5141.6

Students

Crisis Response

Crisis Management Plan (Emergencies and Disaster Preparedness Plan)

It is the policy of the ___________ Board of Education (Board) to maintain a safe, orderly, civil, and positive learning environment, and to be prepared, in so far as possible, to prevent and respond to unexpected crises quickly and appropriately. While the very nature of a crisis may make preparation difficult, the Board believes that staff and students should be ready to respond quickly and appropriately to emergency situations.

The Board of Education recognizes that all District staff and students must be prepared to respond quickly and responsibly to emergencies, disasters, and threats of disaster.

Annually the Board shall develop, maintain and implement an emergency disaster preparedness and response plan ("School Security and Safety Plan") and administrative procedures which detail provisions for responding to emergency situations and disasters and the role that local emergency service providers shall play in crisis preparedness and incident management, and which shall be included in the District's comprehensive school safety plan. Such plans shall be based on the school security and safety plan standards and the accompanying School Security and Safety Plan Template developed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, pursuant to section 86 of PA 13-3.  This shall include the establishment at each school of a school security and safety committee and consultation and cooperation with law enforcement, fire department, and emergency rescue squads.

Examples of school crises include, but are not limited to, fire, bus accidents, nuclear disaster, criminal acts, civil disturbances, disease epidemic, physical injury, death, presence of intruders on school premises, hazardous material spills, weather-related emergencies, natural disasters, bomb threats, or terrorist activities.

or

In developing the District and school security and safety plans, the Superintendent or designee shall collaborate with local and state emergency responders, including local public health administrators, in compliance with the provisions of PA 13-3.

The Superintendent or designee shall also develop and maintain emergency plans for each school site, with the cooperation of the school's security and safety committee.

Note:  The U.S. Department of Education has published Practical Information on Crisis Planning, which is available on its web site, to provide guidance for schools in developing crisis plans.  This document recommends that districts work with city and county emergency planners to help integrate resources and that school staff participate in local emergency planning so that the district perspective is addressed by the local government.  In addition, as part of the Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that local public health administrators be involved in the district's planning process.

The Board shall annually, by November 1 of each year, submit the school security and safety plan for each school to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, via submission to the District's DEMHS Regional Coordinator in the manner prescribed by said agency.

The Superintendent or designee shall use the school security and safety plan standards and plan templates developed by the Department of Emergency Services, state-approved Standardized Emergency Management System guidelines, be compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and incorporate the National Incident Command System when updating district and site-level emergency and disaster preparedness plans.

The crisis management plan (School Security and Safety Plan) shall be developed within the context of the four recognized phases of crisis management:

  Mitigation/Prevention addresses what schools and the district can do to reduce or eliminate the risk to life and property.

  Preparedness focuses on the process of planning for the worst case scenario.

  Response is devoted to the steps to take during a crisis.

  Recovery pertains to how to restore the learning and teaching environment after a crisis.

Security and safety plans shall also provide guidance on the recovery from an emergency incident, in addition to including provisions regarding preparedness and response.

Crisis management must be viewed as a continuous process in which all phases of the plan are being reviewed and revised. The plan must be continuously updated based upon experience, research and changing vulnerabilities.  Therefore, the Board will conduct a security and vulnerability assessment, every two years, for each District school and develop and/or revise a school security and safety plan for each school based on the aforementioned standards for such plans.

Schools shall collaborate closely with law enforcement, fire and emergency services personnel and community partners, including public health and mental health professionals who can assist with the development of a plan that addresses a wide range of crises.

The District crisis response team is responsible for:

  Initiating, building and maintaining relationships with community partners;

  Conducting safety and security needs assessments;

  Establishing and updating the emergency management plan;

  Assisting individual school-based crisis response teams, (the school security and safety committee) to include community partners and school-based personnel as specified in section 87 of PA 13-3; and

  Developing training activities and conducting emergency exercises to support and improve the plan.

At a minimum, school and school district emergency management plans shall outline procedures for faculty, staff and students for the following three primary responses:

  Evacuation when it is safer outside the school than it is inside the school.

  Lockdown when there is an immediate threat of violence in, on or in the vicinity of the school.

  Shelter-in-place when students and staff must remain in a school building for extended periods of time during an event such as a chemical spill or terrorist attack.

The Board shall grant the use of school buildings, grounds, and equipment to public agencies, including the American Red Cross, for mass care and welfare shelters during disasters or other emergencies affecting the public health and welfare.  The Board shall cooperate with such agencies in furnishing and maintaining whatever services they deem necessary to meet the community's needs.

Note:  The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center is a hub of information and services available to assist in emergency management planning and preparedness. The website is http://rems.ed.gov.

