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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
June 25, 2009
Contact: Sarah Krauss
212.669.4193; 917.541.0936
PA Gotbaum: Report Shows City Schools Not Fully Prepared for Emergencies
Survey Finds Schools Fail To Comply With Safety Procedures Required By State Law
Read the Report
MANHATTAN – A new report released today by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum finds that New York City public schools fall short of complying with the requirements of a state law designed to prevent chaos, injury, or loss of life in the event of an emergency. The Public Advocate makes several recommendations for improving emergency preparedness in schools and, in light of recent events, also recommends measures that will mitigate the effects of health-related emergencies, including pandemic flu.
The Safe Schools Against Violence Act (SAVE), signed in 2000 in response to a number of school shootings in the late 1990’s, requires that all state school districts develop district-level safety plans and that all schools develop building-level safety plans. However, a survey conducted by the Office of the Public Advocate found that many schools in New York City fail to follow the procedures required by the SAVE Act—including emergency relocation drills; staff, parent, and student notification of emergency procedures; and school-wide emergency training for staff.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, “Not long ago our city was attacked by terrorists, and our public schools evacuated. Partly because of the SAVE Act, every one of our students was safe on 9/11. Still, there were lessons to be learned from that day, and it is troubling that less than eight years later, that the schools are not as prepared as they should be. It is critically important that the DOE work to ensure that schools follow all provisions of the SAVE Act and strengthen individual school safety plans,
UFT School Safety and Health Director Sterling Roberson said, “This report indicates how important it is for all city agencies to work together to ensure that we are properly prepared to deal with various kinds of emergencies in schools. It is incumbent upon school safety committees – which are comprised of all stakeholders such as PTA presidents, custodians, principals, educators and NYPD representatives, among others – to develop and implement safety protocols that protect students and staff and provide parents with the reassurance that their children’s schools are safe.”
Gotbaum’s report, “Preparing to SAVE: A Survey of Safety Planning at New York City Public Schools,” is based on a survey of 537 UFT chapter leaders, each of whom serves as a member of the Safety Committee at his or her respective school. Findings of the report include:
· 71 percent of respondents said there has been no early dismissal drill (also known as an emergency relocation drill) in their school this school year.
· 50 percent of respondents said there has been no school-wide training for staff on how to proceed in the event of an emergency.
· 28 percent of respondents said staff is not aware of their roles and responsibilities in case of an emergency.
· 21 percent of respondents said they don’t know the chain of command if they think danger is imminent and the school may need to be locked down or evacuated.
· 11 percent of respondents said their school does not have procedures for intruder alerts in the building.
· 35 percent of respondents said the school’s safety plan does not include provisions for notifying parents at the time of an emergency.
· 41 percent of respondents said staff, parents, and students did not receive written information about emergency procedures in the school by October 1 of the current school year.
· 19 percent of respondents said they and other Safety Committee members are not given the opportunity to review, comment, and sign off on the safety plan before its adoption each year.
The Public Advocate makes the following recommendations to ensure that school staff, students, and parents are adequately prepared for any type of emergency that might occur during the school day.
The New York City Department of Education should:
- Ensure that schools hold all required drills and trainings during the school year as required by the SAVE Act.
- Provide schools with a template for addressing a wide range of health issues within the existing school safety plan framework.
- Make information about school safety plans more accessible to the public.
- Implement a public information campaign to inform parents about the school-based emergency alert system it will establish under the Public Schools Emergency Alert Act.
- Review the emergency alert system after first year of implementation.
- Ensure language access equality for the emergency alert system.
The State Legislature should:
- Update the SAVE Act to take lessons learned from 9/11 into consideration.
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