School-Centered Emergency Management

1. School-Centered Emergency Management Instructor

2. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response School-Centered Emergency Management

3. Food for Thought “Nothing is more important to American parents than the safety of their children...” -- Former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings

4. What is a School? • Place to Educate • Safe Haven • Day Care • Health Care Provider • Family Services • Full-Service Restaurant • Public Transportation • Custodial and Grounds Service

5. What is a School? • Counseling Service • Job Training and Placement Service • Fitness Center • Public Library • Public Shelter

6. Texas School Districts are “Governmental Entity” What is a School? Section 418.004, Government Code

7. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response What is Emergency Management?

8. What Is Emergency Management? • Mitigation/ Prevention: Any action taken to reduce the loss of life or damage to property from hazards of all kinds. Reduces costs of response and recovery.

9. What Is Emergency Management? • Preparedness: Builds the emergency management function to respond effectively to and recover from any hazard that cannot be mitigated.

10. What Is Emergency Management? • Response: Puts preparedness plans into action to respond effectively and efficiently to any emergency that may occur.

11. What Is Emergency Management? • Recovery: Returns systems and activities to normal, beginning right after the emergency. Some recovery activities may be concurrent with response efforts.

12. Moral and Legal Responsibilities • Each day parents entrust schools with their children. • Once a student steps on campus or on the bus the school is legally and ethically responsible for them until they are picked up by a parent or returned home. • This responsibility remains, even when disaster strikes.

13. Schools are not Exempt

14. Must Be Ready For… Xenia, Ohio Tornado Beslan, Russia Terrorism Chicago, Illinois Fire

15. School Shootings Redby, Minnesota Jonesboro, Arkansas Littleton, Colorado

16. Schools as Resources Jarrell, Texas Tornado Granitesville, South Carolina Chemical Spill Round Rock ISD for Rita

17. And the little things too…

18. It’s not a matter of if…but when and how often

19. The Challenge Today’s schools play a unique role in emergency management…charged with the safety and care of children, schools must respond appropriately in any crisis.…No matter where, no matter when….

20. The Challenge Whether it is directly or indirectly related to our traditional school role; whether it is part of the school year, after school, or summer and holiday activities.

21. The Situation The time is past when districts could go it alone, or prepare for a few basic scenarios. In today’s environment it is neither prudent nor possible to prepare for all eventualities.

22. The Assumption • Schools cannot predict when an incident is going to happen or what will be involved. • When emergencies occur or threaten –schools must respond appropriately.

23. Tangible vs. Intangible • Some dangers can be identified through a hazard hunt: • Natural • Technological • Environmental • Demographic

24. Tangible vs. Intangible • Others are trickier • Behavioral • Socioeconomic • Criminal • Human error • Biological

25. Not a Luxury • Ensuring that everyone is aware of what to do in an emergency is critical to student and staff safety and to the educational process.

26. It’s the Law • School-centered emergency management is not a luxury, it’s the law. • Audits • Planning • Codes • Drills • Training • Standards

27. It’s the Law • Chapter 37 of the Education Code. • School administrators and designated Education Service Center personnel are expected to work closely with local first responders and Emergency Management Directors in their areas to ensure public school resources are made available (TEA 6/10/08). • Supported by Texas Unified School Safety Standards.

28. School Specifics • Some EM concepts need to be tailored to the unique needs of school and students. • Special issues exist that are apart from more traditional emergency response (accountability, safety, etc.)…

29. School Specifics • Student safety and accountability is vital. • Unique requirements exist for resumption of classes after school or community incidents.

30. Responders Have a Role • Many concerns and misconceptions exist in coordinating emergency response with schools… • It is vital that law enforcement and first responders be allowed to do their jobs and not usurp responsibilities of the District.

31. Schools Have a Role • School officials cannot abdicate their responsibilities to first responders. • Schools are the custodians of the children and owners of the facility or resource. • Schools know their systems best.

