1. School Emergency Response Drills
Jessica L. Covington
Risk/Safety Manager
Scott Gillies
Transportation Coordinator
Al Lankford
Security Operations Coordinator
September 15, 2016

2. The Alabama State Department of Education Requires Schools to Perform Monthly Safety Drills during any Month that Students Occupy the Building
There are specific requirements for certain drills to be performed at specific times during the school year.
Intruder Drills – 1 drill is required per semester during the first 6 weeks of each semester.
Severe Weather Drills – 1 drill is required between September and November; 1 drill is required between January and March.
Fire Drills – Fire drills are required monthly unless a separate safety drill (e.g., severe weather or intruder) is conducted during the same month.

3. The Risk/Safety Manager Uses ALSDE Guidelines to Design a Required Monthly Drill Schedule for the School Safety Coordinators
School administration coordinates a date and time to conduct monthly drill.
August – Intruder (ALICE) Drill
September – Fire Evacuation Drill
October – Severe Weather Drill
November – Intruder (ALICE) Drill
December – Hazardous Material Incident Evacuation Drill
January – Intruder (ALICE) Drill
February – Severe Weather Drill
March – Fire Evacuation Drill
April – Severe Weather Drill
May – Bomb Threat Evacuation Drill
June (summer school facilities only) – Fire Evacuation Drill
July – Annual Emergency Response Exercise (ERE)

4. ALICE is NOT a linear, progressive response.
Huntsville City Schools Has Chosen the A.L.I.C.E. Framework as a District Standard for Intruder Response
Alert, notify authorities and those in harm’s way of the danger at hand.
Lockdown, or shelter in place.
Inform, give real-time updates.
Counter, defend yourself against the attacker as a last resort.
Evacuate, or get out!!
ALICE is NOT a linear, progressive response.

5. The Risk/Safety Manager Works with School Safety Coordinators to Design Intruder Drills Appropriate for the Facility and the Campus
The Risk/Safety Manager provides school safety coordinators with a selection of scenarios.
School safety coordinators will consider multiple factors when designing an intruder drill.
Size of campus
Adjacent buildings and land
Building characteristics
SRO and CSO integration
Number and location of rally points

6. Intruder Drills Include Rehearsal of Lockdown Procedures
There are two types of lockdowns.
Soft Lockdown:
Threat is in surrounding area. All outside functions are brought inside. All students in detached facilities will remain in those facilities until notified otherwise. School activities go on as usual within the building; however, there shall not be any student or staff leaving the building.
Hard Lockdown:
Pertains if threat is strictly outside the building and/or possibly on campus. All outside functions are brought inside and/or stay in detached facilities. Follow lockdown steps of ALICE response. Stay in position until notified otherwise. No visitor access. If threat enters the building, follow ALICE response procedures based on information received from threat.

7. Severe Weather Drills and Refuge Areas Vary at each Campus
Severe weather refuge areas are selected based on FEMA refuge recommendations.
Lowest building level feasible.
Small interior rooms on the lowest level away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls.
Put as many walls between refuge area and the outside.
Schools built after 2015 have built in Tornado Shelters that comply with ICC 500 Standard for the Design and construction of Storm Shelters in schools housing kindergarten through high school. The shelters are sized to accommodate the occupant load of the building.
All other school campus have refuge areas selected throughout the building.
These are reviewed annually by the school safety committee and Risk Manager.

8. School Bus Emergency Evacuation Drills are Conducted Semi-annually
Every bus driver conducts an emergency evacuation drill in September and January of each school year.
All emergency evacuation drills are performed on the school campus and are monitored by school administration.
Bus emergency evacuation drills rehearse exits used, driver responsibilities, appropriate evacuation area, and student accountability.
During emergency evacuation drills, assigned student helpers learn the following:
How to set the emergency brake
How to turn off the ignition switch
How to summon help
How to open and close doors
How to account for all students
How to use radio to contact school administration
How to set out reflectors
How to help other students off the bus