SafetyFirstImageThe Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) within the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) recently released revised school security and safety plan standards that no longer require that all school employees complete certain Incident Command System (ICS) courses.  Beginning this school year, local and regional boards of education were required to develop and implement school security and safety plans based on the state standards.  The previous set of standards required basic National Incident Management System (NIMS) training for school employees, and specified that such training included the ICS 100 SCa online course.  State guidance for those previous standards had clarified that the 100 level training was mandatory for all school employees, as was advanced training for school administrators, and those courses must have been completed by the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

The new standards relax those training requirements.  The new standards still specify that school security and safety plans must use an organizational command structured based on NIMS and ICS, but now state that “[b]asic NIMS training for school employees may include ICS 100 SCa.” (Emphasis added).  This language implies that basic NIMS training is still required for all employees, but the online ICS 100 course is no longer mandatory as part of that training.

This new language represents a significant change for boards of education that were faced with the logistics of requiring all school employees to complete the ICS 100 SCa course by the end of this school year.  Importantly, the DEMHS still “strongly recommends” that boards of education have all school employees complete the free ICS 100 SCa course and that certain administrators complete advanced ICS courses.  Boards of education may wish to consider the benefit of providing this training to their employees, although it is no longer mandatory.

In addition to promulgating new school security and safety plan standards, DEMHS has also developed and sent boards of education updated school security and safety plan templates based on these new standards for boards to use in developing and revising their school security and safety plans.  There are now two versions of the templates that boards may use.  One version is a plan template for individual schools and the other version is a plan template for an entire school district that would include school-specific annexes.  Boards’ school security and safety committees should review the new school security and safety plan standards and the State’s revised plan templates and update their plans as necessary.

Click here for the new standards.

Questions or Assistance:
For more information about school security and safety standards and plans, please contact Julie Fay at jfay@goodwin.com or 860-251-5009 or Peter Maher at pmaher@goodwin.com or 860-251-5507.

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Photo of Julie C. Fay Julie C. Fay

Julie is co-chair of Shipman’s Education Department, and a partner in the School Law Practice group, where she represents public and independent schools in a variety of special education and general education law matters, with a particular focus on issues relating to students…

Julie is co-chair of Shipman’s Education Department, and a partner in the School Law Practice group, where she represents public and independent schools in a variety of special education and general education law matters, with a particular focus on issues relating to students with disabilities, student discipline, confidentiality, school governance and policy. Julie frequently represents schools in administrative hearings, including expulsion hearings, special education due process hearings and related proceedings, and is often called upon to guide districts in drafting policies and administrative procedures in all education law areas. As part of her practice, Julie has conducted numerous professional development workshops for clients and other school organizations.

Photo of Peter J. Maher Peter J. Maher

Peter Maher represents boards of education and other entities in all areas of school law, with an emphasis on special education issues, labor and employment matters and, more recently, issues related to school operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A former educator, Peter draws…

Peter Maher represents boards of education and other entities in all areas of school law, with an emphasis on special education issues, labor and employment matters and, more recently, issues related to school operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A former educator, Peter draws on his firsthand knowledge of the needs and goals of school stakeholders to provide practical, community-specific and timely counsel that helps prevent problems when possible and solve them when necessary. Whether navigating sensitive special education matters or advising on day-to-day district operations, he partners with his clients to identify opportunities and pursue a clear path in the face of today’s challenges.