Katonah-Lewisboro board reviews districtwide safety plan; 'secure lockout' terminology to take effect July 1, 2025

The Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District Board of Education reviewed its annual districtwide safety plan at a public hearing Thursday, and the presenter said the plan will be opened for a 30‑day public comment period before final adoption.

Melissa Joyce, the presenter identified by the board to lead the review, told trustees the plan responds to state and federal guidance and to SAVE/Project Safe requirements and Commissioner’s Regulation 155.17. "This is a mandated public hearing as required by Project Safe legislation that allows for a 30 day public comment period," Joyce said.

The presentation emphasized the plan’s legal and operational elements and why it matters to families. The plan defines emergencies (including bullying, natural and manmade events), sets out four phases of emergency management (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery) and mandates annual training for staff and students. Joyce said the district uses the Global Compliance Network for required training.

Under New York State rules quoted in the presentation, each school must conduct 12 emergency drills annually — eight evacuation drills and four lockdown drills — with the eight evacuation drills completed by Dec. 31. The board was told that, as required by recent changes to state procedures, students and staff must be notified within one week before a lockdown drill to avoid unintended trauma.

The review also listed updates to the districtwide plan. Joyce said language was added clarifying prevention and intervention strategies and that the plan specifies safety‑team membership to meet Regulation 155.17 — including a board member, a PTO member, administrators, teachers, a security greeter, a bus driver and a bus monitor. She said safety‑team members will be formally appointed when the board adopts the plan at its Aug. 28 meeting.

Joyce told the board the plan includes a terminology change: the district will use the term "secure lockout" (revisions to Regulation 155.17 adopt that wording), and that change takes effect July 1, 2025.

Board members asked whether the drill counts are per school (Joyce confirmed they are per school) and whether students were included in this year’s review. Joyce said students were not part of this year’s review because the outside reviewer, Alteris Consulting Group, returned the review later than the district’s usual timeline; she said the district plans to re‑engage student representatives when the schedule permits next year.

The presenter thanked a cross‑section of stakeholders who participated in the review and noted that the districtwide plan will be filed with the State Education Department and local police departments after board adoption. The board scheduled adoption and appointments for its August 28 meeting, following the public comment period.