Today, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released a report which finds that New York City public schools fall short of complying with the requirements of a state law designed to prevent chaos, injury, or loss of life in the event of an emergency. The Public Advocate makes several recommendations for improving emergency preparedness in schools. In light of recent events (on Monday, the number of deaths due to swine flu in New York City reached 30) the report also recommends measures that will mitigate the effects of health-related emergencies, including pandemic flu.
In a statement, Gotbaum said:
"Not long ago our city was attacked by terrorists, and our public schools evacuated. Partly because of the SAVE act, every one of our students was safe on 9/11. Still, there were lessons to be learned from that day, and it is troubling that less than eight years later, the schools are not as prepared as they should be. It is critically important that the DOE work to ensure that schools follow all provisions of the SAVE Act and strengthen individual school safety plans."
Read Full Release
Read Gotbaum's report, "Preparing to SAVE: A Survey of Safety Planning at New York City Public Schools."
Comments