School Safety

The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priority. We have a comprehensive plan in place to guide our actions during emergencies, and we are committed to maintaining a secure environment through regular updates, training, and collaboration with local law enforcement. Our proactive approach ensures that our schools remain safe, supportive, and responsive to any potential threats. To learn more about the specific safety policies, practices, and procedures we use, please explore the information provided below. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to your building principal or our district’s Safety Director.

Emergency Operations Plan

Drills

Staff Training

Bismarck Public Schools will continue to use training as a means to ensure staff are up to date on processes and procedures as well as new information set forth by board policy and state and local requirements. The trainings listed below are mandatory for the groups specified:

1. CPR/AED Training – All staff

2. Options Based Lockdown Training/ 4 Critical Response Training – All staff

3. Options Based Lockdown Training – All students (age appropriate)

School Resource Officers - SROs

Bismarck Public Schools strives to create and maintain close working relationships with local law enforcement agencies. As part of our commitment to school safety, BPS continues to foster positive relationships through School Resource Officer (SRO) programs.

BPS currently has 7 Bismarck Police School Resource Officers who are assigned to schools within Bismarck City limits and one Lincoln Police School Resource Officer for Lincoln Elementary. Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department assigns a Deputy to Burleigh County Schools including Prairie Rose.

Threat Assessments

Bismarck Public Schools continues to monitor and respond to reported threats towards staff and/or students in the district. BPS recently adopted the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) process for all threats. Building level administrators, school psychologists, counselors, Special Education Coordinators, and school social workers have all been trained to use this model.

For more information on the CSTAG model, click here.

Building Safety and Security

The district has invested millions of dollars on systems and resources that help to ensure a safer campus: radios that allow school staff to communicate with one another,
secured entrances, panic buttons, and digital camera systems, to name a few.

If you have questions or concerns about our district’s safety protocols, you are encouraged to reach out to your principal. If they are unable to answer your question, they may pass you along to our district’s Safety Director.