North Carolina school drill law

What drills does North Carolina require, and how often?

North Carolina requires each public school unit to have each of its schools hold a full school-wide tabletop exercise and drill, based on its School Risk Management Plan (SRMP), at least once a year. Public school units include local school administrative units (school districts) and charter schools. That yearly drill must include a practice school lockdown for an intruder on school grounds. Separately, the principal must hold a fire drill in the first week after school opens, and at least one fire drill each school month after that, in each building where children are assembled.

What counts as a drill?

For the yearly exercise, a drill is a school-wide practice exercise that runs simulated emergency scenarios. One stated purpose is to let participants discuss simulated emergencies in a low-stress setting. Schools are encouraged, but not required, to hold tabletop exercises and drills for the other hazards in their SRMP. The Division of Emergency Management and the Center for Safer Schools must give public school units guidance on which hazards to plan for, including intruders. The yearly drill section names only one required drill element, the practice lockdown for an intruder. It sets no tornado, severe weather, earthquake, shelter-in-place, bus or reunification drill.

What are the fire drill rules?

Fire drills must include all students and school employees and use different ways out of the building to practice evacuating under various conditions. Fire drills are also subject to fire-safety regulations set by the State Fire Marshal, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. A separate statute, G.S. 58-79-35, requires the principal of every public and private school to hold at least one fire drill every month during the regular school session, in each building where children are assembled. Under that statute, fire drills must include all children and teachers and use different ways out of the building to practice evacuating under various conditions.

What does the fire code add?

North Carolina enforces the 2018 NC Fire Code, which the Building Code Council's amendment record identifies as based on the 2015 International Fire Code, effective January 1, 2019. Under the 2015 International Fire Code, as adopted in the 2018 NC Fire Code, school buildings (Group E, the fire code's term for schools) must hold fire and evacuation drills monthly, with all occupants taking part. Under that code, the first evacuation drill of each school year must be held within 10 days of the start of classes. G.S. 115C-288(d) separately requires the principal to hold a fire drill in the first week after school opens. A North Carolina amendment to the 2018 NC Fire Code (section 404.2.3.2, effective May 1, 2019) requires lockdown plan drills to follow the lockdown plan approved under the fire code, and bars counting them as the required fire and evacuation drills.

Do drills have to be reported?

Each public school unit must report the date and time of the yearly drill to the Center for Safer Schools. The principal must file two copies of a written report with the district superintendent once each month during the regular school session. That monthly report must state the date of the last fire drill and how long it took to evacuate each building. The Center for Safer Schools is charged with recommending to the General Assembly a system to document the school safety exercises, including practice lockdowns, that the yearly drill section requires.

Do parents get notice, and are realistic drills limited?

The yearly drill section, G.S. 115C-105.49(a), sets no parent notice requirement for drills. It sets no limits on how realistic a drill may be (no rule on simulated gunfire or role-played attackers), no opt-out, and no trauma-informed or age-appropriate design requirement.

Do police and emergency officials take part?

Schools are strongly encouraged, but not required, to include local law enforcement and emergency management agencies in their exercises and drills.

Who's covered?

The yearly drill duty applies to public school units, which include charter schools. Charter schools are generally exempt from statutes and rules that apply to local boards of education, except as the charter school article and Article 7B provide and subject to their charters. But a charter school must meet the same health and safety requirements as a local school district. The monthly fire drill statute, G.S. 58-79-35, covers the principal of every public and private school. Private church schools, schools of religious charter and qualified nonpublic schools are only encouraged to take the listed safety steps, including a yearly school-wide lockdown exercise with local law enforcement and emergency management.

What has changed recently?

A 2026 law, S.L. 2026-41, requires each public school unit's governing body to develop a cardiac emergency response plan, starting with the 2026-27 school year. At minimum, that plan must plan yearly practice drills for the cardiac emergency response team. Two bills, H816 (2025) and H1184 (2026), as first filed, would require nonpublic schools that receive Opportunity Scholarship funds to hold a yearly school-wide lockdown exercise. Neither has moved past referral: H816's last action was referral to the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee on April 8, 2025, and H1184's was referral to the same committee on May 5, 2026, with no later action as of October 27, 2026. Two recent laws touched G.S. 115C-288 without changing its fire drill duty: a 2025 wording change (S.L. 2025-25) and a 2026 repeal of the driving eligibility certificate subsection (S.L. 2026-46).