COMPLETED SAFETY DRILLS

MICHIGAN PUBLIC ACT 12 OF 2014 MODIFIES THE FREQUENCY AND RECORDING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS AND IS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2014.

Michigan Public Act 12 of 2014 modifies the frequency and recording requirements for school safety drills and is effective July 1,2014.

Under the new requirements, any school that operates any grades K through 12 must conduct the following drills annually:

  • 5 fire drills per school year.

    • 3 must take place by December 1.

    • There must be a “reasonable” interval between each drill.

  • 2 tornado drills per school year, with at least 1 taking place in March.

  • 3 lock down drills per school year, defined in the Act as “drills in which the occupants are restricted to the interior of the building”.

    • At least 1 taking place by December 1

    • At least 1 taking place after January 1

    • There must be a “reasonable” interval between each drill.

  • At least 1 of the drills is required to take place during a lunch or recess period, or at another time when a significant number of the students are gathered, but not in the classroom.

The Act also requires that school officials must document completed safety drills on the school’s website within 5 days of completing the drill and maintain this information on the website for at least 3 years.