How to Hold School Drills Without Traumatizing Kids

New Jersey has taken a huge step by becoming the first state in the nation to focus on the mental health of children during school security drills, as Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law a bill (A-5727/S-3726) requiring school security drills to be age-appropriate and to prevent unnecessary traumatization of schoolchildren. This legislation acknowledges that kids have been suffering from stress, anxiety, and even trauma caused or enhanced by the way school security drills have typically been conducted.

This news marks a high point for school children and for me. I have been speaking out for years on the fact that school security drills are being conducted in a manner that is not necessarily helpful for keeping kids safe and in fact clearly make them anxious. For more, see any of the stories I share in my book Lockdown: Talking to Your Kids About School Violence. I conducted hundreds of interviews with children, parents, educators, and law-enforcement officials in an effort to understand how school security drills were affecting children. Some horrifying stories included children hearing the sound of gunfire over the announcement system during a lockdown drill, and finding out that it was not the real thing only at the conclusion of the drill. Such drills leave some students too frightened to go to the bathroom during the school day.

After hearing heartbreaking stories, I vowed to lead a movement to change these practices, starting in my home state of New Jersey, where I advocated for legislation to address the mental and emotional health of children, as well as the physical health and safety. The first recommendation was the "Just Call It a Drill" approach, which would require that every time there is a school security drill it be announced as a drill. It is disappointing that this specific point was not included in the legislation just passed, but we will continue to lobby for this addition to the law. The legislation Murphy did sign requires school security drills to be age-appropriate and to prevent unnecessary traumatization of schoolchildren. The legislation prohibits the use of fake blood, real or prop firearms, or simulations of gunshots or explosions during school security drills that may induce panic or a traumatic response from a student or school employee. The law strives to find an appropriate balance between ensuring that students are informed and ready for threats that schools face and being sensitive to kids' mental health needs.

A-5727/S-3726 also makes law the following additional guidelines and procedures for school districts conducting school security drills when students are present:

• Drills will include clear, developmentally, and age-appropriate messaging to students and staff at the conclusion of the drill that the event is a drill and no current danger exists,
• Drills must be accessible to students with disabilities and mental health conditions, and provide all necessary accommodations for these students,
• School districts must provide written notification to the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the district following completion of a school security drill, which notice shall be provided to the parent or guardian by no later than the end of the school day on which the school security drill is conducted,
• School districts may permit emergency personnel access to its buildings and grounds for school security drills that are scheduled outside of school hours and during such times as students are not present,
• Districts shall review and update their school security drill procedures using a process that coincides with the review of the school safety and security plan (developed pursuant to state law N.J.A.C.6A:16-5.1 ) and collect input from emergency personnel, parents, and guardians of students enrolled in the district, teachers, and staff employed in the district, mental health professionals, and student government representatives from multiple grade levels,
• Districts will annually track data on such measures and information as are required by the Commissioner of Education and report the data to the commissioner.

Ask your child about the last time their school held a lockdown drill, evacuation drill, or active shooter drill—and then listen. At a moment when children are suffering from record levels of anxiety and depression, there is something schools can do that can lower their fears. Join the campaign to advocate for passing further laws that protect kids' mental health.