§ 1480. Emergency operations plans
(a) Each supervisory union or supervisory district shall adopt and maintain an all-hazards
emergency operations plan for each school site that is at least as comprehensive as
the template maintained by the Vermont School Safety Center. The plan shall be reviewed
and updated on an annual basis, in collaboration with local emergency first responders
and local emergency management officials.
(b) Each approved and recognized independent school shall adopt and maintain an all-hazards
emergency operations plan consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) of this
section.
(c) The Vermont School Safety Center shall maintain an emergency operations plan template
and update the template as appropriate.
[Subsection (d) effective July 1, 2026.]
(d) The template maintained by the Vermont School Safety Center shall include, at a minimum,
hazard-specific provisions for:
(1) Acute cardiac events in schools, including protocols that address:
(A) the use and maintenance of automated external defibrillator (AED) devices;
(B) the specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest during school activities or
within school or district facilities, which shall be consistent with nationally recognized,
evidence-based standards;
(C) the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual
experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on
school grounds;
(D) implementation of AED placement and routine maintenance within each school or district
facility, which shall be consistent with applicable nationally recognized, evidence-based
standards, and which shall include a requirement for clearly marked and easily accessible
AEDs at each athletic venue where practices or competitions are held;
(E) required staff training in CPR and AED use and practice drills regarding the cardiac
response plan; and
(2) An athletic emergency action plan (AEAP) for all public or approved and recognized
independent schools with an athletic department or organized athletic program. The
AEAP shall detail the steps to be taken in response to a serious or life-threatening
injury of a student participating in sports or other athletic activities. The AEAP
established by public and independent schools pursuant to this subdivision shall be
consistent with the athletic emergency action plans policy established by the Vermont
Principals’ Association. (Added 2023, No. 29, § 2, eff. July 1, 2025; amended 2025, No. 72, § 12, eff. July 1, 2026.)
§ 1481. Fire and emergency preparedness drills
(a) Each school board in a district that operates a school shall adopt a policy mandating
each school site to conduct options-based response drills at each school site in the
fall and spring of each academic year. The policy shall require age-appropriate options-based
response drills, including fire drills, to be conducted following the guidance issued
by the Vermont School Safety Center jointly with the Vermont School Crisis Planning
Team and shall require notification to parents and guardians not later than one school
day before an options-based response drill is conducted. In issuing the guidance,
the Vermont School Safety Center and the Vermont School Crisis Planning Team shall
include trauma-informed best practices for implementing options-based response drills.
A superintendent shall report completion of the biannual drills to the Agency of Education
in a format approved by the Secretary.
(b) Each approved or recognized independent school or other educational institution, other
than a university or college, shall adopt a policy mandating the school to conduct
options-based response drills and fire drills in the fall and spring of each academic
year, consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section. The head
of school shall report completion of the biannual drills to the Agency of Education
in a format approved by the Secretary.
(c) A school district, independent school, or educational institution whose administrative
personnel neglect to comply with the provisions of this section shall be fined not
more than $500.00.
(d) Annually, the Vermont School Safety Center and Agency of Education shall review the
reports submitted according to this section and shall ensure compliance and identify
future planning and training needs. (Amended 1973, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1991, No. 24, § 11; 2003, No. 16, § 2; 2003, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 1, 2005; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 136, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2023, No. 29, § 1, eff. August 1, 2023.)
§ 1482. Safety patrols
(a) In the exercise of authorized control and supervision over students attending schools
and other educational institutions in this State, both public and independent, the
school board or other directing authority of a school or institution may organize
and supervise school safety patrols and the appointment, with the permission of parents,
of students as members for the purpose of influencing and encouraging other students
to refrain from crossing public highways at points other than at regular crossings
and for the purpose of directing students not to cross highways at times when the
presence of traffic would make crossing unsafe.
(b) The school board or other directing authority shall obtain and keep in force adequate
accident insurance to protect students acting as safety patrols during the performance
of their services.
(c) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall, upon the request of a school board or other
directing authority of any public or independent educational institution, assign an
officer or officers of the State Police to assist the school authorities to organize
and supervise school safety patrols, advise and make recommendations concerning the
elimination of traffic hazards endangering the safety of students, and otherwise assist
in promoting safety education in the schools of the State. Within the appropriation
of the Department of Public Safety, the Commissioner shall furnish any equipment,
material, and supplies that he or she deems necessary for the proper functioning of
the school safety patrols. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize
or permit any safety patrol member to direct vehicular traffic.
(d) Liability shall not attach either to a school, educational institution, governing
board, individual director, trustee, superintendent, teacher, or other school authority,
parent, sponsor, sponsoring organization, or representative of a sponsor, or to the
Department of Public Safety or to any of its employees, by virtue of the organization,
maintenance, or operation of a school safety patrol and school safety patrol field
day activity organized, maintained, and operated under the authority of this section
because of injuries sustained by any student or person, whether a member of the patrol
or otherwise, by reason of the operation and maintenance. (Amended 1991, No. 24, § 11; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 137, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)
§ 1483. Chapter printed in manuals or handbooks
This chapter shall be printed in manuals or handbooks prepared for the guidance of
teachers in a school or institution subject to the provisions of this chapter. (Amended 1977, No. 33, § 4; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 138, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)
§ 1484. Access control and visitor management policy
(a) Each supervisory union board, member district board, or supervisory district board
shall adopt an access control and visitor management policy that, at a minimum, requires
that all school sites and supervisory union and supervisory district offices lock
exterior doors during the school day. The policy shall require that all visitors sign
in at a centralized location prior to gaining full access to the school or office
site. If a school recognizes a need to leave a specific structure unlocked as needed
for agricultural, recreational, or other reasonably practical purposes directly related
to a school’s mission or curriculum, it may justify leaving that structure unlocked
in its visitor policy.
(b) Each approved and recognized independent school shall adopt a written access control
and visitor management policy consistent with the requirements in subsection (a) of
this section. (Added 2023, No. 29, § 3, eff. August 1, 2023.)
§ 1485. Behavioral threat assessment teams
(a) Legislative intent.
(1) It is the intent of the General Assembly that behavioral threat assessment teams be
used for the purpose of preventing instances of severe and significant targeted violence
against schools and school communities, such as threats related to weapons and mass
casualties and bomb threats. The goal of these teams is to assess and appropriately
respond to potential reported threats to school communities.
(2) It is the intent of the General Assembly that use of behavioral threat assessment
teams shall not contribute to increased school exclusion or unnecessary referrals
of students to the criminal justice and school discipline systems and shall not disproportionately
impact students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including students with
disabilities.
(b) Policy.
(1) As used in this section, “behavioral threat assessment” means a fact-based, systematic
process designed to identify, gather information about, assess, and manage dangerous
or violent situations.
(2) The Secretary of Education, in consultation with stakeholder groups, including the
Commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, Vermont School Boards Association,
and Vermont Legal Aid Disability Law Project, shall develop, and from time to time
update, a model behavioral threat assessment team policy and procedures. In developing
the model policy and procedures, the Secretary shall follow guidance issued by the
Vermont School Safety Center on best practices in the use of behavioral threat assessment
teams. The model policy and procedure shall require law enforcement contact in the
case of imminent danger to individuals or the school community and shall address the
following:
(A) the criteria that shall be used to assess a student’s threatening behavior;
(B) the process for reporting threatening behavior;
(C) the civil rights and due process protections to which students are entitled in school
settings;
(D) when and how to refer to or involve law enforcement in the limited instances when
such referral is appropriate, which shall not include student behavior that is a violation
of the school conduct code but that is not also a crime; and
(E) the support resources that shall be made available, including mental health first
aid, counseling, and safety plans.
[Subdivision (b)(3) effective October 1, 2025.]
(3) Each school district and each approved or recognized independent school shall develop,
adopt, and ensure implementation of a policy and procedures for use of behavioral
threat assessment teams that is consistent with and at least as comprehensive as the
model policy and procedures developed by the Secretary. Any school board or independent
school that fails to adopt such a policy shall be presumed to have adopted the most
current model policy published by the Secretary. Any superintendent or independent
school that fails to adopt such procedures shall be presumed to have adopted the most
current model procedures published by the Secretary.
(4) The Vermont School Safety Center shall issue guidance on the best practices of behavioral
threat assessment teams. The guidance shall include best practices on bias and how
to reduce incidents of bias, developed in consultation with the Office of Racial Equity.
(c) Discipline and student support.
(1) Consistent with the legislative intent in subsection (a) of this section, if a behavioral
threat assessment team recommends, in addition to providing support resources, any
action that could result in removal of a student from the student’s school environment
pending or after a behavioral threat assessment, the recommendation shall only be
carried out in a manner consistent with existing law, regulation, and associated procedures
on student discipline pursuant to section 1162 of this title and Agency of Education, Pupils (CVR 22-000-009), as well as federal and State law
regarding students with disabilities or students who require additional support.
(2) Behavioral threat assessments shall be structured and used in a way that is intended
to minimize interaction with the criminal justice system. Law enforcement referral
and involvement may be appropriate only in cases involving threats, which shall not
include student behavior that is a violation of the school conduct code but that is
not also a crime.
(d) Training.
(1) Each supervisory union, supervisory district, and approved or recognized independent
school shall ensure behavioral threat assessment team members receive training at
least annually in best practices of conducting behavioral threat assessments, as well
as bias training. The annual training shall include the following topics:
(A) the rules governing exclusionary discipline, Agency of Education, Pupils (CVR 22-000-009);
(B) the purpose, use, and proper implementation of the manifestation determination review
process;
(C) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; and other civil rights laws;
(D) the negative consequences of exclusion from school;
(E) the impact of trauma on brain development; and
(F) group bias training, specifically focused on bias in carrying out the duties of the
behavioral threat assessment team.
(2) The Agency of Education, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, shall
develop guidance and resources to assist supervisory unions, supervisory districts,
and independent schools in providing the annual training required under this subsection.
In developing the guidance on bias training for behavioral threat assessment teams,
the Agency and Department shall consult with the Vermont Office of Racial Equity.
[Subsection (e) effective July 1, 2027.]
(e) Data reporting and collection. Annually, each supervisory union, supervisory district, and approved or recognized
independent school shall report data related to completion of and outcomes of all
behavioral threat assessments and manifestation determination reviews to the Agency
in a format approved by the Secretary. At a minimum, the annual report shall include:
(1) the names of the members of the behavioral assessment team;
(2) the number of behavioral threat assessments and manifestation determination reviews
conducted in the preceding year and for each assessment or review conducted:
(A) a description of the behavior requiring an assessment;
(B) the age, grade, race, gender, disability status, and eligibility for free or reduced-price
school meals of the student requiring the assessment; and
(C) the results of each assessment or review;
(3) the number of students subjected to more than one behavioral threat assessment or
manifestation determination review;
(4) the amount of time a student is out of school pending completion of a behavioral threat
assessment;
(5) information regarding whether a student subject to a behavioral threat assessment
was also subject to exclusionary discipline for the same behavior, including the length
of such discipline;
(6) information regarding whether law enforcement was involved in a behavioral threat
assessment;
(7) information regarding whether the threatening behavior was also reported to law enforcement;
and
(8) any additional data the Secretary of Education determines may be necessary. (Added 2023, No. 29, § 4; amended 2025, No. 72, § 2, eff. June 27, 2025.)