Virginia school drill law

Which drills does Virginia require, and how often?

Every public school must hold a lockdown drill at least once during the first 20 school days of each school session. Every public school must hold at least one more lockdown drill after the first 60 days of the session. Every public school must hold at least one tornado drill every school year. Every public school must hold fire drills during the school session under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code. Separately, each school board must develop training on emergency safety procedures and give it to every student and employee at least once each school year.

What do the state rules add?

Board of Education accreditation rules require each school's administration to hold fire drills under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code Act and to post student evacuation routes in each room. The same rules require lockdown drills under § 22.1-137.2 and tornado drills under § 22.1-137.1. The Statewide Fire Prevention Code bars evacuation drills in school buildings during mandatory testing periods set by the Virginia Board of Education. The Statewide Fire Prevention Code incorporates the 2021 International Fire Code by reference, as an enforceable part of the code. All students who ride the bus must practice emergency exit drills at least twice a year, with the bus driver taking part. Summer-session bus evacuation drills are recommended as needed, not required.

How many fire drills does the fire code require?

Virginia's drill statute sets no fire drill count of its own; fire drills follow the Statewide Fire Prevention Code. Under the 2021 International Fire Code that Virginia adopts, required evacuation drills must be held at the intervals in the code's drill table, or more often where needed. Under the fire code, a school's first evacuation drill of each school year must be held within 10 days of the beginning of classes. The fire code also requires school evacuation drills at different times of day, including class changes, assemblies and recess, so drills cannot be told apart from real fires. Under the fire code, lockdown drills follow the approved lockdown plan and cannot replace the required fire and evacuation drills, and drills must be designed in cooperation with local authorities. State guidance from the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety (part of DCJS, the Department of Criminal Justice Services), revised May 1, 2026, reads the Code, accreditation rules and fire code together as one fire drill in the first 10 school days, then one every month for the rest of the school term, for every public school.

Do parents get notice?

Public schools must give parents at least 24 hours' notice before any lockdown drill; the notice does not have to include the exact date and time.

What rules protect young students and students with disabilities?

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are exempt from mandatory lockdown drills during the first 60 days of the session, and local school boards must adopt policies to carry out that exemption. After the first 60 days, each pre-kindergarten and kindergarten student must take part in every lockdown drill. Public school evacuation plans must include provisions that seek to maximize the opportunity for students with mobility impairments to evacuate alongside their classmates.

Do police and fire officials take part?

School crisis, emergency management and medical emergency response plans must be developed with the local chief law-enforcement officer, fire chief, EMS chief, regional EMS council director and emergency management official. Each local school board must require its schools to conduct school safety audits every year.

What about cardiac emergency drills?

Each public school's cardiac emergency response plan or athletic emergency action plan must provide for practicing responses to sudden cardiac arrest on school grounds through drills at least once a year.

Who is covered?

The lockdown, tornado and fire drill statutes apply to every public school. The adopted fire code's drill rules attach to Group E buildings, which it defines by use: six or more persons using a building for education through 12th grade. The definition draws no line between public and private schools.

What changed recently?

The official history lines, dated October 27, 2026, list no 2025 or 2026 act for any of these four sections. The fire drill section, § 22.1-137, was last amended in 2024. The tornado drill section, § 22.1-137.1, has not been amended since it was enacted in 2001. The lockdown drill section, § 22.1-137.2, was last amended in 2021. The yearly emergency safety training section, § 22.1-137.3, has not been amended since 2019.