Here's how RI school lockdown drills could change under a new bill.

State lawmakers want to lower the number of school emergency drills after spending months studying their impact on students' well-being and mental health.

On Wednesday, Rep. Jennifer Boylan and nine other members of the House introduced a bill to reduce the number of annual fire drills from 10 to six, and lockdown drills from two to one. Boylan is seeking to rename the lockdowns "crisis response drills" and require training that would differ from carrying out an actual drill. If passed, the bill would take effect in 2025.

CRD training, as it's called, would be required for staff, preferably before the start of the school year, and in the fall for students in grades six through 12. Then, an actual crisis response drill would be held for all students in January.

For staff, the one-hour trainings would be done in collaboration with first responders, and discuss lockdowns versus evacuations. The bill calls for "trauma-informed practices," deferring to existing law to define those. According to the state's Trauma Informed Schools Act, that means "recognizing the impact of adversity and trauma on students, parents, and staff, and embedding policies and practices that foster well-being and resilience."

For students, the trainings would include similar information, including "what to do in case of a threat inside the building and shall include discussion of the differences between lockdown procedures as opposed to evacuation procedures," the bill says.

Active shooter simulations – which include life-like imitations of real threats – would be banned for students and staff, though it does not appear that any Rhode Island schools conduct them anyway. Law enforcement would be allowed to run such simulations without students present.

More: Active shooter drills harm students and teachers, lawmaker says. Here's what RI might do about it.

Among the bill's other requirements are 48-hours' advance warning to families for any CRD training or drill, establishment of reunification spots in case of actual emergencies, and a debriefing policy to be used in the event of a real crisis.

Bill emerged from months of study by special commission

The bill is the result of a long period of meetings and study by the Legislative Study Commission to Evaluate and Provide Recommendations on Mandated Safety Protocols for Rhode Island Schools. The group was convened in part to determine the level of trauma school communities were facing in going through various emergency drills. Memories of lockdowns in particular prompted the public to testify about the anxiety the drills provoked.

Boylan previously told The Providence Journal her reconsideration of lockdowns came after she experienced one such drill in her son's school in 2013.

More: Should Rhode Island change school safety procedures? New commission would make recommendations.

"Law enforcement came through the hallway and tried the door, and we all jumped a mile," Boylan said in a past interview, calling it "very scary for me as a parent" given that the Sandy Hook massacre had only recently happened.

Another swatting incident same day of bill's introduction

Among the commission's considerations was the impact of "swatting" incidents, or bogus threats made to schools that prompt lockdowns or evacuations. Such incidents have become more common recently, including one that occurred on Wednesday morning – the same day of the bill's introduction – when someone called in a phony bomb threat to Jenks Middle School in Pawtucket. Police and K-9s swept the school. Detective Sgt. Theodore Georgitsis said it was determined that the call was linked to other swatting episodes in the country.

Mayor Donald Grebien's office said students were evacuated to McCoy Stadium, and the incident caused several to experience anxiety.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lockdown drills could change in Rhode Island schools. Here's why.