S.C. Law Now Requires Schools have Shooter/Intruder Drills

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina schools are now required to have an active shooter and an intruder drill each semester.

The drills are required under a law passed last spring. The guidelines were sent to all South Carolina schools last month.

The school safety law is one of several reforms passed after 17 students and teachers were shot and killed at Parkland High School in Florida by a former student on Feb. 14.

Some school systems are doing even more for safety. The State newspaper in Columbia reports Beaufort County Schools are holding three active-shooter drills a year, including one during what they call an "inconvenient time," like during lunch or as students are going between classes.

In Lexington School District 2, officials are installing a key-card entry system for teachers and staff.