HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1229        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 610

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Thomas P. Walsh

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act requiring critical incident drills in schools.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1229        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 610

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 719 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act requiring critical incident drills in schools.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the superintendent of each school district shall, prior to the beginning of the school year, meet with the fire chief and police chief of the city, town or district to formulate a school specific critical incident plan for each school under the superintendent's supervision. The critical incident plan shall encompass, but not be limited to, procedures for disasters in which serious bodily injury might occur, shootings, terrorist activities and bomb threats.

The plan shall be designed for each school building after a review of each building. The plan shall include, but not be limited to: (1) establishment of a critical incident drill program that incorporates best practices established by the federal Department of Homeland Security; (2) establishment of a crisis response team; (3) a designation as to who is in charge of said team and designated substitutes; (4) a communication plan; (5) crisis procedures for safe entrance to and exit from the school by students, parents and employees; and (6) policies for enforcing school discipline and maintaining a safe and orderly environment during the incident . Each district, with the assistance of the local police and fire departments, shall annually review and update as appropriate the plan.

At the beginning of each school year, students at each school shall be instructed as to the plan that is developed.

The police chief or a designee shall visit each school at least 2 times each year for the purpose of conducting critical incident drills. These drills shall be conducted without advance warning to the school personnel other than the person in charge of the school at the time.