Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness

The purpose of this plan is to establish the ongoing and continuous safety, security and emergency management roles and responsibilities of Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD #281 using the four phases of emergency management – Mitigation/Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.

• Mitigation/Prevention addresses what schools can do to reduce or eliminate risk to life and property.
• Preparedness focuses on the process of planning resulting in a rapid, coordinated and effective response to a crisis.
• Response is devoted to the steps to take during a crisis.
• Recovery deals with how to restore the learning and teaching environment after a crisis.

This plan is intended to assist Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD# 281 to act quickly and decisively in an emergency while working to eliminate or minimize the possibility of an event.  This plan utilizes the National Incident Management System framework along with hazard specific procedures that enhance the effort to save lives; protect the health and safety of students and employees; and protect school property from naturally occurring hazards, technological failures and human caused events.
 
Sections of this plan apply to incidents which directly or indirectly affect a single student up to the entire community. Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD# 281 also recognizes that incidents may occur before, during or after school hours and may occur on campus, during school activities, during school transport or off campus in the community.
 
This plan will serve as a guide to aid leaders through incidents where crucial decisions must be made, often with inadequate information, not enough time and insufficient resources at the onset.

This plan provides a basic emergency response structure, recommended emergency response roles and hazard specific emergency procedures.This plan applies to:

• Employees
• Students
• Parents and Guardians
• Volunteers
• Community Planners
• Emergency First Responders

Under the authority of the school board, this plan may be implemented by the superintendent, building principal, building manager or designee when a real or potential threat to health and safety or to building property exists or any potential incident that significantly disrupts day to day operation.

“Emergency” as used in this plan means a set of circumstances that demand immediate action to protect life, preserve public health or essential services, or protect property. In an emergency, existing resources and capabilities are sufficient to cope with the situation.
 
“Disaster” is defined as any incident which results in multiple human casualties and/or disruption of essential public health services or any incident which requires an increased level of response beyond the routine operating procedures, including increased personnel, equipment, or supply requirements. An emergency or disaster may be proclaimed by local government jurisdictions or the Governor as authorized by state or local statute.
 
“Crisis” is defined as an incident, or series of incidents, expected or unexpected, that has a significant effect on one or more persons but may not involve the entire school or community.  An incident involving violence, or the witnessing of violence, often has a lasting effect on those involved. The psychosocial effects of a crisis may linger for extensive periods of time and may impact the psychosocial functioning of a school or community.  Without intervention, such incidents may evolve into large scale incidents. These interventions typically include counseling of those involved using techniques of psychological first aid, critical incident debriefing, the use of “safe rooms” and other mental health-oriented methods.

The following assumptions are the basis of this plan:

• A single site emergency, i.e. fire, gas main breakage, etc, could occur at any time without warning and the employees of the school affected cannot, and should not, wait for direction from local response agencies. Action is required immediately to save lives and protect school property.
• An emergency or disaster, such as severe weather or hazardous material incident, may occur with little or no warning with mass casualties, destruction of property, and damage to the environment.
• Local and state government may be overwhelmed by a disaster. School employees may be with little or no assistance for at least three days or longer after a disaster.
• Government and relief agencies will concentrate limited resources on the most critical and life-threatening problems.
• Assistance from other government and federal agencies will supplement the state and local effort, but such assistance will take some time to request and deploy.
• The first concern of Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD# 281 employees will be for their families’ safety. Employees should take basic steps to prepare their homes ahead of time by stockpiling food and supplies in addition to designating necessary emergency contacts.

It is the policy of Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD# 281 that no guarantee is implied by this plan of a perfect response system. As personnel and resources may be overwhelmed, Robbinsdale Area Schools ISD# 281 can only endeavor to make every reasonable effort to respond based on the situation, resources, and information available at the time.

No set of emergency procedures can cover every possible crisis scenario exactly; therefore this plan is designed to provide general guidance and a series of general guiding principles. School and district employees still must assess each situation and adapt the plan to fit the crisis situation based on information and resources available at the time of the crisis based on information, available resources and the ability of personnel to function under stressful and potentially dangerous conditions at the time of the crisis.

The Incident Command System is intended to be flexible and tiered to the appropriate scope and level of each response ranging from local to national incidents. Annexes of hazard specific procedures will provide the details needed to make this plan functional.