SAFETY A PRIORITY AS KIDS RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM

(Atlanta) - It's back to school time, and as approximately 1.6 million public school students in grades K-12 head back to the classroom, school safety is a top concern.

 The Georgia Emergency Management Agency's (GEMA) School Safety Unit works closely with local school districts and their personnel to ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff, not only in classrooms, but on school buses and at school events.  GEMA school safety coordinators are encouraging local education officials to be sure that school safety plans are up to date as the new school year gets under way, and are recommending that a thorough safety and security site survey be conducted.  They recommend that school officials arrange at least one training class for teachers and staff in a particular safety area.

The school safety specialists are also suggesting that local school officials consider plans and protocols for a pandemic flu response.  Although pandemic influenza has not become a reality, school safety officials are joining health experts in calling for a level of preparedness and encourage school systems to work with local health officials in developing the plans.

"The beginning of the school year also offers a good opportunity for local public safety and education officials to become familiar with each other's organizations and to make sure they are able to operate under a unified incident command system in the event of an emergency," said GEMA Director Charley English.

GEMA officials note, however, that safety begins with students and their parents.  They remind students that weapons, alcohol and drugs are forbidden on school campuses.  And they encourage students or parents who have safety concerns to contact the school administrators or their school's resource officer.

During Fiscal Year 2006, GEMA's school safety specialists conducted 341 technical assistance meetings with local school officials, and 97 school site surveys.  Eight full-scale exercises were conducted and 48 exercise design and evaluation meetings were held.  Over 18,000 teachers, administrators, school bus drivers, and others staff attended various classes and training programs offered by GEMA.

 Under state law, every public school is required to develop a comprehensive school safety plan in collaboration with GEMA and local public safety agencies.  Private schools are not covered by the law, but many have developed safety plans on their own initiative, with assistance from GEMA.