School Safety Report & CSIP Phase I – Due October 1, 2026

By October 1, 2026, schools must complete and submit:

• School Safety Report: A diagnostic to be completed in the Cognia Improvement Platform, located under School Diagnostics.

• CSIP Phase I: Includes Plan Information and the Executive Summary, located under School Improvement Plan in the same Cognia Platform.

Note: Special/Non-A1 Schools only have to complete the School Safety Report; this is the only requirement for non-A1 schools in the entire CSIP process, although you are encouraged to complete an internal needs assessment and set goals based on your data. Please ask your assistant superintendent which sections of CSIP they would like you to complete.

What has Changed for 2026-2027

• The School Safety Report is no longer identified as a Phase I component, but is included on this page because it has the same due date and is accessed through the same platform.

• The Continuous Improvement Diagnostic has been removed from the CSIP process. Schools do not need to complete this diagnostic.

Accessing and Starting the School Safety Report and the Improvement Plan

The School Safety Report: Starting, Completing, and Submitting

Phase One: Starting, Completing, and Submitting

School Safety Report (ALL Schools - including Non-A1 Schools)

This is required for ALL schools.
Questions are answered yes/no.
All of your answers should be "YES" to meet KDE compliance.

Pursuant to KRS 158.162, the local board of education shall require the school council or, if none exists, the principal in each school to adopt an emergency plan that must be utilized in case of fire, severe weather, earthquake, or a building lockdown and that: establishes evacuation routes; identifies the best-available severe-weather zones; develops earthquake protocols for students; and, develops and adheres to practices controlling access to the school building. The emergency plan shall be annually reviewed by the council, principal, and first responders and revised as needed.

In addition to the emergency plan requirements in KRS 158.162, KRS 158.164 requires the local board of education to direct the school council or, if none exists, the principal in each school to establish procedures to perform a building lockdown and to invite local law enforcement to assist in establishing lockdown procedures.

KRS 158.162 also requires the emergency plan be discussed with all school staff prior to the first instructional day of the school year and provided, along with a diagram of the facility, to appropriate first responders. Further, the principal in each school shall conduct, at a minimum, the following emergency response drills within the first 30 instructional days of the school year and again during the month of January: one (1) severe weather drill, one (1) earthquake drill, and one (1) lockdown drill. In addition, required fire drills shall be conducted according to administrative regulations promulgated by the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction.

Pursuant to KRS 156.095, every public school and public charter school shall provide two (2) evidence-based suicide prevention awareness lessons each school year, the first by September 15 and the second by January 15, either in-person, by live streaming, or via a video recording to all students. Every public school shall provide an opportunity for any student absent on the day the evidence-based suicide prevention awareness lesson was initially presented to receive the lesson at a later time. The information may be obtained from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or from a commercially developed suicide prevention training program.

KRS 156.095 also requires by November 1 of each year, a minimum of one (1) hour of training on how to respond to an active shooter situation shall be required for all school district employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students. The training shall be provided either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording prepared by the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training.

Additionally, KRS 156.095 requires all school administrators, certified personnel, office staff, instructional assistants, coaches and extracurricular sponsors who are employed by the school district shall complete comprehensive evidence-informed training within ninety (90) days of being hired and then every two (2) years after on child abuse and neglect prevention, recognition, and reporting that encompass child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.

Finally, in accordance with KRS 156.095, every public school shall prominently display the statewide child abuse hotline number administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the National Human Trafficking Reporting Hotline number administered by the United States Department for Health and Human Services, and the Safe Haven Baby Boxes Crisis Line number administered by the Safe Haven Baby Boxes national organization or any equivalent successor entity.

Questions Related to the Adoption and Implementation of the Emergency Plan

1. Has the school council or, where applicable, principal adopted an emergency plan in accordance with local board policy and in compliance with the specifications in KRS 158.162(3), and is a copy maintained on file in the school office?

2. Has the school provided local first responders and all school staff with a copy of the school's emergency plan along with a diagram of the school as required by KRS 158.162(2)(b)?

3. Has the school posted primary and secondary evacuation routes in each room by any doorway used for evacuation as required by KRS 158.162(3)(a)?

4. Has the school posted the location of severe weather safe zones in each room as required by KRS 158.162(3)(b)?

5. Have practices for students to follow during an earthquake been developed as required by KRS 158.162(3)(c), and is a copy maintained on file in the school office?