(cf. 3516 - Safe and Secure School Facilities, Equipment and Grounds)

(cf. 4148.1/4248.1 - School Security and Safety Committee)

(cf. 5131.7 - Weapons and Dangerous Instruments)

(cf. 5141.22 - Communicable/Infectious Diseases)

(cf. 5142 - Student Safety)

(cf. 6114 - Emergencies and Disaster Preparedness)

(cf. 6114.6 - Emergency Closings)

(cf. 6114.8 - Pandemic/Epidemic Emergencies)

Legal Reference:  Connecticut General Statutes

10-154a Professional communications between teacher or nurse and student.

10-207 Duties of medical advisors.

10-209 Records not to be public.

10-210 Notice of disease to be given parent or guardian.

10-221 Boards of education to prescribe rules.

10-222m - School security and safety plans. School security and safety committees

10-222n - School security and safety plan standards

19a-221 Quarantine of certain persons.

52-557b Immunity from liability for emergency medical assistance, first aid or medication by injection.  School personnel not required to administer or render.

PA 13-3 An Act Concerning Gun Violence and Children's Safety

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, 45 C.F.R. 99.

Policy adopted:

5141.6

Students

Crisis Response

Crisis Management Plan (Emergencies and Disaster Preparedness Plan)

Components of the Plan

Note:  The following administrative regulation must be modified to reflect District practice and the unique needs of each school and District.

The Superintendent or designee, on behalf of the Board of Education, shall ensure that District and school site school security and safety plans address an all-hazards approach to emergencies and shall include, but not limited to:

1.  Fire on or off school grounds which endangers students and staff.

2.  Natural disasters.

3.  Environmental hazards.

4.  Attack or disturbance, or threat of attack or disturbance, by an individual or group.

5.  Bomb threat or actual detonation.

6.  Biological, radiological, chemical, and other activities, or heightened warning of such activities.

7.  Medical emergencies and quarantines, such as a pandemic influenza outbreak.

Annually each school in the District shall develop and implement a school security and safety plan. Such plans shall be based on the school security and safety plan standards and templates developed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, pursuant to section 86 of PA 13-3. In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the District's procedures include strategies and actions, which are compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) used by all first responders at all levels, for prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, including, but not limited to, the following:

1.  Regular inspection of school facilities and equipment and identification of risks.

2.  Instruction and practice for students and employees regarding emergency plans, including:

a.  Training of staff in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

b.  Regular practice of emergency procedures by students and staff.

3.  Specific determination of roles and responsibilities of staff during a disaster or other emergency, including determination of:

a.  The appropriate chain of command at the District and, if communication between the District and site is not possible, at each site. (Use of the National Incident Command System)

b.  Individuals responsible for specific duties.

c.  Designation of the Principal for the overall control and supervision of activities at each school during the emergency, including authorization to use his/her discretion in situations which do not permit execution of prearranged plans.

d.  Identification of at least one person at each site who holds a valid certificate in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

e.  Assignment of responsibility for identification of injured persons and administration of first aid.

4.  Personal safety and security, including:

a.  Identification of areas of responsibility for supervision of students.

b.  Procedures for evacuation of students and staff, including posting of evacuation routes.

c.  Procedures for release of students, including a procedure to release students when reference to the emergency card is not feasible.

d.  Identification of transportation needs, including a plan which allows bus seating capacity limits to be exceeded when a disaster or hazard requires students to be moved immediately to ensure their safety.

e.  Provision of a first aid kit to each classroom.

f.  Arrangements for students and staff with special needs.

g.  Upon notification that a pandemic situation exists, adjustment of attendance policies for students and sick leave policies for staff with known or suspected pandemic influenza or other infectious disease.

5.  Closure of schools, including an analysis of:

a.  The impact on student learning and methods to ensure continuity of instruction.

b.  How to provide for continuity of operations for essential central office functions.

6.  Communication among staff, parents/guardians, the Board of Education, other governmental agencies, and the media during an emergency, including:

a.  Identification of spokesperson(s).

b.  Development and testing of communication platforms, such as hotlines, telephone trees, and web sites.

c.  Development of methods to ensure that communications are, to the extent practicable, in a language and format that is easy for parents/guardians to understand.

d.  Distribution of information about District and school site emergency procedures to staff, students, and parents/guardians.

7.  Cooperation with other state and local agencies, including:

a.  Development of guidelines for law enforcement, fire department, and medical emergency responder involvement and intervention.

b.  Collaboration with the local health department, including development of a tracking system to alert the local health department to a substantial increase of student or staff absenteeism as indicative of a potential outbreak of an infectious disease.

8.  Steps to be taken after the disaster or emergency, including:

a.  Inspection of school facilities.

b.  Provision of mental health services for students and staff, as needed.

