Indiana school emergency plan law
What Indiana requires of school emergency operations plans: who writes one, what goes in it, and who gets a copy.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 26, 2026
What does Indiana require of school safety plans?
Indiana's plan requirement rests on statute: IC 10-21-1-10 requires each school corporation (public school district) to develop a school safety plan. Each charter school must also develop a school safety plan. A school safety specialist must develop, carry out and improve a school safety plan for each school building.
Who must have a plan?
The school safety plan chapter does not apply to virtual charter schools or virtual accredited nonpublic schools. Accredited nonpublic schools may, but are not required to, set up a school safety plan under IC 10-21-1-10. Separately, each charter school and state accredited nonpublic school must adopt a local school safety and emergency plan covering employee training and periodic drills. A charter school that writes an IC 10-21-1-10 school safety plan meets that local-plan requirement. Each school run by a school corporation must set up a safe school committee, which must actively help develop the school safety plan.
What must the plan contain?
| The plan must | Source |
|---|---|
| Protect against outside and internal threats to physical safety, including school violence, bullying, child abuse, mental and behavioral health, and suicide | IC 10-21-1-10(c)(2)(A) |
| Prevent unauthorized access to school property and rooms, including managing authorized visitors | (c)(2)(B) |
| Secure schools against natural and manmade disasters, including all drill requirements in IC 20-34-3-20 | (c)(2)(C) |
| Set an armed intruder drill protocol with accommodations for students with mobility, sensory, auditory or visual limitations | (c)(2)(D)(i) |
| Include a site vulnerability assessment for each school building | (c)(2)(E) |
| Include a multi-disciplinary threat assessment team, no later than July 1, 2025 | (c)(2)(F) |
| Include steps to speed up first responder notification and access to school property | (c)(2)(G) |
| Include any added requirements set by the Indiana State Board of Education | (c)(2)(H) |
A site vulnerability assessment is a look at the physical safety, security, accessibility and emergency preparedness of buildings and grounds. The plan must attest that floor plans showing entrances, exits, interior rooms, hallways and hazardous materials were given to local law enforcement and fire. Instead, the plan may attest that the school did critical incident digital mapping of each building.
How is the plan reviewed?
Before the plan is shared or filed, the superintendent or a school safety specialist must present it to the governing body, or the charter school's organizer, in a closed (executive) session. The IDHS (Indiana Department of Homeland Security) Office of School Safety may ask to meet with a school corporation or charter school to review its plan, and schools must comply with those requests.
Is the plan submitted, and to whom?
| The plan must be | Source |
|---|---|
| Given to the law enforcement agency and fire department with jurisdiction | IC 10-21-1-10(c)(5) |
| Filed with the county school safety commission | (c)(7) |
| Available for inspection by the IDHS Office of School Safety | (c)(4) |
| Given to a member of the Secured School Safety Board on request | (c)(3) |
The county school safety commission receives the plans of the county's school corporations and charter schools. Charter and state accredited nonpublic schools must give building floor plans to the law enforcement agency and fire department with jurisdiction.
How do schools work with police, fire and emergency management?
The plan is developed by the school safety specialist and the safe school committee, including a school resource officer if one is employed, in consultation with the local law enforcement agency and fire department. The county commission may share plans with law enforcement and first responder agencies that have jurisdiction. Each county school safety commission includes the fire chief of a fire department in the county, or the chief's designee. The IDHS Office of School Safety must set and keep guidelines for developing and maintaining school safety plans. With the school safety specialist and any school resource officer, the Office of School Safety must give each safe school committee materials and guidelines for a school policy on carrying out the plan.
What training goes with the plan?
School safety specialists must take part each year in the school safety training days set by the Office of School Safety. The school safety specialist certification course must include training in developing and carrying out a school safety plan.
Is the plan confidential?
The school corporation or charter school must keep its school safety plan confidential. Agencies that receive plan information must keep it confidential and withhold it from public disclosure, and the county commission must keep the plans confidential. Governing bodies may meet in executive session to discuss school safety and security plans. Indiana's public records law lets a public agency, at its discretion, withhold school safety and security measures, plans and systems.
How is it checked?
A school corporation's Secured School Safety grant application must say whether it has completed a school safety plan and filed it with the county commission. When applying for that grant, a school corporation must certify to IDHS that its governing body reviewed its plan.
What changed recently?
HEA 1637 (2025) created the IDHS Office of School Safety and moved the plan inspection right from the Department of Education's physical security division to that office, effective July 1, 2025. IC 10-21-1-10 was last amended by P.L.238-2025, SEC.42. HEA 1104 (2024) amended IC 10-21-1-10 effective July 1, 2024. HEA 1016 (P.L.27-2025) added a fire chief, or the fire chief's designee, to each county school safety commission. IC 10-21-1-9, as amended by a 2026 law (P.L.28-2026), has the IDHS Office of School Safety set how many days of school safety training each specialist takes each year.
How can QuickSecure help?
SOPs keeps your emergency operations plan and procedures in one place, and staff can open them from their phones.
Each procedure keeps its version history, so you can see what changed and when.
You choose which roles can see each procedure, and staff confirm they've read it, so you can see who has.
During an Alert, your procedures become step-by-step checklists for each staff member.
This is not a statement that any product satisfies Indiana's requirements; that reading belongs to your district and its counsel.