The need for an emergency plan in today’s unpredictable environment is self-evident. Some schools may already have such plans in place, which is commendable. However, one of the biggest concerns is the depth of the plan. Typical emergency plans take into account the period of the disaster and initial reaction to an event, but few have the layering needed to mitigate the disaster after the disaster.
This should be one of the key aspects of an emergency plan but most schools fail to anticipate the fallout that occurs in the wake of an emergency. Additionally, many emergency plans are simply copied from state agencies, and simply modified by entering the name of the school. Then the plan gets put on a shelf and business proceeds as usual.
The cookie cutter approach to emergency planning is fraught with pitfalls and fails to incorporate the layers of strategy needed for successful risk mitigation. For example, imagine a tornado event is occurring in your area. The emergency plan directs the students and staff to take shelter, which they do. Excellent. The tornado passes without injury or loss of life, and the emergency plan has performed well. However, in the wake of the initial event, post events begin to unfold. Frightened parents descend on the school seeking their children. Where are the students? Have they been moved to an alternate location due to damage to the school? Once an element of chaos is introduced, frightened parents quickly become angry parents. The access roads are now packed with parent vehicles and no one knows what to do or where to go. Parents unfamiliar with predetermined rendezvous points (assuming they have been set) rapidly move past anger and are now frantic. The administration and staff become the targets of this anger. It is an ugly situation that could have been mitigated by a layered plan.
Furthermore, once the dust has cleared, disgruntled parents may seek to strike back at the school/administration/district via litigation. The crux will be the weak emergency plan and administrators who developed it. And a plan written by a state agency and “adopted” by the district will not be given a pass.
A primary defense against this kind of lawsuit will be an emergency plan that is current, including regular updates by the security/emergency management team, and documented practice and testing. Additionally, the plan must include layering to ensure that all post disaster events are mitigated to the best of everyone’s ability. Lastly, the emergency plan should be communicated to all parents. Failure to do so only opens a school district to civil litigation.
There are many scenarios for the “disaster after the disaster.” Layering an emergency plan and conveying information to parents, students, and local emergency response teams can mitigate most of these. Though we should not “what-if” ourselves to death, we can make reasonable assumptions about how people will react after an event and other factors that may occur.
An emergency plan is comprised of more than panic buttons, door hardware, and fencing of property. It’s a serious discussion of what should be considered a priority after a risk assessment. Knowing in advance will assist in long range planning, leading to preparedness and progress.
Harris is president of Harris Associated Consulting. He has extensive experience in security design and risk mitigation both domestically and internationally. He can be emailed at [email protected].
