School Safety

The New Albany - Plain Local School District remains committed to a safe and secure learning environment for our students, staff and community. We continue to partner with the New Albany Police Department, the Plain Township Fire Department, and other first responders to make necessary enhancements and improvements to our facilities. In addition, we have worked across campus to update our visitor and volunteer policies and procedures.
Measures taken to optimize safety and security include:
• Reconstructed school building entrances at all of our buildings, with new entry ways and door lock down mechanisms to increase main entry security at our schools,
• Training for staff on police-endorsed safety and security protocols,
• Frequent fire and lock down drills with our students in age appropriate ways,
• Text messaging alerts for parents and guardians, and
• Updated volunteer and visitor policies via action by our Board of Education.

Our ultimate priority is to provide the safest learning environment possible for all students, staff and visitors on our school campus.

Security Checkpoints

The New Albany - Plain Local School District remains committed to the safety and security of our students, staff and learning environments. To ensure everyone’s safety, we continue to partner with our local law enforcement, fire fighters, and other first responders to make necessary improvements.

Security checkpoints include:

Additionally, the New Albany – Plain Local Board of Education visitor policy requires visitors to produce valid photo identification upon arrival. Valid photo identification may include a driver’s license, state identification card, or passport. Our Badge Pass check-in system verifies that the visitor is permitted on our school campus and is not a registered sex offender in the national database.

Identification badges for employees, students in grades six through twelve, and visitors.
Locked exterior doors, with main entrances with secure vestibules with door lockdown mechanisms.
Security cameras throughout campus.
A dedicated school resource officer to patrol our buildings.
Teachers and staff in hallways during passing periods.

Safety Drills

State law requires Ohio school districts to conduct 12 safety drills each year. They must be conducted in conjunction with and reported to law enforcement authorities and the fire marshal.

The 12 required drills include:

Six fire drills. These drills rehearse the most effective way to evacuate students in response to an emergency. One fire drill must be conducted in the first 10 days of the school year.
Three school safety drills. These drills cover an emergency caused by an act of violence. One of these drills must be a lockdown/barricade, where students are secured in the school rather than evacuated.
Tornado drills shall be conducted at least once a month whenever school is in session during the tornado season. The “tornado season” in accordance with the Ohio Fire Code is the period from the first (1st) day of April to the last day of July.
One theoretical school safety drill (table-top exercise) with law enforcement. The purpose of this planning exercise is to provide faculty and staff with instruction regarding procedures to be followed in response to a threat of violence. This drill does not require student participation.
At least one drill/rapid dismissal or school safety drill must be conducted every month of the school year. Additionally, the first drill or rapid dismissal must be within 10 days of the start of classes.

Principals are required to keep documentation of the date and time of each drill conducted. The New Albany-Plain Local School District utilizes the cloud-based NaviGate Prepared school safety system to log and track emergency drills.