II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4259 

To create a Council on Emergency Response Protocols to ensure the establishment of accessible, developmentally appropriate, culturally aware, and 

trauma-informed emergency response protocols in public schools, early 

child care and education settings, and institutions of higher education, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To create a Council on Emergency Response Protocols to 

ensure the establishment of accessible, developmentally 

appropriate, culturally aware, and trauma-informed 

emergency response protocols in public schools, early 

child care and education settings, and institutions of 

higher education, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Responsible 

3 Emergency Protocols for All Students Act of 2022’’ or the 

4 ‘‘PREP for All Students Act of 2022’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The lack of accessible, developmentally ap8 propriate, culturally aware, and trauma-informed 

9 emergency response protocols for children and youth 

10 in public schools, early child care and education set11 tings, and institutions of higher education is not a 

12 trivial issue: 

13 (A) In 2016, there were 12,032,000 chil14 dren from ages 3 to 5 enrolled in preprimary 

15 education programs, and almost one-quarter of 

16 children under the age of 5 are in some form 

17 of child care arrangement, including nurseries, 

18 child care centers, and preschools. 

19 (B) In the 2017–2018 school year— 

20 (i) 14 percent of students in grades 

21 kindergarten through grade 12 had a dis22 ability; and 

23 (ii) 11 percent of students in 

24 postbaccalaureate programs self-identified 

25 as having a disability. 


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1 (2) As of the date of enactment of this Act, lit2 tle has been done to integrate specific populations, 

3 such as children and youth at various developmental 

4 stages or children and youth with disabilities, into 

5 emergency preparedness planning. 

6 (3) In 2018 alone, there were 108 natural dis7 asters in the United States, including severe thun8 derstorms, floods, wildfires, droughts, earthquakes, 

9 and other extreme weather. 

10 (4) During the 16 academic years from 2000 

11 through 2015, there were 85 fatal fires in dor12 mitories, fraternities, sororities, and off-campus 

13 housing, resulting in 118 fatalities—an average of 

14 approximately 7 per school year. 

15 (5) The risks associated with natural and man16 made disasters have a disproportionate impact on in17 dividuals with disabilities. People with disabilities 

18 are 2 to 4 times more likely to die or sustain critical 

19 injuries during a disaster than people without dis20 abilities. 

21 (6) Technology plays an increasingly vital role 

22 in emergency communications but remains largely 

23 inaccessible for many individuals with disabilities. 

24 (7) The rise of gun violence and gun violence25 related deaths has contributed to the expansion of 


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1 school security technologies and devices. While such 

2 technologies and devices have the potential to save 

3 lives, they have largely been developed without con4 sideration of the needs of students at various devel5 opmental stages or students with disabilities. Thus, 

6 there may be inherent biases within these tech7 nologies and devices that disadvantage or create bias 

8 toward specific populations. 

9 (8) As of the date of enactment of this Act, 92 

10 percent of schools nationwide have an active shooter 

11 lockdown protocol. More than 1,000,000 elementary12 age children experienced a lockdown in the 2017– 

13 2018 school year, and among that group, at least 

14 220,000 were in kindergarten or prekindergarten. 

15 (9) While the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity active shooter emergency guidelines recommend 

17 that students and personnel in school and early child 

18 care and education settings ‘‘Run, Hide, and Fight’’, 

19 these strategies can exacerbate danger for young 

20 children in prekindergarten and child care centers, 

21 and can exclude and put at risk students with a 

22 wide range of disabilities. 

23 (10) At the height of the 2019 novel 

24 coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic, emergency clo25 sures of early education centers, elementary schools, 


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1 secondary schools, and institutions of higher edu2 cation created great disruptions in learning and cast 

3 a light on educational institutions’ lack of prepared4 ness protocols for public health emergencies. 

5 (11) During the pandemic, early care and edu6 cation remains indispensable for the development of 

7 children and for millions of health care workers, first 

8 responders, educators, and essential personnel, and 

9 it is imperative that early care and education centers 

10 and schools have emergency preparedness plans to 

11 ensure the safety of students and educators. 

12 (12) Emergency preparation drills and real-life 

13 lockdowns where danger may be external can create 

14 undue stress, fear, and trauma in children, youth, 

15 employees, and other specific populations in schools, 

16 early child care and education settings, and institu17 tions of higher education. 

