Communication Protocol for Community Alerts

The Long Beach School District recognizes that communicating with parents, students and employees during a potential or active crisis is of the utmost importance. We greatly value transparency in providing as much information as possible during these occurrences.

In an effort to clarify the district’s communication protocol, district administrators met recently with representatives from the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Police Department. We agreed that communication is vital; however, there are times when sharing information can jeopardize a police investigation, compromise the safety of police officers, or put the public in a dangerous situation.

As such, the school district and the police department agreed on the following protocol:

Parents, students and employees should assume they are safe unless the district shares information otherwise. If there is a potential threat to the public’s safety, the police will cordon off the affected area and inform residents within that zone. The police will reach out to the district if there is a potential safety issue concerning schools and/or students in or near these zones. The district, in turn, will alert parents with as much information as can be responsibly shared if there is a potential safety threat or if a situation will disrupt transportation or walking routes. The district will remain sensitive to police actions and will not broadcast information that could jeopardize their investigation and/or safety.

The district appreciates the public’s desire to know all facts concerning a potential safety situation and will certainly continue to inform the school community of pertinent facts, if necessary. Along with the police, we urge the public to refrain from broadcasting police activities or movements via social media as they are occurring.