Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of School Safety will host safety conferences this spring in four regions across the state. WVDE Director of School Safety Jonah Adkins shared the plans at the March meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) in Charleston today.
W.Va Code §18-9F-10 outlines school safety requirements that range from submitting Crisis Response plans to conducting active shoot drills. The regional conferences will bring together county and school administrators as well as school safety personnel to share administrative updates that are important during a crisis event. Topics include updates to how plans are submitted and the coding of student data.
The one-day conferences are still in the planning phases, and dates have not been finalized, but the sessions are scheduled for May in Lewisburg, Romney, Wheeling and Charleston.
“There are several supports available to administrators in the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS),” Adkins said. “So, one thing we will address is making sure everyone understands how loading correct data now is crucial should an emergency event occur. We often spend time on live-action drills and that is important, but data, proper correspondence with families and even minute details can get lost in the planning. We will highlight some of these important areas.”
The FBI will offer insights on local, regional and national issues facing schools and school-aged children, and the Office of Homeland Security will brief attendees on its work with communities and schools.
Policy 2322
The WVBE also approved withdrawing Policy 2322 from public comment. Senate Bill 172 and House Bill 5514 were passed during the recent West Virginia legislative session and are currently awaiting Gov. Jim Justice’s signature. This requires the policy be withdrawn, revised and presented for placement on public comment at a future board meeting, inclusive of legislative amendments.
Policy 2322 was originally amended to clarify language related to the identification of school districts in need of support as it pertains to student academic achievement and success and the required actions of the districts based on the level of support needed. In addition, the levels of support for the county operational effectiveness efficiency indicators were revised to clarify the responsibilities of county board members and the requirements for each level of support.
April WVBE Meeting Date Change
The next regularly scheduled WVBE meeting has been changed to accommodate a meeting conflict. It will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 9 a.m., in Building 6, Suite 600, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East, Charleston, West Virginia.
For media inquiries, contact Christy Day, West Virginia Department of Education Office of Communications, at 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us.
