On June 23, 2014, Governor Quinn signed Public Act 98-0661 (“Act”), an amendment to the Illinois School Safety Drill Act. The Act clarifies how public school districts can make a school building’s updated emergency and crisis response plans available.
After updating a school building’s emergency and crisis response plans, “consideration may be given” to making those plans available to first responders, administrators, and teachers for implementation and utilization through the use of electronic applications on electronic devices. The Act specifies that those electronic applications may be available on, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers.
It is important to note that the Act is not mandatory, but rather is an option that school districts may choose in order to more efficiently communicate their updated emergency and crisis response plans to faculty, staff, and first responders.
In fact, the Illinois House of Representatives rejected an earlier version of the Act that would have required school districts to make updated emergency and crisis response plans available in a digital format, as well as required sending them to first responders, administrators, and teachers in a format available on handheld electronic devices. The Act goes into effect on January 1, 2015.
Contact Nancy Krent or Chris Hoffman with your school safety inquires.
