By Anna Gustafson
When the Glen Oaks Campus was under lockdown in December 2007 after a threatening letter was put in the principal’s mailbox at the Queens High School of Teaching, frantic parents who came to pick up their children were not aware why their kids could not leave the building.
A bill inspired by the lockdown that establishes an emergency alert notification system passed the state Senate and Assembly Friday so parents can be better informed in similar situations.
State legislators and parents announced the passage of the Public Schools Emergency Alert Act at a press event outside the Glen Oaks Campus Friday. The legislation mandates the city Department of Education implement an electronic emergency notification system using technologies like text messages, e−mails or phone calls to provide parents, teachers, staff and elected officials with information about emergencies as they unfold at public schools.
State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D−Fresh Meadows) and state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D−Howard Beach) sponsored the legislation, which still needs to be signed by Gov. David Paterson, after parents of students at the three schools of the Glen Oaks Campus were left panicked in 2007 when their children did not arrive home after a threatening letter forced PS 20, PS 266 and the Queens High School of Teaching into lockdown.
“On the day this happened, it was icy and rainy, and parents were waiting for hours in the cold with no notification of what was going on,” said Suzanne Windland, president of the PS 266 PTA.
“We are really happy this legislation passed,” Windland continued. “For parents to have a way to get information about emergencies and how to react will make people’s lives a lot easier.”
Lancman and Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D−Little Neck), a co−sponsor of the bill, said there will be minimal costs for the city to send out the alerts, since it can plug into the state’s existing notification system. New York has an alert system at SUNY campuses and for counties throughout the state.
“As a parent, I cannot tell you how important it is to know that your child is safe and how awful the anxiety can be when you do not know,” Lancman said. “To ensure public safety and prevent panic when there is an emergency at school, it is essential that we establish an electronic notification system so that parents, school staff and public officials can have current, accurate information in a crisis.”
Law enforcement officials put PS 20 and PS 266 into lockdown for two hours after school officials discovered a letter that threatened seven students in 2007. No one was injured during the incident.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e−mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 174.
