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Dear LCMSD Community,
Our top priority is to keep students and staff safe. It is important for you to know that we, LCMSD, Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA), and Central Marin Fire Department (CMFD) have a strong partnership and work regularly with one another to keep our schools and community safe. Due to these clear lines of communication, we are continually revisiting procedures and implementing the practices recommended by first responders.
Over the years, CMPA, CMFD, and the FBI have supported and trained LCMSD staff through tabletop exercises, de-escalation strategies training, school resource officer visits, and an FBI active shooter workshop and simulation. CMPA and CMFD have keys to all school sites, access to live cameras on campuses, and direct phone numbers of our administrators.
This partnership and ongoing safety efforts were an essential component of our application and award of the School Violence Prevention Grant ($900,000 over three years), which has allowed us to expand our training and further our school-first responder collaboration.
Please review the important information below. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain safe schools.
Chief Michael Norton Chief Ruben Martin Brett Geithman, Ed.D.
Central Marin Police Authority Central Marin Fire Dept LCMSD Superintendent
Anonymous Tip Line
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Is located on the main LCMSD page and each school’s homepage
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Talk to students about this anonymous tip line. It can (and has) been a forum for students (and parents) to report concerns about friends or classmates (i.e. Charlie is acting different than usual and I am worried about him, I’m concerned that Chloe might hurt herself, Jaden told me there was going to be a fight after school).
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Notification is sent immediately to the principal, superintendent, and Senior Director.
ID Badges
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All visitors are required to swipe a photo ID in the main office (this will perform a background check).
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If there is an issue with the individual checking in, the principal is notified immediately via text and the visitor is told to wait in the office for the principal.
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All staff have been issued ID badges to be worn at all times.
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If you see someone without a staff or visitor badge, say something - tell the individual to report to the office or call the office.
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Per California Law, all middle school student IDs will have the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline printed on the back
Intruder/Active Shooter/Lockdown Drills
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LCMSD drills intruder/active shooter protocols on a regular basis.
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We do not call these “active shooter drills” as that may scare students. We call them lockdown or intruder drills. It is explained that sometimes there are unsafe situations on campus where we need to lock the door. For example, one year Hall Middle School went on lockdown because horses were running through campus.
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Updated Fire Drill Protocol: Several years ago we implemented this recommendation from law enforcement and will continue drilling this new procedure. If the fire alarm is triggered, classrooms go into lockdown unless they smell smoke, feel heat/flames, or are instructed over the intercom to exit the building.
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It is difficult to shelter children from hearing about violence in the world. Here is a tool to help talk to your child about violence.
Air Quality
All LCMSD classrooms are outfitted with air purifiers and upgraded HVAC units that include MERV 13 filters and ionization equipment. The HVAC units are on a schedule to run the fan periodically regardless of temperature settings. Our classrooms’ air is filtered better than most homes; therefore, even when air quality isn’t optimal, our classrooms can offer safe spaces for students and staff. With that said, there are air quality guidelines that we follow based on AQI. Please know our very last resort is to close school.
Alert Marin / Nixle
If you have not already done so, sign up for Alert Marin today to receive incident specific information or potentially life-saving instruction to a precise geographic location. Alert Marin only initiates contact if action is needed where you are such as evacuation or shelter in place. You can sign up for Nixle in any zip code (by texting your zip code to 888-777) for updates on road closures, police active and general public safety information.
Marin County Public Emergency Portal
Please bookmark this page, or just remember to google “Marin Emergency” to be led to this portal to stay up to date on emergency situations in our county, where the Public Information Map (with some amazing features, including “school status”) is also located.
ICE
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ICE is not allowed access to any student or student records, as California is a Sanctuary State.
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LCMSD is committed to protecting the right of every student to attend public school, regardless of the immigration status of a student or of a student’s family members. This commitment extends to school employees having the right to work in a welcoming environment as well.
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The police, superintendent, and our legal counsel will be called immediately if ICE enters school grounds.
Getting to School Safely
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Safe Routes to School
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Check out this website for information on getting your child safely to campus.