18 (13) Traumatic events have a long-lasting and 

19 profound sensory impact on young children, as birth 

20 to age 5 is a critical developmental age. Frightening 

21 visual stimuli, loud noises, violent movements, and 

22 other sensations associated with an unpredictable 

23 frightening event, such as in an emergency prepara24 tion drill or lockdown, can cause substantial stress. 

25 Unlike older children, young children cannot express 


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1 in words whether they feel afraid, overwhelmed, or 

2 helpless, and may have difficulty regulating their be3 havior and emotions after experiencing trauma. 

4 (14) There is an increasing need to ensure the 

5 establishment of accessible, developmentally appro6 priate, culturally aware, and trauma-informed emer7 gency response protocols, including gun violence re8 sponse and prevention protocols, natural disaster 

9 preparedness procedures, fire drills, and other emer10 gency preparation drills or lockdown procedures, in 

11 public schools, early child care and education set12 tings, and institutions of higher education. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen16 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘para17 professional’’, ‘‘school leader’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, 

18 and ‘‘specialized instructional support personnel’’ 

19 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 

20 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 (2) ACCESSIBLE.—The term ‘‘accessible’’, when 

23 used with respect to an emergency response protocol, 

24 means a protocol that— 


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1 (A) is developed in full compliance with 

2 title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

3 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) and the Reha4 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.); 

5 and 

6 (B) accounts for a comprehensive range of 

7 disabilities, including children and youth who 

8 use nonspeech modes of communication. 

9 (3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

10 Council on Emergency Response Protocols estab11 lished under section 4. 

12 (4) CULTURALLY AWARE.—The term ‘‘cul13 turally aware’’, when used with respect to an emer14 gency response protocol, means a protocol that— 

15 (A)(i) incorporates the roles of first re16 sponder personnel, law enforcement personnel, 

17 school resource officers, and other authorities in 

18 the communities where the students live and at19 tend school; 

20 (ii) takes into account the use and preva21 lence of firearms in such communities; and 

22 (iii) is cognizant of the ways in which Afri23 can-American students and students of other 

24 racial or ethnic minority groups are more likely 

25 to face disciplinary action in schools; 


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1 (B) is designed to be sensitive to and re2 spect cultural differences and differences in cus3 toms and worldview; and 

4 (C) considers the ways in which certain 

5 emergency events have disparate impact on Af6 rican Americans, Native peoples, and other ra7 cial and ethnic minorities. 

8 (5) DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE.—The 

9 term ‘‘developmentally appropriate’’, when used with 

10 respect to an emergency response protocol, means a 

11 protocol that is appropriate for children’s ages and 

12 physical, social, sensory, and emotional develop13 mental statuses. 

14 (6) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri16 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

17 12102). 

18 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

22 (8) TRAUMA-INFORMED.—The term ‘‘trauma23 informed’’, when used with respect to an emergency 

24 response protocol, means a protocol that— 


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1 (A) recognizes the prevalence of trauma 

2 and the role that trauma plays in the lives of 

3 children, youth, and survivors of trauma; 

4 (B) considers the physical, psychological, 

5 and emotional well-being of individuals during 

6 and after an emergency event; and 

7 (C) takes an approach that actively com8 bats the traumatization or retraumatization of 

9 children, youth, and survivors of trauma. 

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL ON EMERGENCY RE11 SPONSE PROTOCOLS. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Council 

13 on Emergency Response Protocols. 

14 (b) COMPOSITION.— 

15 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Edu16 cation, in an expeditious manner, shall appoint an 

17 individual who represents one of the categories de18 scribed in paragraph (2) to serve as a member and 

19 chairperson of the Council. 

20 (2) APPOINTED MEMBERS.—By not later than 

21 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

22 chairperson of the Council shall appoint a member 

23 to the Council for each of the following categories 

24 (except for the category represented by the chair25 person): 


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1 (A) An executive director or a representa2 tive from a national organization representing 

3 individuals with disabilities. 

4 (B) An executive director or a representa5 tive from a national organization representing 

6 early child care educators. 

7 (C) The executive director or a representa8 tive from a national organization representing 

9 law enforcement officials. 

10 (D) The executive director or a representa11 tive from an organization focused on emergency 

12 preparedness training in early child care. 

13 (E) A member of an organization rep14 resenting teachers, school leaders, specialized 

15 instructional support personnel, and paraprofes16 sionals. 

17 (F) A member of an organization rep18 resenting school-based child welfare and mental 

19 health professionals. 

20 (G) An individual with a physical, sensory, 

21 intellectual, developmental, mental health, or 

22 other disability who has demonstrated disability 

23 advocacy experience in kindergarten through 

24 grade 12 education. 


