The Portland Schools take the issue of student and staff safety very seriously. The School Committee has approved several safety-related policies. Many preventive and crisis response measures are in place in our school system to provide for the safety of our students and staff. School Committee policy requires each school to have an emergency management plan in place that is very specific and thorough. The plans follow guidelines established through a joint effort of the Portland School Department and the Portland Police Department. Each school is also required to conduct practice drills to make sure that staff is familiar with the emergency management plan.