# Presentation: 527889

## Response  

**John Blackburn**
- Houston Independent (TX) School District
**Ed Clarke**
- Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools
**U.S. Department of Education**
- Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
- 400 Maryland Avenue, SW
- Washington, DC 20202

## Overview of Session

- Key Messages
- Emergency Management Continuum
- Definition of the Response Phase
- Response Components
- Tabletop Exercise
- Response Planning
- Response Actions
- Questions

## Key Messages

- Effective response involves pre-planning with community partners
- Pro-active efforts in the Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness phases will impact the quality of response
- Responses to emergencies will vary depending upon the severity and intensity of the event
- Responses to emergencies involve informed decision-making and clear identification of lines of decision-making authority
- During a response, there are three key response actions:  evacuation, lock-down, and shelter-in-place
- After-action briefings and reports are an integral part of the emergency planning continuum

## Response

**Response**

**Prevention/Mitigation**

**Preparedness**

**Recovery**

## What is the Response Phase?

- Response is taking action to effectively contain and resolve an emergency
- The Response phase is when emergency management plans are operationalized.  Steps taken during this phase include:
- Activating the plan
- Deploying resources
- Activating communication plans
- Working with community partners/first responders
- Accounting for students and staff
- Making informed decisions
- Accelerating the Recovery phase
- GOAL:  Implement the emergency management plan

## Response:  Key Components

- Unified Command/Incident Command
- Communication
- Media messages
- Interoperability of equipment
- Consideration of individuals with special needs
- Decision-making
- Flexibile and adaptable to change
- Incident documentation and after action briefing

**Notes:**
Unified Command is implemented when incidents involve multijurisdictional or multiagency response.  US enables agencies with different legal, geographical, and functional responsibitlites to coordinate and interact effectively.

Desicsion making is key to effective response...reference Denver Public Schools decision-making graphic.

## Response Planning

- Use data from school crimes, discipline referrals, school and community crime, vulnerability, threat, and security assessments, and lessons learned from drills and other incidents
- Use community resources to avoid developing policies and procedures in a vacuum
- Reinforce comprehensive and detailed procedures for actions needed to effectively contain and resolve each hazard identified in the Mitigation/Prevention phase

## Response Planning

- A coordinated, all-hazard, system-wide approach with various levels of activation, depending on severity or intensity of event, that includes:
- Collaboration and formal agreements with first responders
- A plan for each school that has a clear connection with the district's central crisis plan
- Procedures for activating a multi-level response

## Response Actions

- During an emergency, there are three primary responses:
- Evacuation
- Lock-down
- Shelter-in-place
- Each response type should be viewed along a  continuum

## Response Continuum

**Student demonstration**

**Natural Disaster**
**School Shooting**

**Medical Emergency**

**Chemical Spill**

**Fire/Facility Emergency**

**Public Demonstration**

**Fight on Campus**

**Bullying and School Climate Issues**

## Response Actions--Evacuation

- Evacuation:  Use when locations outside the school are safer than inside the school** **
- Have more than one evacuation route that does not interfere with public safety vehicles and/or fire hydrants
- Provide every teacher and staff member a readily available emergency "go-kit"
- Provide administrators an office "go-kit" that includes a staff and student class roster, daily visitors log, student check-in/out log, school floor plans, keys, and important phone numbers
- Ensure that someone (e.g., nurse, secretary) has emergency medical supplies, emergency medical forms, medications, and medication log
- Determine how teachers will account for students

*Source:  Denver Public Schools*

## Response Actions—Lock-down

- Lock-down: Use when there is an immediate threat of violence in, or immediately around, the school
- Lock all exterior doors
- Ensure public safety officials can enter the building
- Follow district predetermined policy about closing blinds and turning off lights
- Move all staff and students to an area not visible from windows or doors

## Response Actions—Lock-down

- Special Lock-down Procedure Considerations:
- Class transition times
- Lunch periods
- Outdoors activities (Physical education classes, etc.)
- Messages to students and staff (plain language vs. codes, use of placards)
- Blinds open/blinds closed, lights on/lights off
- Messages to parents

**Notes:**
Talking Points:  Policies about blinds open/blinds closed, use of placards, lights on/lights off may vary from district to district.  It is important to note that there is no right/wrong answer to how districts approach these considerations.  Districts should work with their first responders to identify how they will handle lockdowns and what their policies will be for lock-down incidents.  Districts should then incorporate those policies in their emergency management plans, training, and exercises.  