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1 (H) An individual with a physical, sensory, 

2 intellectual, developmental, mental health, or 

3 other disability who has been enrolled in an in4 stitution of higher education for at least a year 

5 during the 5 years prior to the date of the indi6 vidual’s appointment to the Council. 

7 (I) An individual with a physical, sensory, 

8 intellectual, developmental, mental health, or 

9 other disability who has been enrolled in an in10 stitution of higher education for a year prior to 

11 the date of the individual’s appointment to the 

12 Council. 

13 (J) A parent or guardian of a child in an 

14 early child care and education program. 

15 (K) A parent or guardian of a child with 

16 a physical, sensory, intellectual, or develop17 mental disability in— 

18 (i) an early child care and education 

19 program; or 

20 (ii) a public elementary school or sec21 ondary school. 

22 (3) FEDERAL MEMBERS.— 

23 (A) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MEM24 BERS.—The following officers of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4259.IS S4259

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1 ment of Education shall serve as members of 

2 the Council: 

3 (i) The Assistant Secretary of the Of4 fice of Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

5 Development. 

6 (ii) The Assistant Secretary of the Of7 fice of Special Education and Rehabilita8 tive Services. 

9 (iii) The Assistant Secretary for Civil 

10 Rights. 

11 (iv) The Director of the Office of In12 novation and Early Learning. 

13 (v) The Director of the Office of Spe14 cial Education Programs. 

15 (B) HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEM16 BERS.—The following officers of the Adminis17 tration for Children and Families of the De18 partment of Health and Human Services shall 

19 serve as members of the Council: 

20 (i) The Director of the Office of Child 

21 Care. 

22 (ii) The Director of the Office of 

23 Head Start. 


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1 (C) FEMA MEMBER.—The Administrator 

2 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

3 shall serve as a member of the Council. 

4 (4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR REP5 RESENTATION.—The chairperson shall, to the best 

6 of the chairperson’s ability, promote representation 

7 among the membership of the Council, including— 

8 (A) ensuring that not less than one of the 

9 members appointed under paragraph (2) has di10 rectly experienced, as a student, gun violence or 

11 another emergency event in which a lockdown 

12 protocol was enforced in an educational setting 

13 that was the primary target of the emergency 

14 event; and 

15 (B) ensuring diversity among members ap16 pointed under such paragraph with regard to 

17 race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity and 

18 expression, age, sexual orientation, primary lan19 guage, and other demographic characteristics. 

20 (c) MEETINGS.— 

21 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The Council shall hold 

22 its first meeting not later than 90 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Council shall meet at 

25 the call of the chairperson. 


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1 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

2 the Council shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser 

3 number of members may hold hearings. 

4 SEC. 5. DUTIES. 

5 (a) HEARING.—The Council shall hold a hearing with 

6 relevant stakeholders, including students and educators, 

7 principals and other school leaders, child care experts, dis8 ability advocates, civil rights advocates, law enforcement, 

9 security experts, and others, not later than 120 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) STUDY AND REVIEW.—The Council shall— 

12 (1) study emergency response protocols, includ13 ing gun violence response and prevention protocols, 

14 natural disaster preparedness procedures, fire drills, 

15 and other emergency preparation drills or lockdown 

16 procedures, for educational settings including early 

17 child care and education settings, elementary schools 

18 and secondary schools, and institutions of higher 

19 education; and 

20 (2) conduct a complete and thorough review of 

21 the relevant literature and research surrounding 

22 emergency response protocols in such educational 

23 settings and the impact that emergency response 

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1 dren, youth, and employees, including the effects on 

2 children living in poverty and children of color. 

3 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES.—After 

4 completing the study and review described in subsection 

5 (b), the Council shall provide— 

6 (1) recommendations that ensure that States, 

7 early child care and education settings, local edu8 cational agencies, and institutions of higher edu9 cation are provided with accurate information about 

10 the needs of specific populations of children, youth, 

11 and employees during emergencies; 

12 (2) guidelines for States, early child care and 

13 education settings, local educational agencies, and 

14 institutions of higher education to use in developing 

15 and implementing emergency response protocols, in16 cluding gun violence response and prevention proto17 cols, natural disaster preparedness procedures, fire 

18 drills, and other emergency preparation drills or 

19 lockdown procedures, that are inclusive and acces20 sible; and 

21 (3) guidelines— 

22 (A) for the development and implementa23 tion of accessible, developmentally appropriate, 

