CADILLAC - Michigan State Police are now required to comply with a new bill that requires them to create a standardized terminology list for schools.
The bill was signed last week by Governor Gretchen Whitmer with the goal of increasing school safety by streamlining emergency language used in dire situations.
MSP commander Travis House said the new bill will allow the state police to help keep kids safer in school lockdowns and other emergency situations.
The terminology is learned by everyone at the school, from students to administrators.
When the time comes, everyone needs to be on the same page for the best potential outcome in critical situations.
“Here in Cadillac we have a specific issue with kids that come from multiple schools to our career tech center. They may be drilled one way at their home school with certain terminology and when they come to CTC the terminology may be different,” said House.” So, the standardization may eliminate that problem.
Right now, schools use different terminology like lockdown or secure mode to describe different levels of that security, under this legislation it would be terminology that every school across the state shares.”
Michigan State Police have until July 1, 2026 to create the list of standardized terms.