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e-Bike Registration Policy
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E-bikes must be registered (Registration form) by students with a parent/guardian.
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Only class 1 & 2 e-bikes are allowed on LCMSD campuses
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No e-scooters, no 750w+ or class 3 capable bikes (i.e. Super 73)
Safety Plans
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Annually they are updated and reviewed with staff members.
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All documents are not published for the public to review. This protects our schools from potentially harmful individuals.
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LCMSD schedules drills monthly and collaborates regularly with first responders.
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Share911 is used district wide in coordination with first responders
Facilities
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Lock Bloks - all LCMSD doors are in the locked position at all times. They can be propped open with a LockBlok, which is a device that can quickly secure a classroom in the event of an emergency.
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Window Coverings - all LCMSD classrooms are outfitted with window coverings in the event of a lockdown or other emergency.
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Security Systems - LCMSD has expanded the alarm/security network across all schools. This also includes controlled substance detectors.
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Cameras - Have been installed at all school sites and are accessible by first responders in the event of an emergency. Additionally, we have AI built into all cameras to monitor specific threats to campus.
Questions to Ask Before a Playdate
Safety is important to all of us, and might have been a driving factor in your decision to raise your children in Marin. Even though we live in a safe community, it is important for us to ask some simple questions (from this article) before our children go on a playdate.
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Who will be watching the children? Is it an older sibling, nanny, relative, or parent?
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Do you have a pool, trampoline, or any other things that are potentially unsafe? If your child is younger, ask who will be watching the children if they go in the pool. If your child cannot swim, let the parent know and ask if there is a fence around the pool.
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Do you have any unlocked guns in your house? Experts believe that 8 kids a day are shot unintentionally by unsecured guns found in the home. The Brady Center partnered with the AdCouncil to create and launch a campaign to end "Family Fire."
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What are your rules about screen time? Common Sense Media and Parenting in the Digital World are great resources to create your family rules around screen time.
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Do you have any pets? Ask if the pet is friendly around children, or if there is anything you should know about it before your child comes over.
Updated California Laws Regarding Firearm Storage & Prevention of Child Access to Weapons
The California Legislature (Assembly Bill 452, Section 1, 2023) has found and declared:-
Guns are the third leading cause of death of children in America. Every day, eight children and teens are shot in instances of family fire, which is a shooting involving improperly stored or misused guns found in the home resulting in injury or death.
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Data show that 75 percent of school shootings are facilitated by children having access to unsecured or unsupervised firearms at home. Eight-seven percent of children know where their parents’ firearms are stored and 60 percent report that they have handled them.
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Over 80 percent of teens who have died by suicide used a firearm that belonged to someone in their home.
Below are the important updates to California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to safe storage of firearms.
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With very limited exceptions, California makes a person criminally liable for keeping any firearm, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under their custody and control where that person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, and the child obtains access to the firearm and thereby (1) causes death or injury to the child or any other person; (2) carries the firearm off the premises or to a public place, including to any preschool or school grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance; or (3) unlawfully brandishes the firearm to others.[1]
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Note: The criminal penalty may be significantly greater if someone dies or suffers great bodily injury as a result of the child gaining access to the firearm.
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With very limited exceptions, California also makes it a crime for a person to negligently store or leave any firearm, loaded or unloaded, on their premises in a location where the person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to it without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child, even where a minor never actually accesses the firearm.[2]
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In addition to potential fines and terms of imprisonment, as of January 1, 2020, a gun owner found criminally liable under these California laws faces prohibitions from possessing, controlling, owning, receiving, or purchasing a firearm for 10 years.[3]
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Finally, a parent or guardian may also be civilly liable for damages resulting from the discharge of a firearm by that person’s child or ward.[4]
[1] See California Penal Code sections 25100 through 25125 and 25200 through 25220.
[2] See California Penal Code section 25100(c).
[3] See California Civil Code Section 29805.
[4] See California Civil Code Section 1714.3.
Thank you for helping to keep our children and schools safe. Remember that the easiest and safest way to comply with the law is to keep firearms in a locked container or secured with a locking device that renders the firearm inoperable.
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