Written by: Amy Rock – July 26, 2024
NEW YORK — The New York State Education Department voted to ban realistic active shooter drills in schools to reduce unnecessary trauma and fear for students.
The state’s new rules, approved by the Board of Regents on Monday, call for a “trauma-informed” and “age-appropriate” approach to drills that excludes the use of “props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting, incident of violence, or other emergency” when school or extracurricular activities are in session, the New York Times reports. If school officials want to hold a realistic drill, it must be done when school is not in session and students who wish to participate must receive written approval from their parents or guardians.
“Training and drills intend to prepare and train, not to scare … so that they may in a sudden emergency be able to respond appropriately in the shortest possible time and without confusion or panic,” the department wrote in a statement. “In recent years, concerns have been raised nationwide about the unintended trauma or harm to students, staff, and/or families that may result from drills that are not communicated as being practice rather than an actual emergency. Emerging research has demonstrated that ‘active shooter’ trainings increase anxiety and stress among students, teachers, and parents.”
New York Students, Staff, Parents to Be Notified of Active Shooter Drills
The new rules require schools to notify staff and students about planned drills. Parents must also be notified a week in advance. School officials do not, however, have to tell the parents exactly what day the drill will occur.
Parents have made comments at local school board meetings expressing shock at what their children tell them about the drills, according to the Times-Union. One parent said her preschooler, who attended a private preschool for children with disabilities, was taught to stand on a toilet seat to avoid being seen. Some older students have attended meetings to share how they were terrified during drills because they were unsure if they were real.
Others have expressed opposition to the new rules. Several people from one school district sent a letter to the Education Department in objection to the ban.
“These commenters argue that the active shooter training provided to employees and students in grades 9-12 is essential to preparedness and request that training methods be left to local discretion,” the department said.
The rules will go into effect this school year, and both public and non-public schools will be required to conduct eight evacuation drills and four lockdown drills each year.
How Parents Can Talk to Their Children About School Violence
Discussing school violence with children, particularly gun violence, can be very challenging. In an interview with Campus Safety, Teodora Pavkovic, a psychologist and parenting coach, said there are different approaches that can be taken and considerations that can be made when discussing violence in schools.
“It’s important to keep in mind that each child will be different and each parent knows their child the best, first and foremost. Then the teachers who spend sometimes even more time with these kids than their parents do will also know best in terms of their maturity level,” she said. “These [recommendations come from] fields like psychiatry and pediatrics. Some of these recommendations give us a general sense of when to talk to kids about it, when not to, and how to do it.”
While not all students fall perfectly into these categories based on factors such as emotional maturity or past trauma, here’s how Pavkovic recommends parents approach the topic.
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