RESCUE Health and Safety Committees & Project SAVE Safety Teams
Health and safety committees are required under Part 155.4(d) - the RESCUE regulation
(Rebuilding Schools to Uphold Education).
Laws&Regs -
8NYCRR155,5,15,00
Articles -
155.5schooldistrictrequirements
The main purpose of the health and safety committee (comprised of district officials,
parents, teachers and staff) is to assist in the investigation and disposition of health
and safety related complaints - such as facility, indoor air quality, pest management,
construction issues, etc.
The regulation further states that the committee must be expanded during a school
construction project to actually monitor safety during the project. The expanded committee
must then include the project architect, construction manager, and contractors.
Project SAVE (Schools Against Violence in Education) requires the creation of both
district-wide and school-based safety teams. The scope and responsibilities of the teams
required under Project SAVE are much different, although they may be comprised of some of
the same individuals as the health and safety committee under RESCUE. Specifically,
Project SAVE requires the designation of four teams:
(1) district-wide school safety team
(2) building-level school safety teams
(3) building-level emergency response teams
(4) building-level post-incident response teams.
Project SAVE §2801 Safety Planning Outline
All boards of education of every school district, BOCES, county vocational education and
extension board, and the chancellor of the NYC schools must adopt and amend a comprehensive
district-wide school safety plan and a building-level school safety
plan.
Plan must address crisis intervention and emergency response and management in a form
developed by the SED Commissioner in consultation with the Division of Criminal Justice
Services (DCJS), the NYS Police, and other appropriate agencies.
A single-building district shall develop a single building-level school safety plan
which shall satisfy the requirement for a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan.
District-Wide
School Safety Plan |
School
Emergency Response Plan
(Building-Level) |
The district-wide school safety team shall develop the comprehensive
district-wide school safety plan. |
The building-level school safety team shall develop a school
emergency response plan. |
The district-wide school safety team shall be
appointed by the board of education or chancellor in NYC and shall include, but not be
limited to:
- Representatives of the school board
- Representatives of student, teacher, administrator, and parent organizations
- School safety personnel
- Other school personnel
|
The building-level school safety team shall be
appointed by the principal, in accordance with guidelines prescribed by the board of
education or chancellor in NYC and shall include, but not be limited to:
- Representatives of teacher, administrator, and parent organizations
- School safety personnel
- Other school personnel
- Community members
- Local law enforcement officials
- Local ambulance and other emergency response agencies
- Other representatives the board of education or chancellor in NYC deems appropriate.
|
Shall be reviewed by the appropriate school safety team on at
least an annual basis and updated as needed. |
Shall be reviewed by the appropriate school safety team on at
least an annual basis and updated as needed. |
Shall be available for public comment at least 30-days prior
to its adoption. |
Shall be available for public comment at least 30-days
prior to its adoption. Only a summary shall be available for public comment. |
District-Wide
School Safety Plan
Continued |
School
Emergency Response Plan
(Building-Level) Continued |
At least 30-days prior to its adoption by the Board of
Education or Chancellor of NYC Schools, at least one public hearing must be held that
provides for school personnel, student, and public participation. |
At least 30-days prior to its adoption by the Board of
Education or Chancellor of NYC Schools, at least one public hearing must be held that
provides for school personnel, student, and public participation. |
A copy of the plan shall be filed with the SED
Commissioner within 30-days of adoption, as well as all amendments within 30-days of their
adoption. The SED Commissioner may withhold district monies if the Board of Education or
Chancellor of NYC fails to file the plan or adopt a code of conduct. Prior to withholding
monies, the district shall have an opportunity to present evidence of extenuating
circumstances to the Commissioner who may temporarily stay the withholding of funds.
A waiver of up to two years may be granted from the date of enactment for these
requirements if a district has adopted a comprehensive school safety plan which is in
substantial compliance with the requirements of this section. |
A copy of the plan shall be filed with appropriate local law
enforcement and the NYS Police within 30-days of adoption, as well as all amendments
within 30-days of their adoption. |
|
The plan shall be confidential and not subject to
disclosure under Article 6 of the Public Officers Law. |
The district-wide school safety plan shall include at a minimum:
- Policies and procedures for responding to implied or direct threats of violence by
students, teachers, other school personnel, and school visitors
- Policies and procedures for responding to acts of violence by students, teachers, other
school personnel, and school visitors, including consideration of zero-tolerance policies
for school violence
- Policies and procedures for contacting law enforcement in the event of a violent
incident
- Policies and procedures for contacting parents and guardians of the students in the
district in the event of a violent incident
- Policies and procedures relating to school building security, including the use of
school building security, school safety officers, and/or security devices.
- Policies and procedures for the dissemination of informative materials regarding the
early detection of potentially violent behaviors, including but not limited to, the
identification of family, community, and environmental factors to teachers,
administrators, school personnel, persons in parental relation to students, students, and
others deemed appropriate to receive such information.
- Policies and procedures for annual school safety training for students and staff
- Protocol for responding to bomb threats, hostage-takings, intrusions, and kidnappings.
- A description of the duties of hall monitors and any other school safety personnel,
including training requirements.
- Strategies for improving communication among students and between students and staff and
reporting potentially violent incidents through the establishment of programs such as
youth-run programs, peer mediation, and conflict resolution.
- Appropriate prevention and intervention strategies such as:
- collaborative agreements with state and local law enforcement officials designed to
ensure school safety officers are adequately trained and fairly recruited
- nonviolent conflict resolution training programs
- peer mediation programs and youth courts
- extended day and other school safety programs.
The school emergency response plan (building level) shall include the
following elements:
- Policies and procedures for the safe evacuation of students, teachers, other school
personnel, and visitors in the event of a serious violent incident* or other
emergency, which shall include evacuation routes, shelter sites, procedures for addressing
medical needs, transportation, and emergency notification to persons in parental relation
to a student.
(* A serious violent incident means an incident of violent criminal conduct that
is, or appears to be, life threatening and warrants the evacuation of students and/or
staff.)
- Designation of an emergency response team and a post-incident
response team comprised of the following:
Emergency
Response Team |
Post-Incident
Response Team |
- School personnel
- Local law enforcement officials
- Representatives from local, regional, and State emergency response agencies
- Other appropriate incident response teams
|
- Appropriate school personnel
- Medical personnel
- Mental health counselors
- Others who can assist the school community in coping with the aftermath of a violent
incident
|
- Procedures for assuring that crisis response and law enforcement officials have accesss
to floor plans, blueprints, schematics, and other maps of the school's interior, grounds,
and road maps of the immediate surrounding area.
- Establishment of internal an external communication system in an emergency.
- Definition of the chain of command in a manner consistent with the incident command
system (ICS).
- Coordination of the school safety plan with the statewide plan for disaster mental
health services.
- Procedures for review and the conduct of drills and exercises to test components of the
emergency response plan.
- Policies and procedures for securing and restricting access to the crime scene in order
to preserve evidence on school property.