The school security and safety plans shall be reviewed annually and updated if necessary.

Examples of Items to Consider for Crisis Management Plan In Relation to the Four Phases of Emergency Management for Schools

1.  Prevention-Mitigation Phase

a.  Prevention is the action schools and districts can take to decrease the likelihood that an event or crisis will occur.

b.  Mitigation actions are steps that eliminate or reduce the loss of life or property damage for events that cannot be prevented.

i.  Assess and address the safety and integrity of facilities, security, culture and climate of the schools and is considered an ongoing process, directly linked to the other three phases.

ii.  Correlate with bullying policy and school climate plan.

iii.  Work with community partners to conduct an assessment of school buildings, grounds, and surrounding community.

c.  Examples of items to build into the crisis management plan:

i.  Fencing hazardous areas.

ii.  Anchoring outdoor equipment.

iii.  Installing building access control measures (e.g. buzz-in systems, photo ID cards, security cameras, and alarm systems with multiple activation locations).

iv.  Conducting school vulnerability assessments (e.g. campus entry points, buffer zones).

v.  Establishing wellness programs.

vi.  Correlate with policies pertaining to health, safety and security.

2.  Preparedness Phase

a.  Preparedness is designed to strengthen the school community by coordinating with community partners through:

i.  Developing an emergency plan and protocols

ii.  Adopting the Incident Command System

iii.  Addressing the needs of persons with disabilities

iv.  Conducting staff training and drills.

b.  Elements to be addressed:

i.  All-hazards emergency procedures

ii.  Emergency supplies

iii.  Incident Command System to facilitate effective response

iv.  Student accountability procedures in the case of an emergency

v.  Family reunification plans (contact information, notification procedures, appropriate identification)

vi.  Training and exercises (tabletop exercises and full-scale exercises)

vii.  Recovery planning

viii.  Communication with the media and parents/guardians

ix.  Annual review and revision

3.  Response Phase

a.  Involves what must be done during response to an emergency:

i.  Activating the crisis management plan and the Incident Command System

ii.  Coordinating with first responders

iii.  Adapting to an evolving situation

iv.  Deciding on response strategies

v.  Accounting to students-reunifying with parents/guardians

vi.  Communicating with parents/guardians and the media

b.  Consideration of which primary response to use based upon the specifics and the severity of the situation:

i.  Evacuation

ii.  Lockdown

iii.  Shelter in place

c.  Response Action: Evacuation

i.  Use when locations outside the building are safer than inside the school.

ii.  Identify multiple evacuation routes in coordination with community partners.

iii.  Determine how teachers will account for students.

iv.  Ensure teachers, administrators and staff members have appropriate "Go-kits."

d.  Response Action: Lockdown

i.  Use when there is an immediate threat of violence in, or immediately around, the school.

ii.  Lock all exterior doors.

iii.  Ensure public safety officials can enter the building.

iv.  Determine policy about closing blinds, turning off lights, use of status cards.

v.  Staff and students to move to an area not visible from windows or doors.

e.  Response Action: Shelter-in-Place

i.  Use when students and staff must remain indoors during an extended period of time.

ii.  Close all windows and turn off all heating and air conditioning systems.

iii.  Provide accommodations for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene. Have staff activate family emergency plans.

iv.  Provide communications to students and staff (plain language vs. codes).

v.  Discourage external cellular communications by students and staff during emergencies.

vi.  Provide for review/debriefing of the incident.

4.  Recovery Phase

a.  Designed to assist students, staff, and their families in the healing process and to restore educational operations in the schools.

b.  Four primary components to be addressed:

i.  Physical/structural recovery

ii.  Business/fiscal recovery

iii.  Restoration of the learning environment

iv.  Psychological/emotional recovery

c.  Issues to be addressed

i.  Assessment and repair of facilities

ii.  Possible need for alternate school sites

iii.  Payroll and financial systems

iv.  Record management

v.  Returning normalcy to the school environment

vi.  Identification of those needing psychological/emotion support and development of short and long-term interventions as needed

Regulation approved:

5142.25

Form

EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE PLAN

Place

Child’s

Picture

Here

1.  If ingestion is suspected, give (medication/dose/route) __________________________

               __________________________________________________________immediately!

2.  CALL RESCUE SQUAD: _______________________________________________

3.  CALL:  Mother ___________________________Father _______________________

                or emergency contacts.

4.  CALL:  Dr.     ______________________________at __________________________

DO NOT HESITATE TO ADMINISTER MEDICATION OR CALL RESCUE SQUAD EVEN IF PARENTS OR DOCTOR CANNOT BE REACHED!

____________________________________________________________________________

Parent Signature                              Date      Doctor’s Signature                                         Date