SafeVoice and the Michigan State Police 'Ok2Say' portal.
District health, safety and security staff presented a detailed school-safety briefing to the Dearborn Board of Education on Oct. 13, 2025, outlining routine testing, drills and upgraded security infrastructure.
Director of Health, Safety and Security (presenting as Abe/Elzayat) told trustees the district maintains air- and water-quality testing on a three-year cycle, conducts annual mandatory drills (fire, tornado, lockdown) with required reporting, and reviews each building’s emergency operations plan annually and every three years with the state. The district also is building traffic-flow plans in partnership with the Dearborn Police Department to improve drop-off and pick-up safety at school sites.
The presentation highlighted grant-funded upgrades — from the state’s 97 grant — that paid for improvements to camera systems, access control hardware and integrated software used to monitor school facilities. The director thanked the IT team for integration work and emphasized multi-agency partnerships with the Dearborn Police, Dearborn Fire Department and the county’s emergency management offices.
On active‑threat response, the district has moved away from the ALICE program to a federal-model training described to trustees as "run, hide, fight," with an emphasis on escape routes, securing or barricading when hiding is necessary, and fighting as a last resort. The district provided trustees with links and said parent-facing materials and state-produced videos will be considered to explain what drills involve.
Safety staff also reviewed reporting tools available to families and students, including the Student SafeVoice link maintained for each building and Michigan State Police tools that can forward reports to local police and schools. Trustees asked for a parent-facing video explaining the "fight" component of drills and discussed how a possible future statewide cell-phone policy could affect safety practices; presenters said they would plan and train for any policy changes.
Directors concluded that safety is a district-wide responsibility and encouraged parents, staff and students to use reporting tools and participate in drills.
