COVID-19: School Shooter Drills Modified When Palm Beach Schools Resume

Social Distancing Impossible In Bathrooms, Closets, Under Desks

BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Code Red drills, drills required by the State of Florida to teach students want to do during a shooting or other calamitous event on campus, will be modified for social distancing.

Law enforcement sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that the Palm Beach County School District, as well as other schools in the area, are reassessing how children can hide, huddle or move en masse while still adhering to social distancing requirements.

Law enforcement sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that the Palm Beach County School District, as well as other schools in the area, are reassessing how children can hide, huddle or move en masse while still adhering to social distancing requirements.

“If there’s one thing no one has had to deal with during COVID-19,” said the source, “it’s the possibility of a violent criminal act at school. That all changes again when schools reopen.”

The concern: students pre-COVID were packed together into small spaces in classrooms when code red drills were initiated — something that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education require at least monthly. Principals initiate the Code Red drills which lock down a campus. The drills are high-stress. Now, those high-stress drills include hiding and silence while kids breathe heavily while wearing masks and staying six feet away from each other.

“Really?” asked a teacher discussing the issue with BocaNewsNow.com. “How am I supposed to hide kids six feet away from each other? There isn’t enough room in my classroom to keep desks six feet away from other desks.”

There was no mention of Code Red drills, fire drills or other drills in a just-released “back to school” COVID-19 parent guide issued by the Palm Beach County School District. A news conference is set for Tuesday morning to discuss several back to school issues. School Police Chief Frank Kitzerow is expected to attend.

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