Assessments, Plans, Drills and Reporting

District Safety Assessments

In accordance with Wis. Stat. 175.32, 118.07(4), school districts must conduct an on-site safety assessment of schools and facilities in collaboration with local law enforcement, which include playgrounds, athletic facilities or fields. School safety assessments must be conducted before a school board approves a school safety plan. To meet the state requirement, MMSD’s school safety assessment and process was designed in collaboration with the MPD, Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association and MMSD’S Building and Auxiliary Services, and the MMSD Office of School Safety. Schools are assessed under three categories: 1. Human Action 2. Infrastructure 3. Technology School safety assessments are completed every three years by a multidisciplinary team, which includes the Office of School Safety, Building and Auxiliary Services, teachers, administrators, and representatives of Madison Teachers Inc. MPD participated in the review of assessment items and, at the high school level, participated in scenario-based exercises with each school’s critical response team.

School Safety Plans

Every school in our district has a comprehensive written safety plans. These plans are shared with the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety, the Board of Education, and Madison Police. The plans outline strategies preventing incidents from taking place, how we are prepared for them if they do occur, what our response looks like and our steps for recovering from an incident.

Individual school safety plans supplement the district plan and contain confidential information that staff, the district and emergency responders would need in an emergency. Examples include school safety team emergency contact information, a breakdown of staff and students, bus lists, traffic safety plans, any safety hazards in the area, a map of cameras, floor plans, evacuation sites, information about surrounding neighborhoods and so on. The plans establish a baseline and will serve as guides as we continue to evaluate and update them annually.

We also have a comprehensive public District Safety Plan. Updates to the plan are submitted annually to the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety.

Safety Drills

Per Wisconsin Statute 118.07(2)(a)(b) and MMSD BOE Policy 4147, all schools will participate in practicing responses to emergency situations through required drills. All schools will complete 1 evacuation drill per month, 2 shelter drills per year, 1 safety drill (Hold, Secure) per semester, and 1 lockdown drill per semester.

Reporting Threats of School Violence

Wisconsin Act 143 (Wis. Stat. 175.32, 118.07(5)) established another mandatory reporting requirement that states that any staff should make a report, “ if the person believes in good faith, based on a threat made by an individual seen in the course of professional duties regarding violence in or targeted at a school, that there is a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a student or school employee or the public.”

How We Practice Drills

Hold Practice

Announce “Attention staff and students, this is a drill. Hold in your classrooms or areas at this time. Clear the halls.”

Students will remain in their classrooms or designated areas. If they are in the halls or bathroom areas, they will move to a classroom or designated area as soon as possible.
Staff will continue teaching while students remain in their spaces.
After 10 minutes have passed, announce: “Attention Staff and Students, the Hold drill has been lifted. Thank you.”

Secure Practice

Announce “Attention Students and Staff. This is a drill. We are going into Secure. Get inside. Secure and Lock all outside doors”

Students and staff who are outside, will move indoors immediately
Students and staff do not need to hold in classrooms, but do need to stay inside until the Secure is lifted
No one is able to move in or out of the building for any reason. Anyone who is outside after the Secure is called must determine to evacuate to another location.
After 5 minutes have passed, announce: “Attention Staff and Students, the Secure drill has been lifted. Thank you.”

Lockdown Practice

“Attention Students and Staff. This is a drill. Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.”

This protocol is used if there is an active threat inside or close to entering the building.
Get behind a locked door, away from hallway windows, turn the lights off, and be quiet. If you cannot get behind a locked door, self-evacuation is your next best option.
While practicing, each school’s critical response team will wait for students/staff to move to a safe space, then evaluate that each door is locked and that students/staff are out of sight in designated safe zones. Once classrooms are evaluated, occupants will move from a lockdown to a hold. When the drill is complete, the Lockdown will be lifted by the principal stating, “The lockdown drill is over.”
In a real event requiring a lockdown, all staff and students (including all administrators and critical response team members) will be locking down behind a locked door or determining to self-evacuate. The only way for a lockdown to be lifted in a real event is by law enforcement in collaboration with district leaders.

Evacuation Practice

“Attention. Evacuate to _______” or the fire alarm sounds.

This protocol is used if staff and students must leave the building to seek safety.
When practicing, staff and students will likely hear the fire alarm and see bright flashing white lights. This will indicate that they need to leave the building and move to their designated evacuation location on campus.
If there is a reason to evacuate without a fire alarm, there will be an announcement to evacuate followed by a location. The location could be on campus or it could be to a location in the community that is safe.
Students/staff will determine to self-evacuate during a lockdown if they cannot get behind a locked door. If staff/students make this choice, they must locate the nearest external door and run to a safe location (stay on campus for a drill).
In a real emergency event, if a fire alarm sounds before or after a lockdown is called, DO NOT EVACUATE unless you believe there is an actual fire.

Shelter Practice

“Attention. Due to ________, please move to your designated shelter area.”

This protocol is always followed by the hazard with a safety strategy and is the protocol for group and self-protection.
When practicing, follow teacher or staff directions to move out of classrooms and into interior hallways, corridors, bathrooms, or rooms located in the innermost part of a building and at the lowest level possible.
Close all doors, including main doors within hallway corridors.
Crouch near the floor and cover your head.
Stay clear of windows and interior large open spaces, such as auditoriums, cafeterias, or gymnasiums.
Do not use elevators during a tornado warning.

Questions?

Do you have a question about Act 143?

We encourage you to visit the DOJ's Office of School Safety website.

If you have a question specific to MMSD's safety plans, please use the "Let's Talk" box in the lower right of our website.

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