Colorado school drill requirements

Where does Colorado's drill duty come from?

The state Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) adopts fire codes by rule, matching or modeled on the International Code Council's codes. The fire code it has adopted, in 8 CCR 1507-101, is the International Fire Code, 2021 Edition, in its first printing of October 2020. The adoption covers that edition only, not later ICC amendments or editions. For public schools, DFPC enforces that adopted fire code. DFPC says the adopted code applies to every public and charter school in Colorado. Fire departments may inspect school buildings when needed to make sure they are kept up to the adopted fire code. This is allowed, not required.

How often must schools hold fire drills?

Under the 2021 International Fire Code, which Colorado adopts in 8 CCR 1507-101, school (Group E) buildings must hold emergency evacuation drills every month, with all students and staff taking part. The first evacuation drill of each school year must be held within 10 days of the beginning of classes. The code says "10 days"; it does not say "school days". Drills must be held at unexpected times and under varying conditions. For schools, drills must be held at different hours, such as class changes, assemblies, recess or gym periods, so drills can't be told apart from real fires. In severe climates, the fire code official has the authority to change how often evacuation drills are held and where they end. DFPC's guidance describes the duty as a fire drill within ten days of the first day of school and once a month after that. DFPC also says schools must hold at least one physical evacuation drill each month. DFPC's reading of the fire code also says fire drills must happen at unexpected times and under varying conditions each month, and include all occupants. Where a school has a fire alarm system, the drill must be started with it. Under the fire code, as DFPC reads it, lockdown, lockout, tornado, HAZMAT or other all-hazard drills cannot replace the required monthly fire evacuation drill. The fire code, per DFPC, also says that when a fire alarm sounds, staff must notify the fire department right away.

What about lockdown drills?

Under the adopted fire code, a school may have a lockdown plan only if the fire code official approves it. Under the adopted 2021 International Fire Code, lockdown drills must follow the approved plan and cannot be counted in place of the required fire and evacuation drills.

Are school bus drills required?

Colorado's school bus rules require route drivers and bus paraprofessionals to run emergency evacuation drills with students at least twice each school year; operators of small-capacity vehicles are excluded. One bus drill must be held in the fall and the second in the spring. Students on school-related trips must get emergency evacuation instructions before every initial departure. School districts, charter schools and bus service providers must keep records showing the required bus drills were held or the instruction was given.

What does the school statute say?

Each board of education must set up a school response framework made of the policies the statute lists, and at a minimum those policies must require the listed items. Those policies must require, to the extent possible, that each public school, with its district, hold coordinated exercises with school staff and community partners. Those exercises include all-hazard drills, in addition to fire drills, to improve emergency procedures and test communications; the statute sets no frequency. They must also require, to the extent possible, that each public school create an all-hazard exercise program based on NIMS (the national incident management system) and run tabletop and other exercises with community partners. Each public school must write an evaluation after exercises and address lessons learned and corrective actions. At least every academic term, each public school must inventory its emergency equipment and test its communications equipment.

Do drills need to be logged or reported?

Under the adopted 2021 International Fire Code, schools must keep records of required evacuation drills, including who ran the drill, its date and time, the notification method used, and the staff on duty and taking part. The records must also include how many students and staff were evacuated, any conditions simulated, problems found, the weather, and the time it took to evacuate fully. DFPC must ask each school how many and what type of all-hazard drills it held beyond regular fire drills. Answers that do not relate to the fire code cannot be the basis for a deficiency notice or enforcement.

What role do law enforcement and responders play?

School resource officers must be familiar with their school's response framework and all-hazard exercise program. Each district must adopt written procedures for acting and communicating with local law enforcement, emergency services, parents, students and the media during certain incidents. A school district board may agree with its local civil defense agency on a plan for evacuating school buildings. This is allowed, not required. For those evacuation drills, a district may run its school buses outside district boundaries.

Who is covered?

The school statute covers school districts and their public schools. The state charter school institute must set up a matching school response framework for each state charter school. DFPC says the adopted fire code applies to every public and charter school in the state. The state rule for fire code enforcement in schools, 8 CCR 1507-30, covers public school buildings; its scope section does not name private schools. The school bus drill rule covers school districts, charter schools and bus service providers.

What has changed recently?

HB25-1248 (2025, Session Laws chapter 251) amends the school response framework section only in its opening list of policies; it does not change the drill and exercise items. HB26-1252 (2026) amends only the opening of the school response framework section and its staff training item; it does not change the drill and exercise items. The Governor signed HB26-1252 on June 4, 2026; it is Session Laws 2026, chapter 382, effective August 12, 2026. As of October 27, 2026, the Secretary of State lists no referendum petition approved for circulation, so none is shown against HB26-1252. SB25-027 added a section of law on trauma-informed practices for school safety drills; its work group duty falls on the state Office of School Safety, not on schools. The Governor signed SB25-027 on June 3, 2025; it is Session Laws 2025, chapter 363, effective August 6, 2025. The work group parts take effect if the Office of School Safety receives $50,000 in gifts, grants or donations for that purpose, and it must notify the Revisor of Statutes in writing when that happens. The Revisor of Statutes keeps a public list of the most recent notices sent to it. The section repeals July 1, 2027 unless that notice is received.