P. 121: Developing Comprehensive Emergency Operations Plans:
A school’s emergency operations plan should center on regular engagement between schools, school districts, and first responders. Collaboration increases the efficiency and effectiveness of response to school-based incidents by providing first responders with the information required to navigate and secure a campus during an incident. Any reduction in the time between the beginning and end of an incident can save lives. In 2013, a federal interagency team released the Guide for Developing High Quality School Emergency Operations Plans, which outlines the steps schools can take in collaboration with their local government and community partners to plan for potential emergencies through the creation of a school emergency operations plan.
The Guide outlines the functions (e.g., communications, evacuation, shelter-in-place, lockdown) and threats or hazards (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, active shooters) for which every school should consider developing a plan.
Emergency operations plans must describe the actions that students, teachers, and school staff will take during an emergency. Actions may differ significantly depending upon the type of emergency. These differences should be outlined clearly according to the different threats and hazards. Everyone in the school should have a common understanding of what will be expected of them during an emergency—students, teachers, and school staff as well as parents, substitute teachers, coaches, and any contracted workers on the school campus. All areas of the school should be included in the planning, such as auxiliary locations for which the school is responsible and for any events that occur outside of regular school hours or school days.
Informing students, teachers, and school administrators of the practices outlined in a security or emergency operations plan is just as important as developing the plan in the first place. Training provides the most effective way of educating everyone on their roles and responsibilities during an emergency. An effective plan requires meticulous practice and stakeholders trained in executing the plan.
Considering Before School, After School, and Extra-Curricular Activities in Planning:
At many schools, large numbers of students or other members of the community will be present at the school before school, after school, during extra-curricular activities, and other times when classes are not in session.
During these periods, schools often reduce security measures, such as by leaving entry doors unlocked or reducing security staff presence. When designing their security and emergency operations plans, schools need to consider security for these periods.
P. 127: Recommendation: States & Local Communities
All school districts and/or individual schools should develop and implement emergency operations plans in accordance with the Guide for Developing High Quality School Emergency Operations Plans, or other similar guidance. Indeed, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office’s 2015 survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, only 32 of the 51 state education departments surveyed indicated that their state required school districts to have emergency operations plans. When designing their security and emergency operations plans, schools should consider security for before school, after school, during extra-curricular activities, and other times when classes are not in session. States and localities should consider supporting these efforts by providing dedicated funding for the development and implementation of emergency operations plans. States and localities should also consider requiring individual schools within their jurisdiction to develop and implement emergency operations plans.
P. 128: Endnotes
- Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2013). Guide for developing high-quality school emergency operations plans. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/REMS%20 K-12%20Guide%20508_0.pdf.
20 Broward County League of Cities’ School and Community Public Safety Task Force. (June 4, 2018). Initial report and recommendations, at p. 8 (“For some schools, the dismissal bell results in only a 30-40% reduction in the student population.”).