Safety and Security

Safety is a priority for the St. Tammany Parish Public School System. We work in partnership with law enforcement, parish government, emergency responders and emergency preparedness officials to coordinate emergency response plans in order to ensure everyone acts swiftly and effectively in emergency situations.

Emergency plans are reviewed regularly and school leaders conduct drills throughout the school year to make certain students and staff members know the proper emergency procedures. Principals are available to discuss emergency plans and answer any questions you might have about safety. Parents and caretakers can help us by understanding what schools will do in an emergency and cooperating with school and emergency officials.

During an emergency situation, school and emergency officials must act quickly to secure schools in order to safeguard students and staff. Parents and caregivers can assist by being prepared.

• St. Tammany Parish Public Schools has a system which generates emergency messages based on contact information from school based emergency cards.
• Please make certain all of your child’s information is up to date and correct on the emergency card at your child’s school.
• Provide your school with contact information for adults authorized as emergency contacts for your child.
• Talk to your child about what to do and how to contact you in an emergency.
• Stay informed about potentially serious weather situations.
• Let your child and school officials know if you anticipate being unavailable, out of town or difficult to reach for an extended period of time.
• Notify school officials or the Crimestoppers Safe School Hotline at 504.822.1111 if you see or hear of anything that could create a danger at school.
• In the event of an emergency, answer recorded emergency phone calls and monitor www.stpsb.org, our mobile app, St. Tammany Parish Schools on Facebook, and STPPSchools on Twitter.

An emergency may require the closing of a school or all schools for a short period of time. Notification of emergency closings is given as soon as possible so parents and caregivers can make arrangements.

Emergencies may cause delayed dismissal of students or early dismissal of students from school.

In case of delayed dismissal, students may arrive at their bus drop-off sites later than usual. If school officials are not able to notify parents about early dismissal or closing, students may be kept at school until parents can arrange for students to be picked up.

In cases of potential severe weather, School System officials are in constant communication with the National Weather Service, St. Tammany Parish Emergency Preparedness officials, and Superintendents around the region to make decisions about school closings.

Even with the assistance of these officials, weather conditions are often impossible to predict. During severe weather conditions, School System officials must try to decide what is best for the district’s students and employees.

Parents and caregivers should communicate with their child’s school and discuss their individual circumstances as it relates to absences and make-up work.

During an emergency, schools have special procedures for a secure release of your child from school, if evacuation during the school day is required.

• All adults will need a government-issued photo ID (such as driver’s license, passport, military ID) to pick up students.
• Students will be released ONLY to persons who have been designated as emergency contacts on the student emergency card kept on file at the school.
• Non-custodial parents who may pick up students must be listed on the student emergency card as a guardian.
• Parents will be notified through recorded emergency phone calls, the School System Web site at www.stpsb.org, the School System mobile app, other communication systems and local media about when and how to pick up students.

The Safe School Hotline number is 1-877-903-7867. Students and parents who have information about a serious or potentially serious school safety concern are urged to call the school principal or the Crimestoppers Safe School Hotline.

To help maintain a safe and productive environment for learning in our schools, the School System has established a partnership with the Crimestoppers organization. The partnership provides an additional security measure that encourages students, parents, and others to report information about potential or actual criminal activity at school. The Crimestoppers program allows us to utilize a reporting system called the Safe School Hotline in all our junior high and high schools.

The local Crimestoppers organization encourages citizens to help solve and prevent crime through anonymous calls to a special telephone number maintained by the organization. The information is forwarded to appropriate law enforcement agencies and a special fund is available to pay a reward for tips that lead to an arrest. The Safe School Hotline operates in the same way to help solve crimes and prevent potential safety concerns on and/or around school campuses, school buses, and school events.  The Crimestoppers Safe School Hotline system protects the caller’s identity by assigning a code number to each caller.

We are committed to continue to work with the community, law enforcement and other first responders to review and update safety plans, procedures and practices. These are some of the protocols we have in place.