PUBLIC SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS H.B. 4713 (S-3):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
House Bill 4713 (Substitute S-3 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
Sponsor: Representative Joseph Graves
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Fire Prevention Code to modify school drill requirements. The bill also would require the governing body of a school to adopt and implement a school cardiac emergency response plan. The bill would take effect on July 1, 2014.
Currently, a school that operates any of grades kindergarten through 12 must hold at least six fire drills and two "lockdown" drills during each school year. The bill would require a K-12 school to hold a minimum of five fire drills and three lockdown drills, according to a schedule prescribed in the bill.
The Code requires a K-12 school to hold at least two tornado safety drills for each school year. Under the bill, at least one tornado safety drill would have to be held in March.
The bill would require the governing body of a K-12 school to ensure that documentation of a completed school safety drill was posted on its website (or on its intermediate school district's website) within 30 days of completing the drill, and maintained for at least three years.
By September 15, the chief administrator of a K-12 school would have to give a list of scheduled drill days to the county emergency management coordinator, who would have to provide the information to the local emergency management coordinator, if any, and certain local officials. This information would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. If a drill were not conducted as scheduled, it would have to be rescheduled and the chief administrator would have to notify the county emergency management coordinator of the rescheduled date.
The governing body of a school that operates any of grades kindergarten through 12 would have to adopt and implement a cardiac emergency response plan for the school. The plan would have to address all of the following: use and maintenance of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), if available; activation of a cardiac emergency response team during an identified emergency; effective and efficient communication throughout the school campus; a training plan for the use of an AED and CPR techniques, in a school with grades 9 to 12; integration of the local emergency response system and emergency response agencies with the school's plan; and an annual review and evaluation of the cardiac emergency response plan.
MCL 29.19 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would result in increased costs to local schools for two reasons: 1) the governing body of a school would be required to ensure that documentation of school safety drills was posted on the website and maintained for three years, and to provide a list of scheduled drill
days to the county emergency management coordinator; and 2) the governing body of a school would have to adopt and implement a cardiac emergency response plan. While the first requirement (documentation and notification of school safety drills) likely would result in minimal fiscal impact, the second requirement (cardiac emergency response plan) could have a more substantial fiscal impact depending on the existing cardiac plan, if any, available and implemented at each school, and the extent to which additional requirements would have to be satisfied as prescribed by the legislation.
There would be no State costs associated with this proposal.
Date Completed: 2-3-14 Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.