CONCORD, N.H. – Governor Christopher T. Sununu’s School Safety Preparedness Taskforce asks the public to participate in increasing safety at New Hampshire’s schools by submitting suggestions through Governor Sununu’s website.
“While no other state has done more to ensure the safety and security of our school kids, we must continue to improve their safety, and public participation is a valuable part of that process,” Perry Plummer, the taskforce chair and director of State Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM), said. “Governor Sununu has charged the taskforce with evaluating and recommending additional steps to ensure that New Hampshire’s schools are the safest in the nation. As such, every suggestion will be brought before the appropriate working group and given full consideration.”
To submit a suggestion, use the Quick Links at Governor Sununu’s website: www.governor.nh.gov.
The taskforce will submit summary findings to Governor Sununu this summer.
The following points summarize how the State of New Hampshire continues to improve school safety and security:
Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) established a School Security Program.
HSEM Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) conduct in-person assessments of the security at participating K-12 non-boarding schools.
Assessments are voluntary, available to all schools, including public and private, and
focused on access control, early detection and notification, and emergency alerting.
More than 88 percent of public schools in New Hampshire have been assessed.
More than 73 percent of non-boarding K-12 schools in the State have been assessed.
HSEM SMEs assist schools with updating and improving emergency response plans.
The HSEM School Security Program with the Department of Education (DOE) and local safety officials provide: Training, drills and exercises, including: teaching school personnel how to effectively communicate and work with local, state and federal emergency responders using the Incident Command System and the National Incident Management System, two nationally used emergency management systems, and training school emergency response planning teams to develop emergency operations plans (EOPs).
Door and window labelling guidance: developed by HSEM for state and local partners to systematically and consistently label school buildings, doors and windows in accordance with the Incident Command System, and to decrease emergency response times by providing vital information about routes of entry and exit for emergency workers, students and school personnel.
School Resource Officer training at an annual seminar to allow state partners and School Resource Officers to share best practices, professional experience, and the latest developments, trends and tools regarding school security.
School facility mapping and layouts are provided in hardcopy and electronic formats to first responders, including fire, police and SWAT teams to decrease response times and increase the safety of first responders when entering a school.
· NH RSA 189:64 requires every public and nonpublic school to develop a site-specific school emergency response plan.
The RSA requires plans to: address a variety of natural and human caused emergencies, including acts of violence, threats, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, fires, releases of hazardous materials, and medical emergencies; to conform to the Incident Command System and the National Incident Management System; and be submitted annually to the DOE by September 1.
The RSA became effective in June of 2017.
The RSA also encourages schools to provide floorplans to HSEM with the approval of the local school board.
· $1.2 million in grant funding was allocated for school security enhancements, between 2012 and 2016.
· $300,000 in grant funding was provided for emergency notification systems, since 2014.
· Governor Sununu allocated nearly $20 million in the Public Schools Infrastructure Fund (PSIF) for infrastructure and security upgrades. As of May 2: 90 SAUs providing oversight for more than 400 schools submitted a total of 665 applications. 379 grants totaling $18.5 million have been approved by the Governor and Council.
376 schools are expected to receive infrastructure upgrades.
Approval processes are ongoing.
· Homeland Security Grant Program provided more than $420,000 for EMS warm-zone equipment for 2016-2017: More than 1,000 EMS personnel have completed awareness level training. Operations level training begins April 2018 with a projected enrollment of 60 per month.
· The State’s Information and Analysis Center is working to create seamless information sharing. The State uses the latest technology to identify threats via social media.