Senate File 2191 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 2191
BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2017)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the development of a policy governing
2 responses to a fire alarm activated on school grounds
3 outside of a scheduled fire drill by school districts,
4 accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and
5 innovation zone schools, and including effective date
6 provisions.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 256E.7, Code 2024, is amended by adding
2 the following new subsection:
3 NEW SUBSECTION. 8A. Each charter school governing board
4 shall adopt a policy that directs how students, charter school
5 employees, and individuals who are not charter school employees
6 but who are required as part of the individual’s employment
7 to regularly be present in a school building are to respond
8 when a fire alarm is activated on school grounds outside of a
9 scheduled fire drill to protect such individuals in the event
10 the fire alarm was activated due to the presence of an active
11 shooter on school grounds.
12 Sec. 2. Section 256F.4, Code 2024, is amended by adding the
13 following new subsection:
14 NEW SUBSECTION. 9. Each charter school or innovation
15 zone school shall adopt a policy that directs how students,
16 school employees, and individuals who are not school employees
17 but who are required as part of the individual’s employment
18 to regularly be present in a school building are to respond
19 when a fire alarm is activated on school grounds outside of a
20 scheduled fire drill to protect such individuals in the event
21 the fire alarm was activated due to the presence of an active
22 shooter on school grounds.
23 Sec. 3. Section 280.30, Code 2024, is amended to read as
24 follows:
25 280.30 High-quality school building emergency operations
26 plans.
27 1. The board of directors of a school district and the
28 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school
29 shall develop a high-quality emergency operations plan for the
30 district and individual school buildings in which students
31 are educated no later than June 30, 2019. The plan shall
32 include but not be limited to responses to active shooter
33 scenarios and natural disasters. The plan shall provide that
34 any alert regarding an emergency situation that is transmitted
35 to school personnel or students by electronic means shall
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1 also be transmitted to the employer of any individual who is
2 not a school employee but who is required as a part of the
3 individual’s employment to regularly be present in a school
4 building during the school year. The plan shall include
5 publication of procedures for school personnel, parents, and
6 guardians to report possible threats to the safety of students
7 or school personnel on school grounds or at school activities.
8 The board and authorities shall consider any recommendations
9 of the department of education relating to the development of
10 a high-quality emergency operations plan and shall consult
11 with local emergency management coordinators and local law
12 enforcement agencies in the development of the plan. The board
13 and authorities shall review and update the plan on an annual
14 basis. The plan shall be confidential and shall not be a
15 public record subject to disclosure under chapter 22. The plan
16 shall include all of the following:
17 a. Responses to active shooter scenarios and natural
18 disasters.
19 b. The publication of procedures for school personnel,
20 parents, and guardians to report possible threats to the safety
21 of students or school personnel on school grounds or at school
22 activities.
23 c. A policy that directs how students, school employees, and
24 individuals who are not school employees but who are required
25 as part of the individual’s employment to regularly be present
26 in a school building are to respond when a fire alarm is
27 activated on school grounds outside of a scheduled fire drill
28 to protect such individuals in the event the fire alarm was
29 activated due to the presence of an active shooter on school
30 grounds.
31 2. The board of directors of a school district and the
32 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school
33 shall require that at least once per school year an emergency
34 operations drill based on the emergency operations plan be
35 conducted in each individual school building in which students
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1 are educated. The board and authorities shall determine
2 which school personnel participate in the drill and whether
3 students or local law enforcement agencies participate in the
4 drill. The drill may include but is not limited to a table top
5 exercise, walk-through, partial drill, or full drill. This
6 subsection shall not be construed to affect the requirements of
7 section 10A.522, subsection 1.
8 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate
9 importance, takes effect upon enactment.
10 EXPLANATION
11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
13 This bill relates to the development of a policy governing
14 responses to a fire alarm activated on school grounds outside
15 of a scheduled fire drill by school districts, accredited
16 nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone
17 schools.
18 The bill requires that school districts and accredited
19 nonpublic schools include in the high-quality school building
20 emergency operations plan a policy that directs how students,
21 school employees, and individuals who are not school employees
22 but who are required as part of the individual’s employment
23 to regularly be present in a school building are to respond
24 when a fire alarm is activated on school grounds outside of a
25 scheduled fire drill to protect such individuals in the event
26 the fire alarm was activated due to the presence of an active
27 shooter on school grounds. The bill also requires charter
28 schools and innovation zone schools to adopt such a policy.
29 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
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Statutes affected: Introduced: 256E.7, 256F.4, 280.30