Katie Smith’s class of toddlers sat quietly on an April day in 2017, eating granola bars and reading children’s books.

At Kid Angle’s Daycare in Bloomington, this scene has been standard procedure during a tornado. Children and teachers sheltered in a safe room to avoid the threat presented by the tornado outside.

Only, the threat was neither a tornado, nor was it outside.

An armed man had entered the building, slammed wedding rings and divorce paperwork on a counter, went outside and fired his handgun in the air.

Blissfully unaware, the children sat quietly eating granola bars and reading children’s books.

Though the shooter, Michael Montgomery, was later arrested at his home with no issue, those in the building escaped potential harm because of their preparedness.

Gov. Mike Braun recently proposed licensing changes which would require daycares to perform active shooter or intruder drills every six months.

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Smith, now the daycare’s assistant director, supports standardized training for intruder drills.

“I think that the state has the capability to put trainings on their resource list that we already use through I-LEAD,” Smith said. “I think that it would be irresponsible not to have one, if they're going to require it, that the state issues so that everyone's on the same page."

The concern, however, comes from fear that the trainings and drills will not be standardized, and could result in drills that are psychologically damaging.

Smith stressed the importance of preparing without traumatizing the children.

“To the kids, it was a tornado drill,” Smith said. “Because it was important that we keep them calm and we don't expose them to something that is developmentally inappropriate.”

Smith also said that the students are not the only ones who benefit from psychologically lowering the stakes of the moment.

“As staff, it helps keep us kind of calm if we looked at it as that situation,”she said.

One risk of unregulated drills is long-term trauma for the toddlers who go through active shooter or intruder drills.

However, Smith said that even greater risk can arise in the event of an actual intruder. This is another reason why she and her co-workers take every precaution in their drills to keep their children calm.

“If there's an active intruder in your building, then screaming is going to alert the intruder to exactly where you are,” Smith said.

“So, I would rather have kids engaged quietly and thinking that things are normal … than have everyone upset and screaming, alerting someone to where we are.”

At Kid Angle’s Daycare, the training worked. In the event of an armed intruder, they were well-prepared. Students and staff stayed calm, and nobody was harmed.

Smith, disappointed in the reality, is grateful for her school’s preparedness. She believes legislation is necessary to help ensure safety at daycares across the state.

“You never think it's going to happen until it does,” Smith said. “So, I think that we would be mistaken to leave that in the hands of providers solely.”