Connecting School Emergency Plans with Local Responders
Life Safety Considerations in Schools
Emergency response systems were provided the following definition:
"Systems designed to improve technology and infrastructure on school property that may be used to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recovery from a manmade or natural disaster or emergency occurring on school property."
Senate Bill 147 is focused on protecting children, teachers, and the administrative staff of Indiana's schools. These guidelines intend to ensure Indiana schools are moving away from being considered 'soft targets' (a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to a terrorist attack), and move towards being considered 'hard targets' (a person or thing with the capacity to perceive and address a threat or hazard).
To begin the process of transitioning to a 'hard target' listed above, school administration is encouraged to discuss the anticipated incident response timeline for their school with local first responders. The incident response timeline addresses the anticipated time it takes for emergency responders to arrive on the scene. An incident response timeline begins with the call to a public safety access point (PSAP)/9-1-1 Center until immediate responders arrive on the scene. Additional time must be considered for the entry of first responders upon arrival.
School administration should consider the following questions when reviewing their school safety posture:
Does your school have controlled access to the building?
Do your entrance/exit doorways have glass that could be easily destroyed?
Can the facility administration office be secured in the event of an emergency? Are safe locations identified for all personnel?
Can classroom doors effectively keep out unwanted visitors?
Do teachers and/or facility staff have a method to send out a notification if an emergency is occurring?
Does your facility have a procedure to notify local first responders?
Does your facility have the tools to gain status reports from individual classrooms during an incident?
Has your facility discussed the expected response time with local first responders?
Do local first responders have the ability to have immediate connectivity into the facility’s camera system, if applicable? If so, is the camera location identified on the floor plans?
Do local first responders have the appropriate access to facility entrances on all sides? Are doors marked in such a fashion that can be easily identified by first responders from a distance or in poor lighting?
How are life threat alerts disseminated to key school safety stakeholders?
Current Law Enforcement Obstacles/Vulnerabilities
Law Enforcement has the mission to protect the public and respond as quickly as possible to a life-threatening incident with the goal of a successful rescue. An active shooter/attacker incident in any school is going to be a surprise event, and the event everyone thought could "never happen here". The evidence is clear that such an attack is short-lived and law enforcement is only notified when the attack is underway. Because of this, law enforcement is already behind with the incident timeline. The current obstacles to a successful law enforcement response are as follows:
Lack of immediate notification
Lack of operational awareness
Lack of actionable intelligence
No virtual interruptive capabilities to stop an attack while officers are in-route
The Life Safety Goals of an Emergency Response System
Senate Bill 147 attempts to answer those vulnerabilities and obstacles the first responder community currently face and build on them to incorporate an all-hazards school safety approach for schools. Senate Bill 147, now Indiana law, specified the following operational requirements:
Direct connectivity to local first responders for the following:
Immediate notification within the school and through local first responders that a life-threatening incident has begun.
Every classroom, office, library, and cafeteria is considered a protected space.
A continuous flow of real-time actionable intelligence.
The ability for remote launch countermeasures to delay or stop an attack while responders are in-route.
The ability to communicate facility and classroom status can also communicate the condition of individuals.
Life-threatening wounds are encouraged to be prioritized for on-site triage, evacuation, and notification to the hospital emergency room.
Immediate text notification of the life-threatening incident to key school safety stakeholders.
School Emergency Plan
Currently, all public schools are required to write, maintain, and update annually a school emergency operations plan. The Indiana Department of Education provides in-person and material assistance for education institutions upon request. For a school to effectively prepare for the threats and hazards that may affect its institution, it is critical for a formal emergency plan to be created. It is encouraged that every Indiana kindergarten through high school educational facility, both public and private, implement a facility emergency operations plan.
The creation, implementation, and review processes for a school emergency operations plan is encouraged to be completed with the assistance of the local first responder community. Local first responders bring a wealth of emergency preparedness and response expertise to help improve a facility’s emergency operations plan.
It is encouraged for schools to share the facility plan with local first responders upon completion. Providing first responders a copy of the plan can build positive relationships between stakeholders and develop a more effective response between the first responder community and an educational institution. Such local responder stakeholders include:
Law Enforcement
Fire Services
Emergency Medical Services/ Ambulance Services
PSAP /9-1-1 Centers
Source: Indiana School Safety Guidelines for Emergency Response Systems
Stay tuned for more tips gathered by the following resources:
Indiana Department of Homeland Security
Indiana Department of Education
Indiana Sheriffs Association
Indiana School Resource Officer Association
National Association for School Resource Officers
Indiana Superintendents Association
Indiana Teachers Association
Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police
Indiana Fire Chiefs Association
These guidelines are only suggested measures and represent only one of any number of reasonable and prudent means of preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a manmade or natural disaster or emergency occurring on school property. No school is under any obligation to adopt or follow these guidelines but may do so at its sole discretion. A school that chooses not to follow these guidelines will assume no liability for not following the guidelines.