Oklahoma school emergency plan law

Does Oklahoma require schools to have an emergency plan?

Oklahoma law, 63 O.S. § 681, requires each school, administration building and institution of higher learning to have written plans and procedures to protect students, faculty, administrators and visitors from natural and man-made disasters and emergencies. Security drills must follow the written plans and procedures the district adopted under that law. The principal, under the superintendent's direction, has a duty to follow the district's written plans and procedures.

What must the plan contain?

The statute names no specific plan elements, such as lockdown, evacuation, reunification or threat assessment; it describes the plans only as protecting students, faculty, administrators and visitors from natural and man-made disasters and emergencies. The State Board of Education's accreditation rule on health services requires each school to develop specific procedures to follow in cases of accidents, emergencies and disasters. The accreditation rule requires each public school district to adopt policies and procedures for each required safety drill, and all drills must follow the district's § 681 emergency plans and the state drill statutes (70 O.S. §§ 5-148 and 5-149).

How often must the plan be reviewed?

Each school, administration building and institution of higher learning must review and update its plans every year, as appropriate. Each school district must report every year to the local school board on the state of emergency preparedness and the safety needs identified for each school. Under the accreditation rule, each school's administration must make sure qualified staff review safety, emergency and disaster procedures at least once a year. That rule does not list any required plan elements either.

Where is the plan filed?

Plans must be kept on file at each school district and with each local emergency response organization in the district, which may include police, fire, EMS, the sheriff and emergency management. Plans must be submitted in a format the emergency agency accepts no later than November 1 each year.

What other safety duties connect to the plan?

By July 1, 2026, each school district must undergo a risk and vulnerability assessment by the Oklahoma School Security Institute or a nationally qualified assessor, and be re-assessed every five years after that. Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, each school district must use a mobile panic alert system. An approved panic alert system must give emergency responders floor plans, caller location and other information during a 9-1-1 call. A public school district that chooses to map its campus must use the state's school mapping data guidelines.

What does state guidance say?

The Oklahoma School Security Institute is the state's central resource for school security information, programs and training. Its resource page points schools to a FEMA guide on creating a school emergency operations plan, and it recommends tabletop exercises so staff know the school's plan.

Is the plan confidential?

Public educational institutions may keep campus security plans confidential. A "campus security plan" includes prevention and response procedures and notification procedures for security threats and incidents on or affecting the campus. School district risk and vulnerability assessments, their recommendations and work papers may be kept confidential.

How is compliance checked?

Districts must make their safety drill compliance reports available to the Regional Accreditation Officer during accreditation. Accredited school sites must submit every year all reports and documentation the State Department of Education requires, including those on health and safety.

What has changed recently?

Before 2026, 63 O.S. § 681 was last amended by Laws 2013, SB 258. HB 1675 (2026), approved by the Governor on May 11, 2026, amends § 681 and adds recreational campgrounds to it; it takes effect November 1, 2026. The amended law keeps the school plan text as its subsection A. HB 3027 (2026), which would also have amended § 681 for youth camps and campgrounds, was not enacted; its last recorded action was referral to an Appropriations and Budget subcommittee on February 3, 2026.