SB1755: USBC and SFPC; changes to Codes for safety measures for schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Department of Housing and Community Development is directed to convene stakeholders representing entities that enforce the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) (§ 36-97 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC) (§ 27-94 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and other law-enforcement organizations to develop proposals for changes to the USBC and SFPC for submission to the Board of Housing and Community Development. Such proposals shall have the goal of assisting in the provision of safety and security measures for the Commonwealth's public or private elementary and secondary schools and public or private institutions of higher education for active shooter or hostile threats. The review of the stakeholders shall include the examination of (i) locking devices, (ii) barricade devices, and (iii) other safety measures that may be utilized in an active shooter or hostile threat situation that occurs in any classroom or other area where students are located for a finite period of time.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Department of Housing and Community Development is directed to convene stakeholders representing entities that enforce the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) (§ 36-97 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC) (§ 27-94 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and other law-enforcement organizations to develop proposals for changes to the USBC and SFPC for submission to the Board of Housing and Community Development. Such proposals shall have the goal of assisting in the provision of safety and security measures for the Commonwealth's public or private elementary and secondary schools and public or private institutions of higher education for active shooter or hostile threats. The review of the stakeholders shall include the examination of (i) locking devices, (ii) barricade devices, and (iii) other safety measures that may be utilized in an active shooter or hostile threat situation that occurs in any classroom or other area where students are located for a finite period of time.
SENATE BILL NO. 1755
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Board of Housing and Community Development (the Board) is directed to revise the Uniform Statewide Building Code and the Statewide Fire Prevention Code, as appropriate, to permit the use, by a staff member of a public or private elementary or secondary school or public or private institution of higher education, of a temporary barricade device on the door of a classroom or any other area where students are located for a finite period of time during an active shooter emergency or active shooter drill. The Board shall require that (i) such device not be permanently mounted to a door, (ii) such device require minimal steps to remove after it is engaged, and (iii) each public or private elementary or secondary school or public or private institution of higher education provide training to its staff members on the use of such device. Additionally, the administrator of any building in which a temporary barricade device is intended to be used shall be required to notify local law-enforcement authorities, local emergency medical services personnel, and the local fire marshal, if one has been appointed, of the intent to use such device prior to its use.