As the new school year gets underway, the Natrona County School District is announcing some changes in safety protocols.

The district is eliminating alert levels for emergency situations. Instead, schools will either be placed in a lockout or lockdown.

A lockout will be established when there’s an safety concern near a school, but does not pose a danger to those in school.

During a lockout, all external doors will be locked and unauthorized people will not be able to enter the building.

A lockdown will be called when there is an immediate and real threat to the safety and security of the school. During a lockdown, students and staff will be housed in safe areas until the threat has passed.

District officials say they hope that by simplifying the safety protocol language, they can help parent better understand the difference in the safety levels.

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