Public Act 094-0600
 		





HB2693 Enrolled
LRB094 10684 RAS 41062 b






    AN ACT concerning education.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the School 
Safety Drill Act.

 
    Section 5. Definitions.   In this Act:
    "First responder" means and includes all fire departments 
and districts, law enforcement agencies and officials, 
emergency medical responders, and emergency management 
officials involved in the execution and documentation of the 
drills administered under this Act.
    "School" means a public or private facility that offers 
elementary or secondary education to students under the age of 
21. As used in this definition, "public facility" means a 
facility operated by the State or by a unit of local 
government.  As used in this definition, "private facility" 
means any non-profit, non-home-based, non-public elementary or 
secondary school that is in compliance with Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which satisfies the 
requirements of Section 26-1 of the School Code. While more 
than one school may be housed in a facility, for purposes of 
this Act, the facility shall be considered a school.  When a 
school has more than one location, for purposes of this Act, 
each different location shall be considered its own school.
    "School safety drill" means a pre-planned exercise 
conducted by a school in accordance with the drills and 
requirements set forth in this Act.
 
    Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to 
establish minimum requirements and standards for schools to 
follow when conducting school safety drills and reviewing 
school emergency and crisis response plans and to encourage 
schools and first responders to work together for the safety of 
children. Communities and schools may exceed these 
requirements and standards.
 
    Section 15. Types of drills. Under this Act, the following 
school safety drills shall be instituted by all schools in this 
State:
        (1)   School evacuation drills, which shall address and 
    prepare students and school personnel for situations that 
    occur when conditions outside of a school building are 
    safer than inside a school building.  Evacuation incidents 
    are based on the needs of particular communities and may 
    include without limitation the following:
            (A)   fire;
            (B)   suspicious items;
            (C)   incidents involving hazardous materials, 
        including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, 
        and explosives; and
            (D)   bomb threats. 
        (2) Bus evacuation drills, which shall address and 
    prepare students and school personnel for situations that 
    occur when conditions outside of  a bus are safer than 
    inside the bus.  Evacuation incidents are based on the needs 
    of particular communities and may include without 
    limitation the following:
            (A)   fire;
            (B)   suspicious items; and
            (C) incidents involving hazardous materials, 
        including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, 
        and explosives.
        (3) Law enforcement drills, which shall address and 
    prepare students and school personnel for situations 
    calling for the involvement of law enforcement when 
    conditions inside a school building are safer than outside 
    of a school building and it is necessary to protect 
    building occupants from potential dangers in a school 
    building.  Law enforcement drills may involve situations 
    that call for the reverse-evacuation or the lock-down of a 
    school building.  Evacuations incidents may include without 
    limitation the following:
            (A) shooting incidents;
            (B) bomb threats;
            (C) suspicious persons; and
            (D) incidents involving hazardous materials.
        (4) Severe weather and shelter-in-place drills, which 
    shall address and prepare students for situations 
    involving severe weather emergencies or the release of 
    external gas or chemicals.  Severe weather and 
    shelter-in-place incidents shall be based on the needs and 
    environment of particular communities and may include 
    without limitation the following:
            (A) severe weather, including, but not limited to, 
        shear winds, lightning, and earthquakes;
            (B) incidents involving hazardous materials, 
        including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, 
        and explosives; and
            (C) incidents involving weapons of mass 
        destruction, including, but not limited to, 
        biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.
 
    Section 20. Number of drills; incidents covered; local 
authority participation. 

    (a)    During each academic year, schools must conduct a 
minimum of 3 school evacuation drills to address and prepare 
students and school personnel for fire incidents.  These drills 
must meet all of  the following criteria:
        (1)          One of the 3 school evacuation drills shall require 
    the participation of the appropriate local fire department 
    or district.
            (A)   Each local fire department or fire district 
        must contact the appropriate  school administrator or 
        his or her designee no later than September 1 of each 
        year in order to arrange for the participation of the 
        department or district in the school evacuation drill.
            (B)    Each school administrator or his or her 
        designee must contact the responding local fire 
        official no later than September 15 of each year and 
        propose to the local fire official 4 dates within the 
        month of October, during at least 2 different weeks of 
        October, on which the drill shall occur.  The fire 
        official may choose any of the 4 available dates, and 
        if he or she does so, the drill shall occur on that 
        date.
            (C)   The school administrator or his or her designee 
        and the local fire official may also, by mutual 
        agreement, set any other date for the drill, including 
        a date outside of the month of October.
            (D)   If the fire official does not select one of the 
        4 offered dates in October or set another date by 
        mutual agreement, the requirement that the school 
        include the local fire service in one of its mandatory 
        school evacuation drills shall be waived.  Schools, 
        however, shall continue to be strongly encouraged to 
        include the fire service in a school evacuation drill 
        at a mutually agreed-upon time.
            (E)           Upon the participation of the local fire 
        service, the appropriate local fire official shall 
        certify that the school evacuation drill was 
        conducted.
            (F)    When scheduling the school evacuation drill, 
        the school administrator or his or her designee and the 
        local fire department or fire district may, by mutual 
        agreement on or before September 14, choose to waive 
        the provisions of subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of 
        this paragraph (1).
        Additional school evacuation drills for fire incidents 
    may involve the participation of the appropriate local fire 
    department or district.
        (2) Schools may conduct additional school evacuation 
    drills to account for other evacuation incidents, 
    including without limitation suspicious items or bomb 
    threats.
        (3) All drills shall be conducted at each school 
    building that houses school children.
    (b) During each academic year, schools must conduct a 
minimum of one bus evacuation drill. This drill shall be 
accounted for in the curriculum in all public schools and in 
all other educational institutions in this State that are 
supported or maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds 
and that provide instruction in any of the grades kindergarten 
through 12.  This curriculum shall include instruction in safe 
bus riding practices for all students. Schools may conduct 
additional bus evacuation drills.  All drills shall be conducted 
at each school building that houses school children.
    (c) During each academic year, schools may conduct strongly 
encouraged law enforcement drills to address and prepare 
students and school personnel for incidents, including without 
limitation reverse evacuations, lock-downs, shootings, bomb 
threats, or hazardous materials.
        (1) If conducted, a law enforcement drill must meet all 
    of  the following criteria:
            (A) During each calendar year, the appropriate 
        local law enforcement agency shall contact the 
        appropriate school administrator to request to 
        participate in a law enforcement drill and may actively 
        participate on-site in a drill.
            (B) Upon the participation of a local law 
        enforcement agency in a law enforcement drill, the 
        appropriate local law enforcement official shall 
        certify that the law enforcement drill was conducted.
        (2) Schools may conduct additional law enforcement 
    drills at their discretion.
        (3) All drills shall be conducted at each school 
    building that houses school children.
    (d) During each academic year, schools must conduct a 
minimum of one severe weather and shelter-in-place drill to 
address and prepare students and school personnel for possible 
tornado incidents and may conduct additional severe weather and 
shelter-in-place drills to account for other incidents, 
including without limitation earthquakes or hazardous 
materials.  All drills shall be conducted at each school 
building that houses school children.
 
