Broward County Public Schools revises bomb threat protocols

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Public Schools recently announced it will not automatically evacuate schools in the district in response to a bomb threat by telephone, email, or text.

“Due to the recent increase in bomb threats across the District, we are implementing an immediate change in our bomb threat response protocols to enhance safety and security of our schools,” Broward County Public Schools said.

The district noted the policy changes were to “enhance the safety and security of our schools.”

In the letter to district principals, Chief Safety and Security Officer Jaime Alberti outlined three new adoptions: Initial Assessment, Credibility Analysis, and Safety Measures.

Under the new policies, bomb threats will first be assessed by the “designated school decision maker”, or usually the principal or campus administrator. The credibility of the threat also will be discussed with the Broward County Public Schools Chief and local law enforcement.

In addition, evacuation decisions will be given a credibility analysis. Specifically, any evacuation will be made if the threat is regarded as “highly credible” or a suspicious device has been identified.

If a directive from law enforcement comes to evacuate, then you evacuate,” the district added.

If not considered credible, the district outlined two alternative safety measures. They include a “hold posture” and cursory sweep by security personnel.

“We will be distributing this updated Bomb Threat response protocol to ensure our local partners understand that our intentions moving forward are not to immediately evacuate unless the threat has been deemed credible by local law enforcement and our Broward County Schools Police,” the district said.