School Emergency Procedures

Tragic school shootings and other acts of school violence have given strong impetus for all schools to establish effective and efficient school emergency procedures. No school can claim with certainty to be violence free or that acts of violence will not happen in its classrooms and hallways. Many state education departments and school districts have responded by mandating the development of comprehensive school emergency procedures. Moreover, other dangerous situations are more likely and equally concerning and require prompt and efficient responses from school authorities; for example, gas leaks, drug deals on campus, student injury or death, natural disasters such as earthquakes, and strangers on the playground.

Schools must have emergency procedures that are effective and comprehensive and that consider the characteristics of the school ...