    Section 25. Annual review.  
    (a)  Each public school district, through its school board 
or the board's designee, shall conduct a minimum of one annual 
meeting at which it will review each school building's 
emergency and crisis response plans, protocols, and procedures 
and each building's compliance with the school safety drill 
programs. The purpose of this annual review shall be to review 
and update the emergency and crisis response plans, protocols, 
and procedures and the school safety drill programs of the 
district and each of its school buildings.
    (b) Each school board or the board's designee is  required 
to participate in the annual review and to invite each of the 
following parties to the annual review and provide each party 
with a minimum of 30-days' notice before the date of the annual 
review:
        (1)      The principal of each school within the school 
    district or his or her official designee.
        (2)    Representatives from any other education-related 
    organization or association deemed appropriate by the 
    school district.
        (3)   Representatives from all local first responder 
    organizations  to participate, advise, and consult in the 
    review process, including, but not limited to:
            (A)        the appropriate local fire department or 
        district;
            (B)        the appropriate local law enforcement agency;
            (C)        the appropriate local emergency medical 
        services agency if the agency is a separate, local 
        first responder unit; and
            (D)        any other member of the first responder or 
        emergency management community that has contacted the 
        district  superintendent or his or her designee during 
        the past year to request involvement in a school's 
        emergency planning or drill process.
        (4)  The school board or its designee may also choose to 
    invite to the annual review any other persons whom it 
    believes will aid in the review process, including, but not 
    limited to, any members of any other education-related 
    organization or the first responder or emergency 
    management community.
    (c) Upon the conclusion of the annual review, the school 
board or the board's designee shall sign a one page report, 
which may be in either a check-off format or a narrative 
format, that does the following:
        (1) summarizes the review's recommended changes to the 
    existing school safety plans and drill plans;
        (2) lists the parties that participated in the annual 
    review, and includes the annual review's attendance 
    record;
        (3) certifies that an effective review of the emergency 
    and crisis response plans, protocols, and procedures and 
    the school safety drill programs of the district and each 
    of its school buildings has occurred;
        (4) states that the school district will implement 
    those plans, protocols, procedures, and programs, during 
    the academic year; and
        (5) includes the authorization of the school board or 
    the board's designee.
    (d)        The school board or its designee shall send a copy of 
the report to each party that participates in the annual review 
process and to the appropriate regional superintendent of 
schools.  If any of the participating parties have comments on 
the certification document, those parties shall submit their 
comments in writing to the appropriate regional 
superintendent. The regional superintendent shall maintain a 
record of these comments.  The certification document may be in 
a check-off format or narrative format, at the discretion of 
the district superintendent.
    (e) The review must occur at least once during the calendar 
year, at a specific time chosen at the school district 
superintendent's discretion.
 
    Section 30. Reporting; duties of the State Fire Marshal, 
regional superintendents, and the State Board of Education. 
    (a) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall accept, 
directly, one-page annual review compliance reports from 
private schools. The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall 
create a mechanism for the reporting and filing of these 
reports and give notice to the private schools as to how this 
reporting shall be made.  The Office of the State Fire Marshal 
shall make these records available directly to the State Board 
of Education.
    (b) Each regional superintendent of schools shall provide 
an annual school safety review compliance report to the State 
Board of Education as a part of its regular annual report to 
the State Board, which shall set forth those school districts 
that have successfully completed their annual review and those 
school districts that have failed to complete their annual 
review.  These reports shall be delivered to the State Board of 
Education on or before October 1 of each year.
    (c) The State Board of Education shall file and maintain 
records of the annual school safety review compliance reports 
received from each of the regional superintendents of schools.  
The State Board shall be responsible for ensuring access to the 
records by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and other State 
agencies.  The State Board shall provide an annual report to the 
Office of the Governor and the Office of the State Fire Marshal 
concerning the compliance of school districts with the annual 
school safety review requirement.
 
    Section 35. Reporting and recording mechanism for fires. 

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, in conjunction with the 
State Board of Education, shall create a reporting and 
recording mechanism concerning fires that occur in schools 
located in this State. The recording system shall be based in 
the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
 
    Section 40. Common rules.   The State Board of Education and 
the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall cooperate together 
and coordinate with all appropriate education, first 
responder, and emergency management officials to (i) develop 
and implement one common set of rules to be administered under 
this Act and (ii) develop clear and definitive guidelines to 
school districts, private schools, and first responders as to 
how to develop school emergency and crisis response plans, how 
to develop school emergency and crisis response plans, how to 
exercise and drill based on such plans, and how to incorporate 
lessons learned from these exercises and drills into school 
emergency and crisis response plans.
 

    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.129 rep.)


    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.22 rep.)


    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.23 rep.)


    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.32 rep.)


    (105 ILCS 5/27-26 rep.)


    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.19 rep.)

    Section 910. The School Code is amended  by repealing 
Sections 2-3.129, 10-20.22, 10-20.23, 10-20.32, 27-26, and 
34-18.19.
 

    (105 ILCS 120/Act rep.)

    Section 915. The Fire Drill Act is repealed.
 
    Section 990. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding 
Section 8.29 as
follows:


 
    (30 ILCS 805/8.29 new)

    Sec. 8.29. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 
of this
Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the 
implementation of
any mandate created by this amendatory Act of 
the 94th General Assembly.

 

    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1, 
2005.