For Immediate Release

Contact: Tanya Arja
Office of Communications
813-272-4060

Tampa, Fla. – (September 14, 2018) –Students and staff at all Hillsborough County Public Schools will conduct a lockdown and evacuation drill next week on their campuses.

The lockdown and evacuation drills will be conducted at each school sometime during the week of September 17-21. This will not be a surprise drill. Teachers are being asked to talk with students before the drill to go over the procedures and make it clear this is only practice.

The drills will first involve taking cover, locking doors and staying quiet. There will be no loud noises, no simulations or demonstrations of intruders and no violent images. The teachers will then lead students through an evacuation, just like the normal fire drill they do every month.

A lockdown is how students and staff would respond to an active, immediate threat on a campus. The goal is for students and staff to practice this procedure and walk through the steps.

We appreciate the interest from the media, but to protect our security measures for the safety of students and staff, the lockdown and evacuation drills will not be open to the media. There will be no video opportunities provided and we ask media not to attempt to cover the drills as it may reveal details about our procedures.

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