When the bomb threats rolled in Thursday morning, the Lawrence school district chose to go into semi-lockdown and alert the news media.

During the semi-lockdown, all entrances were limited, and there was only one way in or out of each building, which was monitored.

Some area school districts have similar policies while others have different procedures, such as outbound calling systems or building inspections.

The Perry-Lecompton school district’s policy calls for law enforcement officers to inspect the building. Superintendent Steve Johnston said buses were diverted Thursday to the district’s service center until a sweep of the building could be conducted by district personnel.

“We have a pretty good plan and we followed through with that,” Johnston said. “We requested law enforcement check the building, but they weren’t available.”

In Baldwin City, the school district’s plan calls for using the media, phone calls and e-mail to notify parents of a situation involving students. Though phone calls are part of the plan, there is no automated phone call system, so calls must be placed manually.

In some larger school districts, there are elaborate procedures for how to alert parents. The Shawnee Mission district, in suburban Kansas City, has a system that allows it to both text message and call parents who are signed up with the district. Principals and administrators record a message that is then sent to district parents.

“Once someone reports that something is going on, we begin working with our community police officers,” district spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neal said.

Each situation is treated independently, but visual inspections typically are conducted, Neal said.

In Olathe, Assistant Superintendent Bob Hull said the district has received threats and has detailed procedures in place to deal with the situation.

“We’re a little different in that when we receive a threat, we don’t automatically evacuate,” Hull said. “We do immediately contact our local police and fire departments.”

In fact, no area administrators said that evacuation is a guaranteed first step. One cited a shooting in Jonesboro, Ark., where an alarm was pulled as gunmen waited for people to exit the building, as a reason to perhaps stay in place until more is known.