The School Safety Committee Corner is intended to provide general topics of interest and information for consideration by the School Safety Committee for their monthly meetings. We hope this information is useful in helping your committee to improve safety awareness at your school and provide a learning and working environment that is safe, healthy and productive. For additional assistance, please contact your local district OEHS safety official.

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

What is a Safety Committee?

California Schools are subject to various regulatory requirements dealing with safety and health. Within the school environment, the scope of safety programs range from violence prevention to minimizing chemical exposures.

A key requirement of school safety programs is found in California Education Code (CEC) Section 35294.1 (b)(1) dealing with the preparation of “safe school plans”. Specifically, this section requires that the “schoolsite council” or “school safety planning committee” prepare a comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school. A second key requirement is found in California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 8, Section 3203, dealing with the development of an “Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP)”.

Pursuant to CEC Section 35294.1, the “school safety planning committee” must include the Site Administrator or designee, the UTLA Chapter Chair, a classified personnel representative, a student (secondary) representative, a parent of an attending student and a member of law enforcement. Pursuant to 8 CCR Section 3203, the “safety committee” must be chaired by the Site Administrator or designee, and may include the Plant Manager, union representatives, the School Nurse, the Chemical Safety Coordinator, a representative of School Police, and parent or other designated member of the school community.

In order to meet the above requirements, site administrators may establish both a “Safety Committee” and a “Safe School Planning Committee” as referenced above, or may consolidate these functions into a single safety committee.

The school safety committee should meet monthly and is responsible for the following:

• preparing and annually updating Safe School Plan, Volume 1- Prevention Programs by December 1st,
• preparing and annually updating Safe School Plan, Volume 2- Emergency Procedures by October 1st,
• reviewing and updating the IIPP,
• reviewing work-related injury and illness reports and summary statistics, and making recommendations to the Site Administrator on necessary corrective actions,
• conducting periodic site inspections.

Monthly Topics for the School Safety Committee

The following are suggested activities/topics and links for each month to help Site Administrators or their designee plan each month’s meeting.

January:

• Reporting Work-Related Serious Injuries
• Accident Investigating and Reporting

February:

• Reporting School Air Quality and Health Concerns

March:

• “Shake 2008” Earthquake Drill (first week in April)

April:

• Earthquake preparedness month

May:

• West Nile Awareness

June:

• Hot weather preparedness

July:

• Reporting Safety Hazards

August:

• Modifications to Asbestos or Lead Containing Materials

September:

• Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP)
• Safe School Plan, Volume 2 (due in October)
• Schedule of Drills for school year

October:

• School Emergency Supplies (classroom and the bin)

November:

• Chemical product safety/Hazard Communication
• Safe School Plan, Volume 1 (due in December)

December:

• Holiday Decorations and Safety