HARTSELLE, AL (WAFF) -
A plan to help protect kids in school no longer includes kids in school.
The Hartselle City School system had been looking at holding a live shooter
drill while elementary school children were in class, but that has changed.
The Hartselle School System's safety plan committee is making a new
recommendation do hold the drill outside of school hours.
That committee is made up of law enforcement, emergency workers, emergency
management, school officials, and parents.
Many parents protested the original idea of conducting the drill at F.E.
Burleson Elementary School.
One started an online petition against it that got more than 1,000
signatures. They planned to present the petition during the next school board
meeting on February 10, but now Superintendent Mike Reed said the board of
education will vote on this new plan at that meeting.
Reed said the idea to hold the drill during school hours was just that - an
idea.
In fact, an actual full scale drill, if approved, could be a year away.
The
Morgan County EMA told Hartselle School officials they could get the drill
ready to go in four weeks if the school systems safety plan committee wanted to
accelerate the process, but instead they're looking to build a comprehensive plan,
piece by piece.
The
EMA is helping to coordinate the plans. Director Eddie Hicks said they want to
follow guidelines used by the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation program.
They would establish an exercise design team that work with the school system
and police to map out plans from the ground up. That would include smaller
drills first, taking those they already do in schools - like evacuation and
lockdown drills - and fine tuning them.
Hicks
said if the board approves the plan to conduct a school shooter drill, it may
not happen until the next school year.
The Hartselle Board of Education
could vote in the new recommendation hold a school shooter drill at their next
meeting February 10th.
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Many parents protested the original idea of conducting the drill at F.E. Burleson Elementary School.
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