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Amherst Central School District holds public hearing on districtwide safety plan; plan emphasizes drills, mental‑health training and cardiac response
Summary
At a public hearing during the board reorganization meeting, district staff reviewed updates to the districtwide safety plan—including mandated drills (12 per year, including four lockdowns), mental‑health training changes (moving to an AIV cycle), a new cardiac emergency response plan tied to Dacia's Law, and plans to add portable AED units for field trips; the 30‑day comment period ended with no public submissions.
The Amherst Central School District opened a public hearing on proposed updates to its districtwide safety plan, explaining revisions required by New York State law and recent state guidance.
A presenter for the district outlined several core changes and clarifications: annual mandated trainings (including expanded mental‑health training), a shift to a shorter AIV training cycle on a three‑year rotation, clearer Incident Command System (ICS) role assignments in each building, and an updated drill schedule that maintains 12 required drills annually—eight evacuation/fire drills plus four lockdown drills. “Of course, this is all driven by New York State law,” a district staff member said during the presentation.
The presenter described privacy and safety constraints for building‑level emergency response plans, noting those plans are not publicized to avoid disclosing detailed emergency procedures. The board heard that the district has implemented a cardiac emergency response plan tied to recent legislation (referred to in the presentation as "Dacia's Law"), requiring trained personnel and clear protocols for cardiac arrest response; the district placed additional AED units in populated areas and procured portable units for athletics and off‑site field trips.
Responding to a question from a board member about whether any AED units now include Narcan inside the device, the presenter said Narcan is available to administrators and nurses and that staff receive training, but did not confirm that AED devices themselves contain Narcan.
The presenter said the district posted the safety plan on its website for a 30‑day public comment period (which the presenter said ended on July 3) and reported that no comments were received during that period. The board was told the plan is scheduled for action at an upcoming meeting on Aug. 4; some printed handouts still carried an earlier Aug. 18 date, which the presenter said was adjusted because of scheduling conflicts.
The hearing record shows the district plans to continue phased equipment upgrades (refurbishing some units with new batteries and purchasing replacements over time) and to report required safety‑related data on the district website as required by state guidance.
The board did not receive public submissions during the 30‑day window; next procedural steps include the board’s review and anticipated vote on the safety plan updates at a future business meeting.
