§416.16. School emergency operations plans

            A.(1) For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

            (a) "District safety and emergency team" shall mean a team established by each governing authority of public elementary and secondary schools. The team shall include, at a minimum, the local school superintendent; a representative from school facilities, transportation, school nutrition, curriculum, student services, athletics, logistics, mental health, medical services, technology, and special education; the emergency response coordinator; the public information officer; and an elementary school principal, middle school principal, and high school principal.

            (b) "Emergency operations plan" shall mean a plan to address school safety and the incidence of a shooting or other violence at schools, on school buses, and at school-related activities; to respond effectively to any incidents; and to ensure that every student, teacher, and school employee has access to a safe, secure, and orderly school that is conducive to learning. The plan shall also address the management of any other emergency situation.

            (c) "Emergency response coordinator" shall mean a person selected by the local school superintendent who oversees the development of the emergency operations plan and any associated training.

            (d) "Local superintendent" shall mean the chief executive officer of the school or other employee holding an equivalent position.

            (2)(a) A school emergency operations plan shall be prepared by each public school principal jointly with local law enforcement, fire, public safety, and emergency preparedness officials. The plan shall seek to utilize resources and information available through the Louisiana Commission on School and Nonprofit Security, R.S. 29:726.5 et seq.

            (b) In preparing or revising the plan, the principal shall consult with the district safety and emergency team. The principal and the team shall determine whether to consider input from students enrolled in the school and their parents, teachers at the school, other school employees, and community leaders.

            (3) The plan, which shall focus on preventing the loss of life and the injury of students and teachers and other school employees, shall detail the roles and responsibilities of each school employee and of each local and state public safety and emergency preparedness office. The plan shall include the relevant coordination agreements, services, and security measures of a school.

            (4) The plan shall provide for an all-hazards approach response plan for emergency events including any event with a hostage, an active assailant, or a building lockdown.

            (5) The plan shall provide for the notification of parents, faculty, staff, and local public safety officials in the event of a shooting or other violent incident or emergency situation.

            (6) The plan shall provide for the counseling of students by mental health professionals in the event of a shooting or other violent incident or emergency situation, encouraging peer helper programs, and identifying students who may have experienced rejection or other traumatic life events.

            B.(1) Each public school principal, jointly with local law enforcement, fire, public safety, and emergency preparedness officials, shall review the plan at least once annually and shall revise the plan as necessary. Each principal shall submit the plan in writing to the local school superintendent for approval at least once annually, including upon each revision.

            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, when conducting the annual review of the emergency operations plan for a high school, the school principal shall seek and consider input from the students enrolled in the school who shall be represented by either the president of the senior class or the president of the student council and at least one other responsible student selected by the principal.

            (3) Each public school shall complete an annual school safety questionnaire developed and distributed by the Louisiana Center for Safe Schools in partnership with the state Department of Education. The questionnaire shall request information related to the school's compliance with plan requirements, completion of required drills, and identified needs related to emergency response and preparedness. Upon completion of the school-level questionnaire by each school, each public school governing authority shall complete a district-level questionnaire. Both the school-level and district-level questionnaires shall be submitted to the department and the center at a date and frequency to be determined.

            C.(1) For purposes of planning, training, and evaluation, emergency preparedness activities conducted by a school shall be classified as either discussion-based exercises or operations-based exercises, as follows:

            (a) Discussion-based exercises are designed to increase understanding of emergency plans, roles, and decisionmaking processes without requiring physical response activities or simulated movement of students or staff. These exercises may include:

            (i) Orientation or seminars, which introduce emergency plans, roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

            (ii) Workshops, which are used to develop, review, or refine emergency plans, procedures, or interagency agreements.

            (iii) Tabletop exercises, in which participants discuss response actions, coordination, and decisionmaking during a simulated emergency scenario.

            (b) Operations-based exercises are designed to test and validate emergency response procedures through action-based activities. These exercises may include:

            (i) Drills, which test a single emergency function, such as evacuation, lockdown, or shelter-in-place but which shall not involve the use of blanks, simulated weapons, or the active participation of community emergency response partners reenacting response actions.

            (ii) Functional exercises, which test command, control, coordination, and communication during a simulated incident and may involve limited participation by community partners reenacting their specific response roles, without full deployment of personnel or equipment.

