NY law requires schools to develop emergency response plans. Here’s where families can find them.
Education law requires all public schools, charter schools and BOCES to develop, and make public, Emergency Response Plans in a districtwide safety report.
The new school year is off to a scary start, with a wave of threats targeting Long Island schools.
Education law requires all public schools, charter schools and BOCES to develop, and make public, Emergency Response Plans in a districtwide safety report.
The comprehensive plans detail how school districts respond to emergencies, such as bomb threats, intrusions and hostage situations. They do not include tactical strategies or other confidential information.
Team 12 Investigates looked into how accessible these plans are and where families can find them.
Former superintendent and longtime educator Michael Cohen knows the work that goes into making these plans.
“Any family should be able to go to the district website and find a link to that plan immediately,” Cohen said. “That’s essential, otherwise, why have it?”
A Team 12 Investigation reviewed safety plans for nearly a dozen districts that were targets of threats this school year. It uncovered that some districts required multiple steps to find their plans.
One example is the Locust Valley School District.
In order to find its safety plan, Team 12 Investigates clicked on the tab labeled documents, which led to departments, then clicked on facilities and finally, the safety plan appeared on the page.
The South Huntington School District and Sachem Central School District updated their websites with 2024-2025 Safety Plans after Team 12 Investigates noticed they only had plans available from the previous school year.
South Huntington school officials said the district is currently working on a new school website and believe that was the cause of the delay in posting the updated plan.
Cohen said families should reach out to their district’s central office if they have trouble finding the safety plan.
“In this day and age, forget about what the requirement is, if I’m superintendent of the schools, I want it reviewed every year,” Cohen said. “You have to have the most up to date information possible in that plan.”
Confidential information not released in the emergency response plans include relocation sites, floor plans, school population, number of staff, transportation needs and detailed response procedures.
If a family is struggling to find the plan on the district’s website, check under tabs labeled district, safety, or security.
