Good afternoon,
Nowlin is holding a scheduled lockdown drill this afternoon. This drill was scheduled in September.
Typically, we do not let parents know that our drills are taking place as they are a “normal” component of school life. However, due to the current circumstances, I wanted to inform the community in case you are driving by, calling or trying to come into the building during the lockdown period.
The staff and students have also been made aware this time.
My general practice is to make the staff and students aware of the drills for the first couple so that we can practice and decrease anxiety and then for the remainder of the year the drills are unannounced.
Below are the legislative guidelines:
School Safety Legislation – Public Act 12
The State of Michigan has regulations regarding how public schools report safety drills to the public. Schools are now required to run:
- Fire Drills – A minimum of five fire drills are required each school year. Three of the drills need to be held before December 1 and two drills during the remainder of the school year.
- Tornado/Severe Weather Drills – A minimum of two tornado safety drills are required for each school year with one conducted during March.
- Lockdown Drills – A minimum of three drills in which occupants are restricted to the interior of the building and the building is secure. One of these drills needs to be conducted prior to December 1 and one conducted after January 1. At least one drill needs to be scheduled during lunch, recess or at another time when a significant number of the students are gathered not in a classroom.
Here is a link to the actual legislation. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/publicact/pdf/2014-PA-0012.pdf