Illinois schools are now required to have a school shooting drill at least once a year.

It's a new law, enacted in response to the Connecticut shooting last year. Cops and paramedics will have to participate in the drill, but the students don't have to, and at first they probably won't, says Gerald Brookhart, the Peoria County regional superintendent of schools.

"Some of the superintendents ... thought that they might first do it with just the staff, and show the staff what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to react, and then they wanted to make sure that the brought in a police official for one of those when the kids are there – but it's not mandatory," he said.

In addition to the drill and other security measures, Brookhart says schools are trying to create a safe environment in which no one will feel compelled to shoot anybody.

The law does not apply to colleges and universities, but sponsors say that could be a next step, since Northern Illinois University was the scene of a shooting spree in 2008. { IRN }

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