Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 128 into law on April 10th, changing the number of safety drills K-12 schools in Kansas must perform each year from 16 to nine.

Senate Bill 109 passed in 2018, and schools were required to change the number and type of drills conducted during the school year. The change required schools to conduct nine crisis drills, four fire drills and three tornado drills during the school year. The change was positive in bringing crisis drills to schools, but the total number provided to be overwhelming for many school districts.

With that in mind the State Fire Marshal’s office noted that Senate Bill 128 was introduced to reduce the number of drills required for schools. Now schools will be required to conduct at least two tornado drills ( one in September and one in March ), three crisis drills and four fire drills per school year.

Crisis drills should reflect events that have a potential to occur in your school and can include, but are not limited to things such as a water main break, earthquake, missing student hazardous spills, intruders, active shooters or medical emergencies.

The new law went into effect July 1st, 2019.