6. Are practices in place to control access to the school building, including but not limited to controlling outside access to exterior doors during the school day; controlling the main entrance of the school with electronically locking doors, a camera, and an intercom system; controlling access to individual classrooms; requiring classroom doors to remain closed and locked during instructional time (with limited exceptions outlined in statute); requiring classroom doors with windows to be equipped with material to quickly cover the windows during a lockdown; requiring all visitors to report to the front office of the building, provide valid identification, and state the purpose of the visit; and providing a visitor's badge to be visibly displayed on a visitor's outer garment as required by KRS 158.162(3)(d)?

7. Was the school's emergency plan reviewed following the end of the prior school year by the school council, principal, and first responders and revised as needed as required by KRS 158.162(2)(c), and is a copy maintained in the school office?

8. Did the principal discuss the emergency plan with all school staff prior to the first instructional day of the current school year and appropriately document the time and date of such discussion as required by KRS 158.162(2)(d)?

9. Does the school maintain a portable automated external defibrillator in a public, readily accessible, well-marked location in every school building and, as funds become available, at school-sanctioned athletic practices and competitions, and meet the requirements of 158.162(2)(e) subsections 1-4?

10. Has the cardiac emergency response plan been rehearsed by simulation prior to the beginning of each athletic season by all licensed athletic trainers, school nurses, and athletic directors; and, interscholastic coaches and volunteer coaches of each athletic team active during that athletic season in accordance with KRS 158.162(2)(e)?

11. During the first 30 instructional days of the current school year, did the principal conduct at least one (1) severe weather drill, one (1) earthquake drill, and one (1) lockdown drill as required by KRS 158.162(5), and are the drills maintained in the appropriate drill log for the given school year?

12. During the month of January during the prior school year, did the principal conduct at least one (1) severe weather drill, one (1) earthquake drill, and one (1) lockdown drill as required by KRS 158.162(5), and is documentation maintained on file in the school office?

13. Prior to the beginning of each athletic season, did the principal conduct the emergency response plan rehearsal by simulation and the venue-specific emergency action plan rehearsal by simulation as required by KRS 158.162(5)2, and is documentation maintained on file in the school office?

14. Over the immediately preceding twelve (12) months, did the principal conduct fire drills in accordance with administrative regulations promulgated by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction as required by KRS 158.162(5)?

*Note: The 26-27 School Safety Report is substantially shorter. The total number of items for 26-27 is 14, whereas for 25-26 there were 19 items. 

• As of Aug 17, 2026, questions related to suicide prevention and child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect were not included on the 26-27 School Safety Report, along with the active-shooter item that preceded those on the 25-26 School Safety Report

Executive Summary (A1 Schools Only)

Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning.

The purpose of the Executive Summary is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day-to-day basis.

Your 25-26 Executive Summary and CSIP are found in this folder (*folders based on 25-26 zones). You are required to answer the following questions:

1. Description of the School

• Describe the school's size, community/communities, location and any significant changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves?

2. School Stakeholders and Partnerships

   • Identify and describe the school's stakeholder groups. Explain how the school ensures stakeholder involvement and engagement in the improvement planning process. Describe partnerships the school has established to support student achievement and overall school improvement.

3. School's Purpose

   • Provide the school's purpose statement and supplementary content such as mission, vision, values and/or beliefs including the year in which they were last reviewed or revised. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students and how stakeholders are involved in its development and sustainability.

4. Notable Achievements

   • Describe the school's notable achievements in the last three years.

5. Areas of Improvement

   • Describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years.

6. Additional Information

   • Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that was not prompted in the previous sections.

For ideas see Previously Submitted CSIPs. Please review the notes below for changes made to the 26-27 Executive Summary.

*Note: The required items for the 26-27 Executive Summary are very similar to those from 25-26, aside from a few changes, with the following being the most substantive:

• Description of the School (item #1) - the 26-27 Executive Summary adds "significant" before "changes. Responses should focus on important changes from the past three years, not just any changes.

• School Stakeholders and Partnerships (item #2) - prior responses focused on stakeholders only, the 26-27 Executive Summary adds "Describe partnerships the school has established to support student achievement and overall school improvement."

• School's Purpose (item #3) - adds "and sustainability" to stakeholder involvement in developing the school's mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs.