Schools Adopting Security Lockdown Drills
    By Brian Bakst
    The Associated Press

    Tuesday 04 April 2006

    Bloomington, Minnesota - Melissa Galarneault's fourth-grade class at Indian Mounds Elementary had just started a math quiz when the alert came over the loudspeaker: "Attention staff, this is a lockdown."

    The 20 children instantly dropped their pencils, sprang from their desks, scrambled to the front of the classroom and sat silently on the floor. Galarneault rushed to the doorway, dimmed the lights, scanned the hall for stragglers and pulled the locked door shut. She checked to make sure the blinds were drawn, and then joined the huddled youngsters until a coded, all-clear message was sounded over the intercom.

    The entire episode lasted four minutes. This time, it was only a drill.

    Across the country, many schools hold lockdown drills because of terrorism fears and school shootings like the Columbine High bloodbath in Colorado in 1999 that left 15 people dead. But Minnesota could apparently become the first state to require such exercises.

    A proposal before the Minnesota Legislature would mandate at least five lockdown drills a year. To free up time, the number of required fire drills would be reduced from nine to five.

    "There haven't been any kids killed in school fires in Minnesota because we've done a good job with fire safety equipment, with fire drills and so on," said Democratic state Sen. John Marty, a sponsor of the bill. "Unfortunately, times have changed in such a way that we have lots of other threats."

    Last month offered a fresh reminder of the danger, with the first anniversary of a rampage at Red Lake High School in Minnesota that left a teacher, a security guard and six students dead, including the teenage gunman.

    Lockdown drills are this generation's version of the duck-and-cover exercises held during the Cold War 1950s and '60s. Some states, including Arkansas and Connecticut, have laws encouraging - but not requiring - drills in case of a terrorist attack or other threat.

    Backers of the Minnesota bill and groups that track education trends say they are not aware of any state laws that require lockdown drills.

    Legislatures in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and South Dakota are among those weighing laws that would require schools to update safety plans periodically and practice them regularly.

    Kenneth Trump, president of the Ohio-based National School Safety and Security Services, said he wishes all schools would be nearly as conscientious about mock lockdowns as they are about fire drills.

    He said the exercises teach students and staff to respond instinctively to emergencies without panicking, and they allow the staff to identify weaknesses in the preparations.

    "The bottom line is that a plan that's sitting on a shelf in a fancy notebook collecting dust is worth little more than the paper it's printed on if it's not practiced," Trump said.

    Deadly violence in the nation's schools is actually less prevalent now than in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government report. In the 1990s, the number of homicides per year was two dozen to three dozen; from 2000 and 2002, the number has been in the low to middle teens.

    The Minnesota legislation has advanced through committees without protest. While observing the Red Lake anniversary, Gov. Tim Pawlenty threw his support behind it. The state fire marshal is neutral despite the reduction in fire drills.

    In Michigan, fire agencies have come out against a lockdown drill plan because it allows schools to cut back on fire drills. The state's Association of Secondary School Principals has concerns of its own.

    "You are actually teaching the robbers how to rob the bank," said executive director Jim Ballard. "Most violent crime within schools has been student against student. If you're teaching those students what you are going to do in your lockdown procedures, they basically know what's going to happen."

    Minnesota state Republican Rep. Dean Urdahl said there are not many secrets to give away: "The plan is to lock the rooms."

    Child development experts are split over whether the lockdown exercises subject children unnecessarily to stress and fear.

    Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists, said he is not convinced the drills are harmful. But he said teachers and parents should discuss with children why they are done.

    "We have to empower our children to not feel frightened about life but be prepared for it," Feinberg said.

    In Bloomington, school leaders rehearse the plan monthly. The elementary school called a real lockdown last year when teachers heard gunfire outside. The commotion turned out to be a military ceremony at a senior center.