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District adopts revised safety plan template aligned to GEMA/DOE guidance; 11 schools earned Ready Seal
Summary
District staff described a new school-safety template based on GEMA and Georgia DOE guidance and HB268; the process assigns plan creation to school teams, includes law-enforcement review, and links to GEMA for final approval. Eleven schools earned the Ready Seal of Preparedness.
District staff told the board on June 2 that school-safety plans for FY27 will use an updated template and checklist based on guidance from the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA), and that the district’s submission process was adjusted to comply with recent legislation including HB268.
The revised template will include five sections: legal requirements, laws outside the plan, school-safety best practices (the largest section with 23 components), resource lists, and contact lists with maps. Schools’ safety teams will edit a district template housed in the district’s SchoolDude/SchoolDogg software; once completed the plan is reviewed by district officials, local EMS and the sheriff’s office and then submitted to GEMA for final logging.
The presentation noted that 11 district schools recently earned the Georgia Ready Seal of Preparedness; staff credited coordinated work with GEMA, local law enforcement and school-resource deputies for that outcome. Director Haynes said the district is using the revised guide and checklist to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
Board materials emphasized that plan approval is a multi-step process: school-level team drafting, district review (facilities and operations), local-government and EMS review with suggested edits returned to schools, and final submission to GEMA. Staff said the district will continue monthly safety-team reviews and use the software to house templates and daily safety-walk logs.
Board members asked clarifying questions and thanked staff for pursuing the Ready Seal work. The board did not vote on policy changes tied to safety during the meeting; the item was presented as an informational update.