            (iii) Full-scale exercises, which involve a simulated emergency scenario using personnel, equipment, and the coordinated participation of all community partners that would be expected to respond to that specific incident.

            (2) Within the first thirty instructional days of each school year, each public school principal shall conduct a safety drill to rehearse the components of the plan, including an active assailant scenario. In addition, each school year, each principal shall conduct at least one additional drill during high traffic or transition points in the school day. Not later than seven days after each drill, the principal shall submit a written report summarizing the details of the drill to the local school superintendent. The superintendent or emergency response coordinator shall provide feedback on the drill to the principal, who shall consider the feedback in revising the plan.

            (3) Each public school principal shall notify all teachers and other school employees regarding revisions made to the plan.

            D. Each plan shall provide that:

            (1) The door of each classroom and other instructional space shall be locked and secured to prevent entry into the room when it is occupied by students, except between class periods when students are moving between classrooms and other instructional spaces. If a classroom or other instructional space is left unlocked or open for any other reason, the door shall be actively staffed by an authorized person standing or seated at the door. Classroom doors with locks shall be in compliance with legislatively enacted code requirements and all fire safety standards promulgated by the office of state fire marshal. Each plan shall provide that a locked door shall not obstruct egress. For purposes of this Paragraph, "locked and secured" means that no devices or obstacles are present which would prevent the door locking mechanism from being fully engaged as originally designed or intended.

            (2)(a) Bleeding control kits shall be placed in easily accessible locations in each school.

            (b) The principal shall designate employees to be trained in the proper use of a bleeding control kit and in traumatic injury response.

            (c) The provisions of this Paragraph shall be subject to the appropriation of funds by the legislature.

            E. A person acting in good faith who administers aid for a traumatic injury, including through the use of a bleeding control kit, shall be immune from criminal and civil liability for the administration, unless personal injury results from gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct in the administration of aid.

            F. Each school year, each public school principal shall be responsible for providing a workshop, which may be incorporated into a meeting or training session held for another purpose, for all teachers and school employees pertaining to the plan and shall involve local law enforcement, fire, public safety, and emergency preparedness officials in the preparation and presentation of the training. The training shall include an active assailant exercise. The training shall be reported to the local school superintendent and the state Department of Education.

            G. Each public school principal shall keep a copy of the approved plan in his office. The plan shall be accessible to the state Department of Education and Louisiana Center for Safe Schools upon request. The principal shall provide a copy to the following individuals, each of whom shall be responsible for keeping in his respective office a copy of the plan that is readily accessible in the event of a school shooting or other violent incident or emergency situation:

            (1) The president of the local school board.

            (2) The local school superintendent.

            (3) The chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the parish where the school is located, as applicable, as well as the local fire chief whose office is in closest geographic proximity to the school.

            (4), (5) Repealed by Acts 2026, No. 821, §3.

            H.(1) The governing authority of each public elementary and secondary school may adopt rules and regulations as it deems necessary to provide for the implementation of the provisions of this Section.

            (2) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Nonpublic School Commission, shall adopt rules and regulations requiring the governing authorities of nonpublic schools to address school safety. These rules and regulations shall address management and response in the event of a shooting or other violent incident on school campuses, school buses, and at school-related activities and shall provide for a safe, secure, and orderly school that is conducive to learning for every student, teacher, and school employee. These rules and regulations may also address management and response in the event of any other emergency situation.

            I.(1) The state Department of Education shall review national awareness campaigns relative to the response to traumatic injuries and develop and offer annual training, or provide updated links to training, on the response to traumatic injuries and the proper use of a bleeding control kit.

            (2) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop rules relative to bleeding control kits that specify the minimum items to be included in a kit, when a kit shall be inspected and restocked, and how often designated employees shall be trained.

            J. In accordance with R.S. 44:3.1, school emergency operations plans shall not be subject to the Public Records Law.

            Acts 2001, No. 313, §1, eff. June 6, 2001; Acts 2013, No. 50, §1; Acts 2018, No. 168, §1; Acts 2019, No. 44, §1, eff. June 1, 2019; Acts 2023, No. 334, §1, eff. June 13, 2023; Acts 2026, No. 821, §§1, 3.