How to Manage New York State K-12 Emergency Plans

NYSED Section 155.17 outlines regulations for New York school district emergency plans.

NYSED Section 155.17 outlines regulations for New York school district emergency plans. The regulations can be challenging to navigate, so Altaris has developed this overview to clarify the steps districts should be taking to ensure emergency plan compliance. If you need assistance in developing a district-wide or building-level emergency response plans for your schools, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

District-wide School Safety Plans and Building-level Emergency Response Plans must be adopted or amended by September 1st of each school year. The District-wide School Safety Plan must be posted on the district website and the URL submitted to NYSED as part of the BEDS filing. The Building-level Emergency Response Plan is confidential and must be submitted to the New York State Police via the BEDS portal and with local law enforcement within 30 days of adoption, but no later than October 1st. each year.

District-wide Safety Plan

Each school year, your district must have the District-wide Safety Plan reviewed, revised, and adopted by the District-wide Safety Team. Special attention should be given to changes in contact information or conditions within the district that may require refinement of the plan. Minutes from this review meeting must indicate that team members were able to provide comments on the plan.

NYSED regulations for annual plan adoption including:

  • Making the District-wide Safety Plan available for public comment at least 30 days prior to its adoption by the school board. 
  • Formal adoption by the school board by September 1st annually. 
  • Here is a sample board resolution – BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the amended District-Wide Safety and Emergency Management Plan and the Building Level Emergency Response Plan for each building in the XXXXXX School District for the 20xx-2x school year.
  • Updating the plan on the district website
  • Submission of the plan link on your website to NYSED  within 30 days of adoption and no later than October 1st. Education Law §2801-a and Commissioner’s regulation §155.17 require each district to file a copy of its district-wide school safety plan with the Commissioner. To comply with this requirement, each district must post its district-wide school safety plan on the district website and upload the link via the BEDS portal. 
  • In addition to providing a link to the District Plan, the BEDS portal will request the district to certify that mandated training was provided.
  • Our Suggested Timelines for Annual Emergency Plan Review and Adoption will assist in effective planning to meet these deadlines. 

Applicable Law –  155.17(c)(3)

(3) Each board of education, chancellor, or other governing body shall make each district-wide safety plan available for public comment at least 30 days prior to its adoption. Such district-wide plans may be adopted by the school board only after at least one public hearing that provides for the participation of school personnel, parents, students, and any other interested parties. Each district shall file a copy of its district-wide safety plan with the commissioner and all amendments to such plan shall be filed with the commissioner no later than 30 days after their adoption. 

Building-level Emergency Response Plans (ERP)

Altaris can assist with the revision of your Building-level Emergency Response Plans to comply with NYS regulations.  It is important, however, to update certain information in the plans each year including:

    • Contact Information for administrators
    • Members of the Building-level Emergency Response Team
    • Members of the Emergency Response Team
  • Members of the Post-incident Team
  • Employee listing
  • Master class schedule
  • Floor Plans

Click here for a list of MINIMUM Plan Requirements

It is a requirement that each year, every public school and BOCES review, revise, adopt their plans by September 1st annually.  Plans must be submitted to the NYS Police and local law enforcement within 30 days of adoption, but no later than October 1st annually.  Please note that a 2020-08-17 NYSED Memo states a deadline of October 1st, however, the NYSED regulation on their website (see below) states October 15th as of September 2021. We recommend following the 10/1 deadline in the memo

Submission to New York State Police should be completed via the NYSED business portal.  Click here for detailed information on this process, which can be found beginning on page 4.  NYSED requires B.O.E. adoption of building-level plans ANNUALLY.  Please refer to this NYSED Quick Reference Guide

Districts should check with their local police agency to determine the method of distribution they prefer. Most police agencies in New York should be able to access your building-level plans via the e-justice portal but may prefer a hard copy or PDF version of the file. 

Floor Plans and Schematics

New York State Education Law §408-b states that “authorities for each public and private school building in the State shall submit the most current plans and specifications for each school building under their responsibility to the fire and law enforcement officials in the city, towns, or village where the school building is located.” The law further states that the goal of the law is to facilitate “quick and easy access to and passage through school buildings should it be necessary for fire or law enforcement reasons.” 

While annotated floor plans should appear in each Building-level Emergency Response Plan, we recommend that floor plans be shared with both local police and fire departments. Full-size blueprints are preferred.  

The following is a list of information that should be noted on floor plans for submission to the emergency response agencies:

  • Locations of all exits
  • Barriers, gates, or other impediments that may affect access
  • Hazard areas such as chemical storage, flammable storage, maintenance areas, etc.
  • Confined spaces
  • Utility shut-off for electric, gas, etc.
  • Remote shut-offs for labs, kitchens, etc.
  • Fire alarm panel and any annunciator panels
  • Location of the fire department connections for standpipe and/or sprinkler systems
  • Any installed fire protection systems and their locations – such as hood suppression systems, computer room systems, auditorium/stage sprinklers, etc.
  • Fire hydrant locations
  • Underground gas pipelines, underground storage tanks, etc.

If you’ve come to the realization, “We simply lack the time and expertise to continually manage safety and security”, then Altaris might be the perfect solution for your school district.

Click here to schedule a complimentary 60-minute Consulting Session with our team of expert consultants. You will receive valuable guidance to achieve your emergency planning goals with no obligation and no hard sales tactics.

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