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Safety drills are mandatory in schools and vary by location. Fire drills are practiced quarterly, while earthquake and tornado drills are practiced in specific areas. Lockdown drills for potential acts of violence are also becoming routine. Additional drills may be given if the school’s response is inadequate. Safety drills prepare occupants for emergencies and are an important part of emergency preparedness.
Safety drills are routine procedures in schools of all levels, from kindergartens to colleges. In most cases, government officials mandate the frequency and type of security drills performed. The types of safety drills practiced can vary by location, but some drills, such as fire drills, are practiced routinely in all schools, regardless of location.
Fire drills are practiced in most schools quarterly every year. Fire is a small but still potential threat to any building, and fire drills prepare faculty and students for action in the event of a real fire. In the United States, most schools are required by state law to practice fire drills a specified number of times, and it is up to the administration to meet the requirements.
Other safety drills are also mandated by the government, but may vary by location due to different threat of natural disasters. For example, schools located in and near earthquake-prone areas of the country practice seismic drills, while schools in other parts of the country do not. Similarly, tornado-prone areas conduct tornado drills at varying intervals based on government regulation.
More recently, lockdown drills have also become routine safety drills requested by state or local officials. Lockdown drills are safety drills that practice a plan of action in the event a potential act of violence threatens the school. Many schools now practice these exercises at least once a year.
While the number of times safety drills must be performed in most schools is mandatory, the administration may also decide to perform additional safety drills if it believes that the school as a whole has not responded well to the building plan . If a building administrators feel that more practice is needed, they can give additional drills. Often, staff, students, and faculty are aware that there will be a safety drill, but are not given the time to better evaluate their response.
Safety drills are intended to be a method of preparing all occupants of a building or campus for safe action in the event of an emergency. While the procedure can sometimes be modified for improvement and the frequency may change, safety drills are an important part of emergency preparedness. If you have questions about how or how often safety drills are conducted at your or your child’s school, you can ask administrators for information specific to your district or campus.
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