24 culturally aware, and trauma-informed emer25 gency response protocols, including gun violence 


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1 response and prevention protocols, natural dis2 aster preparedness procedures, fire drills, and 

3 other emergency preparation drills or lockdown 

4 procedures, that include information about— 

5 (i) preparedness drills, including dis6 cussions and seminars on emergency pre7 paredness, workshops, and full-scale emer8 gency simulations; 

9 (ii) emergency communications; 

10 (iii) training for educators, early child 

11 care and education staff, administrators, 

12 and support personnel, including— 

13 (I) training addressing implicit 

14 biases on the basis of race, national 

15 origin, socioeconomic status, religion, 

16 disability, and sex (including sexual 

17 orientation and gender identity); and 

18 (II) other training to ensure the 

19 nondiscriminatory application of pro20 tocols and treatment of students; 

21 (iv) the use of technology; and 

22 (v) other issues determined appro23 priate by the Council; 

24 (B) for the use of Federal funds by States, 

25 early child care and education programs, local 


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1 educational agencies, and institutions of higher 

2 education to develop and implement emergency 

3 response protocols, including gun violence re4 sponse and prevention protocols, natural dis5 aster preparedness procedures, fire drills, and 

6 other emergency preparation drills or lockdown 

7 procedures, that are inclusive and accessible; 

8 and 

9 (C) for States to create and develop rec10 ommendations for oversight for public elemen11 tary schools and secondary schools, early child 

12 care and education settings, and institutions of 

13 higher education to ensure any emergency re14 sponse protocols— 

15 (i) are inclusive and accessible; 

16 (ii) protect student privacy; and 

17 (iii) avoid exacerbating risk for chil18 dren and youth with disabilities, young 

19 children, employees, and other specific pop20 ulations. 

21 (d) REPORT.—By not later than 18 months after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Council shall prepare 

23 and submit to Congress a detailed report that contains— 

24 (1) findings from stakeholders related to the 

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1 ities, young children, and other specific populations 

2 with regard to emergency response protocols, includ3 ing gun violence response and prevention protocols, 

4 natural disaster preparedness procedures, fire drills, 

5 and other emergency preparation drills or lockdown 

6 procedures; and 

7 (2) the recommendations and guidelines de8 scribed in subsection (c). 

9 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COUNCIL. 

10 (a) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold such hear11 ings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testi12 mony, and receive such evidence as the Council considers 

13 advisable to carry out this Act. 

14 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may secure di16 rectly from a Federal department or agency such in17 formation as the Council considers necessary to 

18 carry out this Act. 

19 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On request of 

20 the chairperson of the Council, the head of the de21 partment or agency shall furnish the information to 

22 the Council. 

23 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the 

24 United States mails in the same manner and under the 


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1 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

2 Federal Government. 

3 SEC. 7. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

4 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Only members of 

5 the Council representing categories described in subpara6 graphs (G) through (K) of section 4(b)(2) shall be com7 pensated for their work for the Council. Such members 

8 may receive compensation at a rate equal to the daily 

9 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

10 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

11 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel 

12 time) during which the members are engaged in the per13 formance of the duties of the Council. 

14 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Council 

15 shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

16 of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agen17 cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

18 States Code, while away from their homes or regular 

19 places of business in the performance of services for the 

20 Council. 

21 (c) STAFF.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The chairperson of the 

23 Council may, without regard to the civil service laws 

24 (including regulations), appoint and terminate an ex25 ecutive director and such other additional personnel 


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1 as may be necessary to enable the Council to per2 form its duties, except that the employment of an 

3 executive director shall be subject to confirmation by 

4 the Council. 

5 (2) COMPENSATION.—The chairperson of the 

6 Council may fix the compensation of the executive 

7 director and other personnel without regard to chap8 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, relating to classification of posi10 tions and General Schedule pay rates, except that 

11 the rate of pay for the executive director and other 

12 personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level 

13 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

14 that title. 

15 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A Fed16 eral Government employee may be detailed to the Council 

17 without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without 

18 interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. 

19 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT20 TENT SERVICES.—The chairperson of the Council may 

21 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

22 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ23 uals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 

24 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 

25 Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 


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1 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COUNCIL. 

2 The Council shall terminate 60 days after the date 

3 on which the Council submits the report required under 

4 section 5(d). 

5 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated to the Council to carry out this Act a total of 

8 $500,000 for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. 

9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

10 subsection (a) shall remain available, without fiscal year 

11 limitation, until expended. 

Æ 


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