Sec. 3737.73. (A) No principal or person in charge of a | 5 |
public or private school or educational institution having an | 6 |
average daily attendance of twenty or more pupils, and no person | 7 |
in charge of any children's home or orphanage housing twenty or | 8 |
more minor persons, shall willfully neglect to instruct and train | 9 |
such children by means of drills or rapid dismissals, so that such | 10 |
children in a sudden emergency may leave the building in the | 11 |
shortest possible time without confusion. The principal or person | 12 |
in charge of a school or educational institution shall conduct | 13 |
drills or rapid dismissals at least ninefive times during the | 14 |
school year, pursuant to division (E) of this section, which shall | 15 |
be at the times and frequency prescribed in rules adopted by the | 16 |
fire marshal. However, no drill or rapid dismissal under this | 17 |
division need be conducted in any month that a school safety drill | 18 |
required under division (D) of this section is conducted as long | 19 |
as a total of nine drills or rapid dismissals under this division | 20 |
are conducted in the school year. The principal or person in | 21 |
charge of a children's home or orphanage shall conduct drills or | 22 |
rapid dismissals at least once each month while the home is in | 23 |
operation. In the case of schools, no principal or person in | 24 |
charge of a school shall willfully neglect to keep the doors and | 25 |
exits of such building unlocked during school hours. The fire | 26 |
marshal may order the immediate installation of necessary fire | 27 |
gongs or signals in such schools, institutions, or children's | 28 |
homes and enforce this division and divisions (B) and (C)(3) of | 29 |
this section. | 30 |
(B) In conjunction with the drills or rapid dismissals | 31 |
required by division (A) of this section, principals or persons in | 32 |
charge of public or private primary and secondary schools, or | 33 |
educational institutions, shall instruct pupils in safety | 34 |
precautions to be taken in case of a tornado alert or warning. | 35 |
Such principals or persons in charge of such schools or | 36 |
institutions shall designate, in accordance with standards | 37 |
prescribed by the fire marshal, appropriate locations to be used | 38 |
to shelter pupils in case of a tornado, tornado alert, or warning. | 39 |
(C)(1) The fire marshal or the fire marshal's designee shall | 40 |
annually inspect each school, institution, home, or orphanage | 41 |
subject to division (A) of this section to determine compliance | 42 |
with that division, and each school or institution subject to | 43 |
division (B) of this section to ascertain whether the locations | 44 |
comply with the standards prescribed under that division. Nothing | 45 |
in this section shall require a school or institution to construct | 46 |
or improve a facility or location for use as a shelter area. | 47 |
(D)(1) On or before April 1, 2007, and on or before each | 55 |
first day of December thereafter, theThe principal or person in | 56 |
charge of each public or private school or educational institution | 57 |
shall conduct a school safety drilldrills at least four times | 58 |
during the school year, pursuant to division (E) of this section, | 59 |
to provide pupils with instruction in the procedures to follow in | 60 |
situations where pupils must be secured in the school building, | 61 |
such asor rapidly evacuated in response to a threat to the school | 62 |
involving an act of terrorism; a person possessing a deadly weapon | 63 |
or dangerous ordnance, as defined in section 2923.11 of the | 64 |
Revised Code, on school property; or other act of violence. | 65 |
(2)(a) The principal or person in charge of each public or | 66 |
private school or educational institution shall provide to the | 67 |
police chief or other similar chief law enforcement officer of the | 68 |
municipal corporation, township, or township or joint police | 69 |
district in which the school or institution is located, or, in | 70 |
absence of any such person, the county sheriff of the county in | 71 |
which the school or institution is located advance written notice | 72 |
of each school safety drill required under division (D)(1) of this | 73 |
section and shall keep a written record of the date and time of | 74 |
each drill conducted. The advance notice shall be provided not | 75 |
later than seventy-two hours prior to the date the drill will be | 76 |
conducted and shall include the date and time the drill will be | 77 |
conducted and the address of the school or educational | 78 |
institution. The notice shall be provided by mail, facsimile, or | 79 |
electronic submission. | 80 |
(b) Not later than April 5, 2007, and not later than the | 81 |
fifth day of DecemberNovember each year thereafter, the principal | 82 |
or person in charge of each public or private school or | 83 |
educational institution shall provide written certification by | 84 |
mail of the date and time each school safety drill required under | 85 |
division (D)(1) of this section was conducted during the previous | 86 |
school year, as well as the date and time each drill will be | 87 |
conducted during the current school year, to the police chief or | 88 |
other similar chief law enforcement officer of the municipal | 89 |
corporation, township, or township or joint police district in | 90 |
which the school or institution is located, or, in the absence of | 91 |
any such person, the county sheriff of the county in which the | 92 |
school or institution is located. If such certification is not | 93 |
provided, the principal or person in charge of the school or | 94 |
institution shall be considered to have failed to conduct the | 95 |
drillmeet this requirement and shall be subject to division | 96 |
(D)(4) of this section. | 97 |
(4) The police chief or other similar chief law enforcement | 102 |
officer of a municipal corporation, township, or township or joint | 103 |
police district, or, in the absence of any such person, the county | 104 |
sheriff shall issue a warning to any person found in violation of | 105 |
division (D)(1) of this section. Each warning issued for a | 106 |
violation of division (D)(1) of this section shall require the | 107 |
principal or person in charge of the school or institution to | 108 |
correct the violation by conducting thea school safety drill not | 109 |
later than the thirtieth day after the date the warning is issued. | 110 |
The violation shall not be considered corrected unless, not later | 111 |
than forty days after the date the warning is issued, the | 112 |
principal or person in charge of the school or institution | 113 |
provides written certification of the date and time thethis drill | 114 |
was conducted, as well as the date and time each remaining drill | 115 |
will be conducted during the current school year, to the police | 116 |
chief or other similar chief law enforcement officer or county | 117 |
sheriff who issued the warning. | 118 |
(E) The principal or person in charge of each public or | 122 |
private school or educational institution shall conduct the drills | 123 |
or rapid dismissals required under division (A) of this section | 124 |
and the school safety drills required under division (D) of this | 125 |
section during alternating months of the school year so that a | 126 |
drill or rapid dismissal under division (A) of this section is not | 127 |
conducted during the same month as a school safety drill under | 128 |
division (D) of this section. | 129 |