As a new legislative session kicks off in Albany, some New York City parents are pressing lawmakers to reform the mandatory school lockdown drills they worry are traumatizing children.
Since 2016, the state has required all schools – both public and private — to hold four lockdown drills each academic year.
The reform bills, introduced by state Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, would reduce the required number of lockdown drills from four to one per year. They would also mandate advance notice to parents about when a lockdown drill will be held, allow parents to opt out, and require more training for educators. Schools would be allowed to do more than one drill per year if they wish.
Parent Marco Pupo said he first became concerned about the drills after picking his son up from kindergarten at his public school on the Lower East Side.
“The first thing he said when I picked him up was, ‘Daddy, there was danger in school today. There was someone trying to get inside of the school to get us,’” said Pupo, who is among the parents advocating for the legislation.
His son didn’t understand that they were only practicing for a threat. “He continued to insist that it was the real thing,” Pupo said.
“I don’t judge or blame anyone who created this, but at the same time, I think there’s way better ways of managing this situation,” he said.
The drills are prevalent nationwide as schools try to protect children from gun violence and mass shootings. There were 37 school shootings around the country last year, according to a tally by Education Week.
Brooklyn Tech senior Sonja Aibel said she’s been doing lockdown drills for as long as she can remember, but that hasn’t made her feel safer. “I don’t feel confident that this is going to help us in the case of a threat,” she said. Instead, the drills make her feel more anxious. Crouched in a corner during the drills, her mind calls up disturbing images from the news. “I typically…
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