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Otsego Northern Catskills

BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Language  

Emergency Planning and Response

Mandate:
Legislation and/or Regulation:
  • Sections 101, 207, 305 and 2801-a of the Education Law and Chapter 181 of the Laws of 2000
  • Section 155.17 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Project SAVE requires school districts to form emergency planning and response teams, and develop both district- wide and building-level School Safety Plans. (This is currently being improved using standardized language consistent with current national emergency response protocols, which simplifies and provides consistent formatting of the critical information necessary to improve rapid response to emergencies.)
What the SRM Service can do to help:
Services:
  • Assistance in writing and revising District-Wide School Safety Plans and Building-Level School Safety Plans, meeting legislative mandates contained in 8 NYCRR Section 155.17.
  • Coordination and/or participation with the District-Wide and/or Building-Level School Safety Teams; Coordination and/or training of District-Wide and/or Building-Level Emergency Response Teams; Coordination with local response agencies for the above drills and exercises; Coordination of documentation and review of drills and exercises.
  • Generation of building and campus maps and diagrams for emergency response plans, teams and personnel.
  • Assistance with Drills and Exercises for practice and testing of the school safety plans; assistance with planning and conducting drills, table top exercises, functional exercises and full response exercises.
  • Mapping and diagramming of school buildings and campuses as a resource for emergency response planning via aerial photography and/or GIS/GPS (Geographic Information System/Global Positioning System). Final product can be distributed on paper, on CDROM, DVD or via the internet.
  • Provide information of workshops or training assistance to support planning efforts.
  • For More information on Project SAFE, See tabs below.

Required Drills

Drills required by NYS Education Department

The statute now requires twelve drills be conducted each school year, four of which must be lock-down drills, the remaining eight are required to be evacuation drills (4 of the 8 evacuation drills are to use a secondary means of egress). The date to complete the first eight drills has been changed to December 31.  

The first eight drills should be some combination of the two types of drills, however the legislation does not specify the combination.

The following PDF contains the full section of the law as it is posted on the New York State Legislature web-site.

Recent Legislative Changes Related to School Emergency Response Planning  - May 19, 2016
Changes to safety plans required this summer - May 23, 2016
District-Wide School Safety Plans and Building-Level Emergency Response Plans - September 13, 2016

Go Home Drill

Sample Memo

SAMPLE MEMORANDUM

 

To:                   Parents and Guardians

From:             

Subject:          “Go Home” Drill --- Early Dismissal

Date:              

 

On Thursday, November 10th, the school district will send students home 15 minutes early to test its Emergency Management Plan.  The “Go Home Drill” is required once a year by the New York State Education Department.

 

The purpose of the early dismissal drill is to test the effectiveness of the transportation and communication systems in the event of an emergency.

 

Copies of the Emergency Management Plan can be found in the main office.  The emergency coordinator for the school district is _____________________ and can be reached at _______________________.

NY Safe School

The New York's Safe Schools (NYSS) is a government agency which provides technical assistance and training to schools, students, families, communities and government organizations throughout New York State.

The NYSS and its diverse staff are committed to providing research-driven, data-based solutions to school violence and the implementation of policy as directed by the New York State Education Department and the New York State Office of the Governor.

The agency assists school districts in developing a comprehensive view of safety: physical plant safety as well as the school climate and culture. The NYSS plays a key role helping school districts implement the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) law and the Dignity for All Students Act. The agency has been actively involved in assisting with guidance for the school safety planning. It has also worked with districts to implement federally funded projects such as the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS). The agency provides consultation to the Federal REMS Technical Assistance Center in the Office of Safe and Healthy Students of the US Department of Education.

The NYSS is and has been an important collaborator in statewide initiatives for school safety and a valuable resource to school districts.   For more information click on the Related Link for the NYSSabove.

Homeland Security

Welcome to the official website of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES).  You will find the information here to be a valuable and useful resource, whether you are an emergency manager, first responder, or a member of the public.Created in 2010, DHSES and its five offices  -- Counter Terrorism, Cyber Security, Emergency Management, Fire  Prevention and Control, and Interoperable and Emergency Communications --  provide leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies.

Under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's leadership, DHSES has taken great strides in enhancing the State's readiness and response capabilities.  From terrorist threats to natural weather challenges, it is critical that we remain focused on strengthening our partnerships through increased communication and coordination.

The website provides daily awareness of emergency-related events and activities from throughout the State including cyber alerts, State Fire alerts and bulletins, weather and travel, and State and national threat levels.  It also provides easy access to reporting terrorism tips as part of the State's "See Something, Say Something" campaign and to the State's all-hazards alert and notification system, NY-Alert (www.nyalert.gov).

I encourage you to take time to browse the website and learn more about the DHSES mission.  Feel free to send us your comments. With continued knowledge and awareness, we ensure that our communities remain safe, secure and prepared.

Jerome M. Hauer, Commissioner

Homeland Security and Emergency Services: Training and Exercises

Cyber Security

Cyber Security Awareness Kids Safe Online
Protecting Our Children On the Internet

In celebration of October Cyber Security Awareness Month, the NYS Enterprise Information Security Office has provided a number of educational resources available to the public. Resources include cyber security themed posters, calendars, bookmarks, guides, brochures and other content that can be downloaded and branded to help promote and reinforce cyber safety in practical, informative, entertaining and usable ways.

2016 Cyber Security Awareness Month

Poster Contest
The goal of the contest is to engage young people in thinking about cyber security through the creation of posters that will encourage their peers to use the Internet safely and securely.

Other Events
National Cyber Security Awareness Month Focused on a different cyber security issue each week

Resources

The sponsors of the poster contest believe that young people know best how their friends and classmates are using the Internet and can craft the messages and the images that will resonate with their peers and help them stay safe online.
The poster contest is designed to be fun and educational.  Enter the New York State contest to become eligible for the national contest! Winners will be awarded in New York in early 2017. Winners will be submitted to the national contest for each grade-band (k-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9 -12).

Entries may be used in national, regional and state cyber and computer security awareness campaigns. Examples can be found on the Kids Safe Online Webpage at http://its.ny.gov/eiso/keeping-kids-safe/children

We encourage teachers to use the poster contest as one way to begin addressing cyber security and online safety issues in the classroom. For information and resources about cyber security issues visit the "Protecting our Children on the Internet".

On Guard

OnGuard Online

OnGuardOnline.gov is the federal government’s website to help you be safe, secure and responsible online.
The Federal Trade Commission manages OnGuardOnline.gov, in partnership with the federal agencies listed below. OnGuardOnline.gov is a partner in the Stop Think Connect campaign, led by the Department of Homeland Security, and part of the National Initiative for Cyber security Education, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.       

Click on the link above to access the website.