WASHINGTON — For the upcoming academic year, Montgomery County Public Schools has added a new mandatory drill: training for active shooter situations.
“Every school will drill at least one time [this year],” Montgomery County Public Schools COO Andrew Zuckerman told WTOP. “We trained all of our principals in August.”
The active shooter drill joins a list of six other mandatory drills for students and teachers, including training for lockdowns, sheltering in place and severe weather.
“We’re moving as quickly as we can on this,” Zuckerman said. “Students in middle school and elementary school need to do this, and we need to have the right developmental supports in place to help kids.”
While some schools in the Montgomery County school system already practiced active shooter drills, it will now be mandatory for all schools to conduct at least one drill per year.
This additional training comes after a recent spate of school shootings across the country. In February, 17 students and faculty were killed when a gunman opened fired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, sparking months of student-led protests advocating for stricter gun regulations.
In March, two people were killed in a shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland.
WTOP’s Nick Ianelli contributed to this report.
