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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 and its students, staff, and community. The critical components of a school emergency plan include (a) clear school or district policy, (b) identification of possible emergency situations, (c) guiding principles in dealing with safety issues, (d) necessary prerequisites, (e) an action response plan, and (f) follow-up.

Clear School or District Policy

All schools or districts should have a clearly written policy regarding school safety. The intent of this policy is to ensure the safety of all students and staff and that in the event of situations that may pose a threat to safety, appropriate measures will be taken. This policy must be consistent with the stated educational vision of the school. For example, a district may have a vision to serve all students and a goal to provide an appropriate education for each student. Yet, the school safety policy may indicate no tolerance for behavior that threatens the safety of students and staff, so that any student who exhibits unsafe behavior is expelled and excluded from an appropriate education. In this example, the school policy on safety is not consistent with the school's educational vision. In this case, the school safety policy could state that every step will be taken to ensure the safety of all students and to meet the educational needs of all students in an appropriate manner. A careful examination of the “no tolerance” response also may be required.

The school safety policy also needs to be written in positive terms, with an emphasis on creating the kind of environment conducive to supporting teaching and learning, individual rights, and safety for all concerned. This policy should be systematically disseminated and reviewed periodically. In addition, every effort needs to be made to make it highly visible and operative in the school community.

Identification of Possible Emergency Situations

Once the school safety policy has been written and systematically disseminated, the next step is to specify the situations that may warrant emergency procedures. These situations could be identified by examining (a) school records or school history; (b) situations that have occurred in other schools that are similar in demographics, especially locations; (c) information derived from surveys; or (d) results from instruments that determine risk and protective factors for a given school (e.g., the Oregon Safe Schools Survey).

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