Emergency Planning Resources for the 2020-2021 School Year

Ohio Homeland Security sent this bulletin at 08/21/2020 08:00 AM EDT

Emergency Planning for a Safe School Year

Emergency planning is a continuous process. Reviewing and updating your emergency operations plan (EOP) helps protect the health and safety of your staff and students.

With the 2020-2021 school year drawing near, now is the best time to review and evaluate the effectiveness of your school’s EOP, document new procedures, and incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic.

Here are some simple things you can do to ensure that your school’s emergency plan is ready for the upcoming school year.

1. Review your school’s hazards and threats.

Identify hazards and threats that have the most potential to disrupt your school or district. Review your Medical: Pandemic section. Consider this brief infectious disease training.

2. Incorporate your school or district’s pandemic procedures into the EOP.

By now, your school or district has implemented a detailed plan on how schools will prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Include these procedures in the EOP. Specify items such as new classroom layouts, cleaning procedures, how you will monitor students and staff’s health, bus procedures, and the threshold for moving the school to remote learning. Find the latest Restart guidance here.

3. Revise your emergency communications annex.

Now is the time to identify how you will communicate with parents before, during, and after a pandemic outbreak. Be as specific as possible and include draft communication messages for families and the community. Remember, Ohio Revised Code 3313.536 states that prior to the first day of school, all schools and/or districts must notify parents on how they will receive communication in the event of an emergency. Review this list of suggested topics.

4. Exercise the pandemic procedures with staff. Exercises help build preparedness for threats and hazards. Until 2020, most schools had not exercised their pandemic procedures. Complete a virtual tabletop, functional, or full-scale exercise to familiarize full-time and temporary staff with updated procedures. Increased comfort with updated procedures empowers your staff to act quickly, efficiently, and safely. Consider conducting a virtual tabletop with your local first responders and emergency planners. Check out these exercise toolkits.

Don't forget to upload any updated plan documents in OH|ID.

For education specific questions and updates, please visit the Ohio Department of Education’s FAQ page here.