West Virginia school drill rule

Which drills does West Virginia require, and how often?

The West Virginia State Fire Code adopts NFPA 101, 2021 edition, in full. Under NFPA 101 (2021), which West Virginia adopts in 87CSR1, existing school buildings must hold at least one emergency egress (evacuation) drill every month they're in session, unless two conditions set out in the code are both met. All occupants of the building must take part in each egress drill. The code also requires one extra egress drill within the first 30 days of operation, except at schools open year-round. In climates where the weather is severe, the code lets schools put off the monthly drills, but only if the required number of drills is still held and at least four are held before putting them off. Where the authority having jurisdiction (the official who enforces the code) permits it, up to two of the required egress drills may instead be alternative drills for targeted violence or natural hazard events. This is allowed, not required. WVDE guidance, which names no legal source for these numbers, says two fire exit drills must be held in the first 30 days of the school term, plus one more each month school is in session.

WVDE says fire exit drills may be put off in December, January and February if at least six have already been held. WVDE says fire exit drills must be unannounced and held at different times of day. The State Fire Marshal's guidelines for principals say schools must also hold other emergency drills suited to their area, such as shelter-in-place, earthquake, severe wind and tornado drills. They set no number, and this is agency guidance, not a rule.

What about school bus drills?

Under a State Board of Education rule (Policy 4336), the bus operator must make sure students take part in bus emergency evacuation drills at least twice a year, and three times a year for pre-k students. The first drill must be done by October 31 and the second by April 30 of each school year. Drills must include students exiting through the front and rear doors, and instruction on using exit windows, roof hatches and other emergency equipment. When students with disabilities ride the bus, care must be taken in deciding how much they take part in the drill. The date of each bus evacuation drill must be reported to the district's transportation director.

What does state law require?

Each county board of education had to start a school safety program before September 1, 2019, meeting the law's minimum requirements. Under that law, county boards must provide active shooter training for all school staff and students at the start of each school year. Each school's crisis response plan must include procedures for safe entry and exit, including an evacuation and lockdown plan. The State Board rule that lists what each school's crisis plan must contain (126CSR99, Policy 4373) sets no drill type, count or timing; the word "drill" does not appear in its text.

What does the fire code say about classroom door locks?

School staff must be drilled on locking and unlocking classroom door locks, from inside and outside the room, as part of the emergency egress (evacuation) drills required by NFPA 101. Temporary classroom door-locking devices may be used only in an emergency and during active shooter drills. During any training event, only a school staff member may engage the temporary door-locking device. Fire responder agencies with jurisdiction must be notified before a temporary door-locking device is used.

What must be filed, and who is told?

Each school must file an updated crisis response plan, or a memo saying no update was needed, with its county board and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management by August 1 each year. Schools develop crisis response plans in consultation with local first response agencies, including police, fire, EMS and emergency management. Each school must send parents and guardians a yearly notice that the crisis response plan exists. The State Fire Marshal's guidelines say a designated person in each building must record each fire drill's date and the time it took to leave the building on the State Fire Drill Report Form. The Fire Marshal's report form says to post it where teachers, students and visitors can see it at all times. The Fire Marshal's guidelines also say State Fire Marshals will run fire drills during the school year to check how well buildings evacuate.

Who is covered?

The active shooter training duty falls on each county board of education. The crisis response plan law must include procedures for non-public schools to set up, file and update their plans. Public charter schools are exempt from the statutes, State Board policies and rules that apply to other public schools, except for a listed set of requirements. That list keeps charter schools under the same building codes and regulations as other public schools, including State Fire Marshal inspection. It also keeps charter schools that provide transportation under the same student transportation safety laws as other public schools.

What changed recently?

The current State Fire Code rule took effect July 1, 2026. West Virginia's 2026 Alyssa's Law covers panic alert devices for starting a campus-wide lockdown notification; it is not a drill requirement. A 2026 bill, SB 619 (Stop the Bleed Act), would have required each county's bleeding control program to include the kits in school emergency plans, including their use in all drills. SB 619 did not pass: its last action was referral to the Senate Education Committee on February 24, 2026. The 2025 version, SB 119, also did not pass: its last action was referral to the Senate Education Committee on February 12, 2025.