School Emergency Preparedness Planning

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Visit the Maine School Safety Center for assistance in developing best practices, procedures, training and technical assistance for your school.

Maine State Statute: Requirement for School Emergency Planning
Title 20-A MRSA §1001 ¶16. Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

Assessing Your School's Hazards and Risks

US DOE: Educational Facilities Vulnerability/Hazard Assessment Checklist (PDF)
This checklist, a collaborative effort with the Texas School Safety Center,(TSSC), and a compilation of various resources, provides an overview of educational facility vulnerabilities and hazards that should be identified and addressed in the prevention/mitigation phase of a school's emergency management process.

US DOE/REMS: School Safety/Security/Vulnerability - Assessment Tool (PDF)
A sample school safety/security/vulnerability and assessment Tool.

US DOE/US Secret Service: Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and To Creating Safe School Climates (PDF)
Sets forth a process for identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools.

Developing a School Emergency Operations Plan

Maine Sample School Emergency Plan (MS Word)
This model plan can be modified and used as a basis for school emergency planning. This is a sample plan only.

FEMA: Sample School Emergency Plan (PDF)
Developed for training purposes, this sample plan closely follows the format that many emergency management agencies use. It's best to review both this sample and the Maine sample to see which fits best for your school or district.

US DOE: Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans (PDF)
US Department of Education, et al, 2013. Although this guide is more recent and more closely follows emergency management EOP development guidelines, we advise using the 2007 US DOE guide for additional details and examples that this guide may not offer to the same extent.

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