32. Special Considerations • School emergency plan should include terrorist and criminal components. • Assistance is available from: • School-based law enforcement • Safety and risk managers • Emergency managers • School safety experts

33. Special Considerations • Crime scene considerations • Help campuses understand the importance of a crime scene • What is required to preserve the crime scene • Who makes designation

34. When Things Go Wrong • Emergency situations develop more quickly than anyone thinks they will. • School officials face tough decisions. • Schools have some unique challenges about which first responders are unaware. • School districts must expect to be self reliant until help arrives and to remain part of the process after that. • When disaster strikes all available resources and skill sets are needed.

35. School-CenteredEmergency Management Works • A comprehensive, all-hazard approach to manage all kinds of emergencies. • An organized process provides a consistent and coordinated process to ensure efficient and effective response to and recovery from major events. • The system expands/contracts as needed and is consistent with local, state and federal emergency management systems. • It ensures a safe and secure learning environment.

36. School-Centered EM Tools • School-Based Hazard Analysis • National Incident Management System • NIMS provides a basic, national and standardized framework for disaster and emergency response for the overall emergency management community • Multi-hazard planning, training and exercise • School Continuity of Operations • Mutual Aid/Resource Management

37. Emergency Operations Plans • The Plan and its Support Documents • Outline the intended approach to managing emergencies and disasters of all types. • Represent procedural guidelines and should not be regarded as a performance guarantee. • Provide conceptual framework for flexible and coordinated multi-agency response for the efficient and effective use of resources during a major event.

38. All-Hazard Requirement • Operational plans provide coordination and consistency of response and recovery, regardless of the type of incident. • Identify the relationship between… • The district office and the site. • The school district and public safety response. • Plan for all phases of emergency management. • Ensure a common structure and language, which incorporates the incident management system (incident command).

39. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response Emergency Management Four Phases Emergency Management is a continuous cycle, not a one-time effort.

40. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response Mitigation/Prevention Any action taken to reduce the loss of life or damage to property from hazards of all kinds. Reduces costs of response and recovery.

41. Mitigation/Prevention • Ensure hazardous material safety. • Identify and upgrade facility safety measures (fire, alarms, security, break-resistant glass, landscaping). • Develop a safe schools programs. • Conduct regular hazard analysis with follow up corrective measures. • Have process in place for ongoing identification of safety/security concerns. • Identify flood-prone areas and plan accordingly.

42. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response Preparedness Builds the emergency management function to respond effectively to and recover from any hazard that cannot be mitigated.

43. Preparedness • Identify your team • Develop planning needs • Identify resource needs • Set up an organizational structure (chain of command, lines of succession) • Develop the plan • Practice it (exercise) • Use lessons learned to revise/update

44. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response Response Puts preparedness plans into action to respond effectively and efficiently to any emergency that may occur.

45. Response • Physical impact may be faster and more severe on children. • Student accountability is a response issue unique to schools. • Critical decisions in the first few minutes determine the next several hours. • How do we handle cascading events? • How do we find necessary resources? • What if a crime scene is involved? • Communication can make or break a response. • School must be part of the big picture throughout.

46. Mitigation Recovery Preparedness Response Recovery Returns systems and activities to normal, beginning right after the emergency. Some recovery activities may be concurrent with response efforts.

47. Recovery (Infrastructure) • Damage assessment • Share information with local and state officials • Disaster assistance process • Structural/physical repair • Service restoration • Clean up

48. Recovery (Human) • When a crisis affects the school, it impacts the entire community. • Make sure plans take care of adults as well as children. • Make sure they cover anniversaries and other trigger events.

49. Recovery (Continuity) • A sustainable school system must have continuity of operations. • Requires a consistent and coordinated way to ensure operational and educational sustainability • Plan for resumption of classes

50. Reciprocal Partnerships • The community is strengthened by meaningful partnerships among schools, organizations, businesses and community members • This will not be substantive if it is not reciprocal.