Florida school drill law

Which drills does Florida require, and how often?

By statute, each district school board must set policies and procedures for emergency drills, with the right public safety agencies, covering fires, natural disasters, active assailant and hostage situations, and bomb threats. State Board rules must require every type of emergency drill to happen at least once each school year.

Rule 6A-1.0018(16)(d)2.a. sets no separate count for lockdown versus other active-threat responses, and no separate earthquake, tornado or shelter-in-place drill count; it requires four active-threat drills and two drills on other emergency events.

When must drills happen?

One active assailant drill must take place within the first ten school days of the year. The remaining emergency drills must take place at least once every nine-week reporting period. Under the fire code, the first fire drill and the first emergency drill must take place within the first ten days of school. Districts must vary the time of day when emergency and fire drills are held. A real emergency or a false alarm that triggers a schoolwide protective response may count as one of the six emergency drills. This is allowed, not required.

What are the fire drill rules?

The State Board rule sends fire drills to the Florida Fire Prevention Code. Elementary schools must hold six fire drills and six emergency drills every school year; middle and high schools must hold four fire drills and six emergency drills. In elementary schools, four of the six fire drills must evacuate the building to an outside meeting point, and two may be age-appropriate fire prevention training with content approved by the fire authority (the AHJ, or authority having jurisdiction). In middle and high schools, three of the four fire drills must evacuate the building to an outside meeting point. In middle and high schools, one of the four fire drills may be age-appropriate fire prevention training with content approved by the fire authority. This is allowed, not required. State law says the Florida Fire Prevention Code holds the fire safety laws and rules for the design and construction of public and private buildings, and the code is adopted by the State Fire Marshal. State law makes the Florida Fire Prevention Code adopted by the State Fire Marshal the code deemed adopted by every municipality, county and special district with firesafety duties. The fire code's 8th Edition took effect December 31, 2023; the 9th Edition is in adoption proceedings.

What must each drill include?

Everyone in the building or location where a drill is held must take part. Schools must use plain language to tell students and staff what is happening during drills and real emergencies. Drills must test the functions in the scenario, such as panic buttons, AEDs, lockdown, shelter-in-place or evacuation, simulated calls with first responders and simulated parent notification. The fire code's Florida amendment says emergency drills include panic buttons, simulated first-responder communications and notifying parents of the drill. Under the fire code, emergency drills must include decision-based (option-based) drills, built around a specific set of circumstances, in which teachers and students must weigh the response to that threat as well as evacuating or protecting in place.

What are the school bus drill rules?

The school principal, or designated school staff, is responsible for directing school bus emergency evacuation drills on each bus serving the school during the first six weeks of each semester, and for keeping documentation for all students. Each school bus driver must take part in emergency evacuation drills at least once each semester, under the direction of the principal or the principal's designee.

What limits apply to realistic drills?

Active assailant and hostage drills must follow developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate procedures set in State Board rules. The rule extends that to all emergency and fire drills. Districts may adopt drill accommodations for exceptional student education (ESE) centers. This is allowed, not required. Under the fire code, ESE students and centers may get alternatives to the drill requirements if the fire authority approves.

What role does law enforcement play?

The officers who would respond to the school in an active assailant emergency, as the sheriff decides is necessary, must be on campus and directly involved in active assailant drills. The rule says the same, unless the sheriff decides their presence is unnecessary. The fire code's Florida amendment also says officers must be on campus and directly involved in active assailant drills. Districts must notify those officers at least 24 hours before an active assailant drill they are expected to attend. Districts must write their drill policies with, at a minimum, law enforcement, fire service and emergency management. Active assailant training at each school must involve the district school safety specialist, threat management team, faculty, staff and students, and be run by the law enforcement agency designated as first responder.

Do drills need to be logged or reported?

Each school, including charter schools, must keep a record of all drills for the current and prior school year, available on campus or when the Office of Safe Schools asks. The record must include the names of law enforcement staff present at each active assailant drill. District policies must include each school's verification that drills were held as required by law, State Board rules and fire codes. An after-action report must be completed after every emergency drill and fire drill, and submitted to the district school safety specialist for review 15 calendar days after the drill.

Who is covered?

The rule covers public K-12 schools, including charter schools. The rule's definition of a school facility leaves out private schools. Under a state law on private school facilities, a private school operating in certain existing buildings must meet the fire code's standards for existing educational occupancies. Parents of charter school students have a right to timely notice of threats and significant emergencies.

What has changed recently?

Rule 6A-1.0018 was last amended effective September 23, 2025. A 2026 notice proposed an amendment to the rule; its stated effect covers notice to the Office of Safe Schools, temporary classroom door locks and access control. The proposed text says after-action reports must identify the type of drill, location, time and date. The proposal would also change the drill-timing examples to drills beginning "within an hour before" the start of the school day and "within an hour after" its end. As of October 27, 2026, the proposal is not adopted: the rule page still lists the September 23, 2025 version as the latest final rule, and the newest history entry is the April 22, 2026 notice of proposed rule. A 2026 law (HB 757, Ch. 2026-80) requires training for teachers and instructional staff to explain the purpose and proper execution of school safety protocols and emergency procedures. A 2025 law (SB 1470, Ch. 2025-58) requires public and charter schools to confirm that their panic alert system is connected to the centralized system, if one is set up.