Most school officials are aware by now of the change in state law that will require school districts and charter schools to conduct one fire drill and one school security drill per month when school is in session, effective Nov. 1 of this year.
What school officials may not be aware of is that the current fire-code regulations governing school fire drills – which does not address security drills – will not be amended before the Nov. 1 effective date. This will result in a conflict between the fire code and the statute. NJSBA has been in contact with the state fire marshal’s office, which confirmed the conflict.
The New Jersey Division of Fire Safety’s Bureau of Fire Code Enforcement released a memorandum on Aug. 12 to all local fire code officials, strongly recommending that local fire code official enforce the intent of the law and proposed code amendment, and immediately accept one fire drill a month.
However, the memorandum was a recommendation, so a local fire code official may decide to enforce the letter of the code, which would require the local school district to continue with the two fire drills per month, even after Nov. 1. In such cases, the school district or charter school may need to continue with two fire drills each month to comply with the fire code – and a school security drill each month to comply with law. It is recommended that school officials contact their local fire code official for clarification.
Types of Drills School districts and charter schools will be required to conduct a minimum of two drills per year in each of the following areas: active shooter; evacuations; bomb threats; and lockdowns. Two of these eight mandated drills do not need to include students.
For more information, contact Lou Schimenti of NJSBA’s Legal and Policy Services Department at (609) 278-5271 or via e-mail at lschimenti@njsba.org. |
