School Safety

St. Louis Park Public Schools uses the I Love You Guys Standard Response Protocols when issuing an emergency. There are five protocols used when teachers and staff respond to a situation. Learn more about these protocols and how we use them in our district.

Hold

A hold might be used if there is a medical emergency in the building or when we need to limit traffic in the hallways. Students will remain in their classrooms with doors locked, but class will continue as normal.

Secure

The secure command is called if there is something potentially dangerous outside of the school or in a neighborhood close by. Students and staff will stay inside the building and doors will be locked, but inside the school it will be business as usual.

Lockdown

A lockdown is only initiated when there is an active threat inside or very close to our school. Students and staff will remain locked in their classroom, out of sight, and maintain silence.

Evacuate

We may need to evacuate if there is a fire or other hazardous situation that makes it unsafe to be in school. Students and staff will walk to — or be transported by bus — to a safe location and reunified with their families.

Shelter

We may need to shelter if there is severe weather in our area. Students and staff will shelter in designated spaces within our building to maximize safety.

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The Importance of SRPs

Easy to understand. Easy to implement.

A uniform, planned, and practiced response to any incident is the foundation of a safe school. Safe business. Safe community. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to personal safety.

The SRP’s development is ever-evolving, created with extensive collaboration between experts such as first responders, public safety, school, districts, and communities. Its tactics are data-driven, researched and based on experience and contemporary practices.

Key Contacts

James Langevin
Facilities and Health & Safety Manager

David Hanson
Emergency Preparedness & Transportation Coordinator

SRP Actions & Directives

A list of the five Standard Response Protocols

SRP is Action Based

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on the response to any given situation not on individual scenarios. Like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple — these five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a "Term of Art" and is then followed by a "Directive." Execution of the action is performed by active participants.

Hold is followed by the Directive: "In Your Room or Area" and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants.
Secure is followed by the Directive: "Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors" and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.
Lockdown is followed by "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight" and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place.
Evacuate may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
Shelter and state the Hazard and Safety Strategy for group and self protection.