West Virginia school emergency plan law
What West Virginia requires of school emergency operations plans: who writes one, what goes in it, and how often it's reviewed.
Every fact checked against the official source by an independent reviewer · Last verified October 26, 2026
Does West Virginia require school emergency plans?
Yes. State law says each school must have an up-to-date comprehensive crisis response plan. 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 (DHSEM) by August 1 each year. The law directed the State Board, with DHSEM, to adopt a legislative rule by December 31, 2011, for a school-specific crisis response plan at every school in the state. The State Board's rule Policy 4373 (126CSR99) carries the crisis plan requirements: it says the Board and DHSEM developed a template holding the requirements for each school's plan.
Who writes the plan?
Each school forms a crisis response planning team. Instead of the Local School Improvement Council, that team may be the principal, two teachers, one service staff member and two parents. Under Policy 4373, the planning team must develop a school-specific plan using the state/county template, in consultation with local social services and first response agencies (police, fire, EMS, emergency management). The school counseling rule, Policy 2315, makes the school counselor a member of the school's crisis prevention and response planning team, involved in developing and updating the plan.
What must the plan contain?
The rule must include a model crisis response plan and a uniform template that each school uses to file its plan.
| Each school's plan must include | Source |
|---|---|
| The school employee in charge during a crisis and a designated substitute | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(A) |
| A communication plan for use during a crisis | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(B) |
| Protocols for responding to physical harm and traumatic events, including the period after they end | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(C) |
| Disaster and emergency procedures for earthquakes, fire, flood, other natural disasters, explosions or other events where death or serious injury is likely | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(D) |
| Procedures for safe entrance and exit, including an evacuation and lockdown plan | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(E) |
| Policies for enforcing discipline and keeping order during the crisis | §18-9F-9(a)(1)(F) |
The statute's list of required contents does not name shelter-in-place, reunification, threat assessment, students with disabilities or cybersecurity. State Department of Education guidance treats choosing evacuation points and reunification sites as part of developing the plan.
How often is the plan reviewed?
Each school reviews its plan every year and updates it if needed. The State Board and DHSEM review the model plan and uniform template by December 31 each year. Policy 4373 says county boards should give schools standardized annual review procedures and resources for training staff on their school's plan.
Is the plan submitted to anyone?
The plan, or a no-update memo, goes to the county board and DHSEM by August 1 each year. Each school's first plan had to be in place, filed with the county board and entered in a DHSEM secure electronic system by August 1, 2013. The State Department of Education runs a portal where counties submit school plans to the required agencies for approval.
How do schools work with police and fire?
Each school develops its plan in consultation with local social services and first response agencies, including police, fire, EMS and emergency management. The county board gives a copy of each school's plan to each local emergency response agency that has a role in it. County boards must give updated school floor plans to first responders, local law enforcement and State Fire Marshals by September 1 of each school year. County school safety programs must put room numbers on exterior walls or windows of school buildings. Each county board must create standardized school safety mapping data and send it to the State Board, DHSEM and local first response agencies; these mapping rules take effect September 1, 2026. Subject to available funding, county boards may receive up to $4500 per school for mapping data. County boards must make school security data accessible to local law enforcement.
What training is tied to the plan?
The rule must set procedures for informing and training school staff on their roles under the plan. County school safety programs must provide active shooter training for all school staff and students at the start of each school year.
Is the plan confidential?
The rule must include safeguards for plan information that may be critical infrastructure, law enforcement sensitive or for official use only. Policy 4373 requires schools to protect that information, and the safeguards a school uses must be approved by the state Division of Emergency Management. On request, a redacted copy of a school's plan must be made available for public inspection. Each school must send notice home every year telling parents and guardians that the plan exists and that a redacted copy can be reviewed. School safety mapping data is exempt from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act.
Are there compliance checks or penalties?
§18-9F-9 sets no penalty, audit or enforcement mechanism for a school that does not file or update its crisis response plan. Separately, county boards seeking School Building Authority access safety funds must submit a school access safety plan or yearly update.
Who is covered?
The statute's wording is "each school", and Policy 4373 defines "county" to include county boards and the schools and facilities the State Board supervises. The statute says the rule must include procedures for non-public schools to set up, file and update crisis response plans. Policy 4373's school crisis plan requirements contain no separate procedures for non-public schools; its scope is county boards and schools under the State Board.
What changed recently?
2025 HB 3166 (school safety mapping data) was signed and took effect July 11, 2025; it was the only signed 2025 regular session bill touching Article 18-9F, and §18-9F-9 was not amended. 2026 HB 4798 (Alyssa's Law mobile alert button) was signed, effective June 8, 2026; it created §18-9F-9a and was the only signed 2026 regular session bill touching Article 18-9F, leaving §18-9F-9 unamended. §18-9F-9a directs the State Board, with DHSEM, to adopt a rule by December 31, 2026, permitting a wearable panic alert device at every public school, contingent on available funding. Each device must be able to connect to local 9-1-1 call centers and start a campus-wide lockdown notice; county boards may give each school employee one. Before the first day of school each year, county boards must make sure staff who use the devices are trained on the protocol and proper use. §18-9F-9a sunsets by December 31, 2029. 2026 SB 386 would have created a mobile training team required to follow the §18-9F-9 crisis response plan; its last official action was referral to Senate Education on 01/15/26, and it is not among the 2026 bills signed or that became law. 2025 SB 48, on the same mobile training team, was last referred to Senate Education on 02/12/25 and is not among the 2025 bills signed or that became law.
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 West Virginia's requirements; that reading belongs to your district and its counsel.