The health and safety of students and staff is a top priority for Dearborn Public Schools.  But schools do not operate in a vacuum. In many ways, we need help from our community to ensure the safety of those in our schools.  

The health and safety topics below are arranged into two categories – how the community can help and what the district is doing.  

Danielle Elzayat
Health, Safety & Security Director
elzayad@dearbornschools.org
313-827-3200

Abe Dakhlallah
Health, Safety & Security Assistant Director
dakhlai@dearbornschools.org
313-827-3202

Community topics

Schools and local law enforcement take any threats to schools very seriously. Every year students across Michigan are charged with crimes for making threats against a school or students. Officials do not care if such things were said as “jokes” or the person was “only kidding.”

Safety letter from Dearborn Police Chief Shahin

The district provides several tools to help decrease violence in our schools.

OK2SAY

Michigan State Police operate the OK2SAY hotline, which accepts information around the clock about any threats to student or school safety. Anyone can report tips confidentially on criminal activities or potential harm directed at students, school employees, or schools. Submit online at michigan.gov/ok2say, call 8-555-OK2SAY (855-565-2729), text 652729 (OK2SAY) or email OK2SAY@mi.gov. An OK2SAY app is also available.

OK2SAY logo

School safe boxes

Every schools website in the district has an Online Safe Box. Here students can report bullying behavior and other unsafe or potentially dangerous activity related to a school or its students. Information can be submitted anonymously. School officials will be notified and will look into the situation. See the full list of school websites.

School social workers

Every school in the district has a dedicated social worker. These employees are a good resource for students who may be struggling with mental health, social-emotional issues, or conditions at home. Depending on the situation, the social worker may be able to provide assistance or direct families to outside resources available to students and families. Parents can also reach out to social workers if they are concerned about a student. Families who would like assistance finding a mental health provider for a student, parent or other family member are encouraged to use the Care Solace service by calling 888-515-0595 or visiting caresolace.com/site/dearborn.

Social-emotional learning

From the youngest grades, Dearborn Public Schools works to create a safe school culture that does not tolerate bullying and provides all students a safe and welcoming school environment. This process, called social-emotional learning, is embedded throughout numerous programs in the district. As needed, students may be taught appropriate school behavior, how to cope with negative emotions, conflict resolution methods, and more. Parents can find resources on this topic on the district’s Social and Emotional Learning webpage.

The secure storage law, Public Act 17 of 2023, requires that firearms must be securely locked and kept separate from their ammunition in any location where a child or a teen less than 18 years of age may be present. Guns must be kept either in a locked box or with a locking device that makes them unusable. Youth are not allowed to have access to the weapon or to the key or combination to get to the weapon. Older youth are allowed to handle firearms only with adult supervision and their parent’s permission

Michigan Firearm Storage Requirements flyer  (Flyer in Arabic and Flyer in Spanish)

Michigan Health and Human Services webpage with resources on the importance of firearm safety

Project Childsafe – Information about safe gun storage

No guns icon

Weapons of any type are not permitted on Dearborn Public School grounds or at our school events, except for on-duty law enforcement officers. State law prohibits any type of weapon within 1,000 feet from the boundary of a school property.

Please see the Board of Education Policies for more specific information. Search “weapons” to find relevant policies.

School information

School Safety Legislation – Public Act 12

Michigan requires schools to run the following safety drills. A record of safety drills at Dearborn Public Schools is provided below.

Fire Drills

A minimum of five fire drills are required each school year. Three of the drills need to be held before December 1 and two during the remainder of the school year.

Tornado/Severe Weather Drills

A minimum of two tornado safety drills are required for each school year with one conducted during March.

Lockdown Drills/Shelter in Place

A minimum of three drills in which occupants are restricted to the interior of the building and the building is secure must be conducted each school year. One of these drills needs to be conducted prior to December 1 and one conducted after January 1. At least one drill needs to be scheduled during lunch, recess or at another time when a significant number of the students are gathered somewhere besides a classroom.

Current safety drill logs

Dearborn Public Schools regularly tests drinking water in our buildings.  Buildings are tested on a three-year cycle.

Additionally, the district has more than 200 filtered water stations that provide a drinking fountain and a spout for filling a water bottle. Every school has multiple filtered water stations accessible to students.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is how children and adults learn to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

This learning not only greatly impacts the individual’s mental health, but healthy social-emotional learning also leads to safer school environments.

Find more resources on our Social and Emotional Learning page.

The district has a number of legal notices we are required to post every year. For those who like to read the fine print, the document contains information about the Americans with Disabilities Act, drug-free school rules, weapons possession, required immunizations, asbestos, and pesticides among other topics.

District legal notices