## Response Actions—Lock-down

- Sample Parent Notification for Lockdowns:
- All school personnel have been trained in lockdown procedures.  They will be doing their best to ensure that all students are being held in a safe location on campus.  Our goal is safe care, custody, and accountability of children.
- In a lockdown, we will not be able to answer incoming phone calls or make outside calls.  Within minutes we will be assisted by police, who will secure the neighboring streets and the building perimeter.  No one, including parents, will be allowed near the school during a lockdown.
- Students will be kept inside locked classrooms.  No one will be allowed to leave the classrooms/secure areas on campus until the lockdown is lifted.  All students and faculty /staff will remain in the lockdown mode until the police department lifts the lockdown.
- When the lockdown is lifted, parents may come to school to pick up their children.
*Source:  Virginia Department of Education*

*Source:  Denver Public Schools*

## Response Actions—Shelter-in-Place

- Shelter-in-place:  Use when students and staff must remain indoors for a period of time for events such as chemical, biological, and radiological incidents or terrorist attack**   **
- Close all windows and turn off all heating and air conditioning systems to keep dangerous air out of school
- Create a schedule for learning, recreational activities, eating, and sleeping
- Ensure that the necessary supplies are available for students and staff throughout the shelter-in-place period

## Response Actions—Decision-Making

- Incident commanders need to make informed decisions
- Develop protocols in advance to help with making decisions in an emergency situation
- Level and type of response should be commensurate with the incident

## Slide 19

## Basic Components of A Response Plan

** **Communications plan:
-  	Designate roles and responsibilities for communicating with**:**
-  Staff
-  Teachers
-  Students
-  Media
-  School administrators
-  First responders
** ****	**Designate roles at each level: district, school, community

## Basic Components of A Response Plan

- Designate locations of on- and off-site command posts, media staging areas, and parent reunification sites :
- Develop a process or means for identifying persons authorized to enter each area (e.g., badges, t-shirts, hats)
- Designate a person to be the site commander at each staging area**	**
**	****	****	****	****	****	****	****	**
**	****	****	****	****	****	****	****	**

## After-Action Steps

- After-action briefings and reports are critical for reviewing "what worked" and identifying gaps and weaknesses in emergency management plans and responses:
- Conduct briefings at two levels:
- Internal—district  level
- External—community level
- Briefings should take place shortly after an emergency response situation
- Participants should include school staff, first responders, and other key stakeholders.

## After-Action Steps

- After-action reports capture key lessons learned from crisis response and make recommendations for improvements:
- Benefits:
- Supports proactive response management
- Provides documentation for any future litigation
- Identifies areas for improvement

## After-Action Steps

- Components of after-action reports:
- Exercise overview
- Exercise goals and objectives
- Analysis of outcomes
- Analysis of capacity to perform critical tasks
- Summary
- Recommendations
- Specific improvements for each partner

## Response—Next Steps

**Response**

**Prevention/Mitigation**

**Preparedness**

**Recovery**

- Begin preparing for Recovery...

## Summary

- Effective response involves pre-planning with community partners
- Pro-active efforts in the Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness phases will impact the quality of response
- Responses to emergencies will vary depending upon the severity and intensity of the event
- Responses to emergencies involve informed decision-making and clear identification of lines of decision-making authority
- During a response, there are three key response actions:  evacuation, lock-down, and shelter-in-place
- After-action briefings and reports are an integral part of the crisis planning continuum

## Tabletop Activity

**Notes:**
The presenter will guide participants through a tabletop exercise where they activate the ICS.  Participants will fill in the ICS chart on the following slide.

## Tabletop Activity ICS

**Notes:**
Note: participants will "fill in the blanks during the tabletop exercise

## QUESTIONS?  

## THANK YOU!!!

- For More Information Contact:
- John Blackburn - (713) 641-7440
- Ed Clarke - (301) 297-3066
- Presenter Name and Contact Information
-  or: _[Info@ercm.org](mailto:Info@ercm.org)_