Code red drills resume in Seminole County schools after brief suspension

School district rolls out new code red drill policies

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County schools have resumed their conducting of code red drills after they were suspended in December following an incident that sent students running from Lake Brantley High School.

Seminole County Schools spokesman Michael Lawrence confirmed Wednesday that the code red drills resumed last week at Rock Lake Middle School.

Lyman High School had a code red drill Wednesday, and parents and students were notified that code red drills will be happening both at Seminole and Lake Brantley high schools Friday morning. 

[PREVIOUS: What went wrong after Lake Brantley High's code red drillNew code red protocols enacted at Seminole schools after Lake Brantley incident]

The notifications are a direct result of a revised policy that both the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and school officials decided needed to be changed after the incident at Lake Brantley. 

That morning, an unannounced code red drill was held at Lake Brantley High School, and only a school resource officer and law enforcement officials knew that the drill was planned.

Students obtained and shared a screenshot of a message that startled them.

"Active shooter reported at Brantley/Building 1/Building 2 and other buildings by B Shafer at 10:21:45. Initiate a Code Red Lockdown," the message read.

Students said the message caused them to panic and text their loved ones in fear.

A message was supposed to be sent to parents notifying them of the drill when it began, but Lawrence said that message wasn't sent until an hour later.

It caused panicked parents to dial 911 and enraged parents to post on social media and send emails to the principal and to Superintendent Walt Griffin. 

"The emotional and physical distress that the kids suffered is ridiculous over a drill. I'm all for being prepared, but it's obvious that this is not the way to do it," one parent wrote. 

Now, two months later, the code red drills have resumed -- this time, with parents and students being made aware of them through the new policy.

One Seminole High School parent received the following email: 

Good Morning Seminole Families,
On Friday, 3/1/19, at 8:25 a.m. there will be a code red drill at the 9th Grade Campus.  This is only a drill.

There was also a social media post on the Seminole High School Facebook page with the same message. Seminole High School mom Loli Dobarro said she got a phone call. 

"It said they were going to have a practice code red on Friday morning, the first, and I thought it was a good idea because I would like to know what's going on," Dobarro said. 

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Parents seem happy to now be in the loop with what's happening inside their children's schools. 

Seminole County School officials said they don't have a set time frame on when they will notify parents about an upcoming code red drill, though many of the Seminole High School parents were notified two days in advance. 

District leaders are reminding parents who don't get the notifications to update their information with their child's school. 

"Additionally, we want to encourage parents and guardians to make sure that the school district has the most up-to-date contact information to receive the prompt delivery of any emergency messaging," a message from school officials read. 


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