‘Gaps’ seen in schools’ crisis plans

ALBANY — Some city schools are dangerously unprepared for a shooting or other emergency situation, an audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released Thursday found.

Missing floor plans, wrong phone numbers and a lack of drills and coordination with the state could put thousands of kids at risk, the audit found.

The assessment looked at the safety plans of 25 of the 1,800 schools run by the city and found that rules in place do not always align with state regulations.

“While it’s clear the New York City Department of Education takes school safety seriously, there are gaps that must be addressed,” DiNapoli (photo) said. “Schools large and small need to do everything possible to protect students and teachers from senseless tragedy.”

The audit notes that the DOE does not require schools to submit floor plans, which state regulations identify as a critical part of school safety planning and emergency response.

Three of the 25 plans sampled were not up-to-date and missing information about construction modifications at the schools.

State regulations require schools adopt safety plans, such as evacuation and emergency response plans by Sept. 1 and send them to law enforcement within 30 days.

The DOE rules allow plans to be submitted more than two months after the typical beginning of a school year. Some schools did not submit their plans on time even with the extended city window.

While education officials work closely with the NYPD, the audit notes that the agency has failed to submit plans to the state police, as required.

Five of the schools audited did not conduct the minimum amount of evacuation or lockdown drills, and three didn’t conduct the drills in the required time frames for the 2016-17 school year.