CBIZ : Preparing Your School for Disasters & Other Threats

A natural disaster or security risk could happen at your school any day. It is imperative that you have a plan to handle these potential risks, both to ensure the safety of your students and staff and to avoid a financial crisis that could shut down your school. To prepare for the unexpected, you should regularly review and adjust your security and disaster readiness plans to help you minimize the impact of any potentially threatening situation.

Physical Property Security

Bomb threats, suspicious devices and terrorism are just a few threats to the physical property of your school. Reviewing security issues, including access control and perimeter security, is essential. Appropriate security measures include:

• Survey locks, fences, exterior lights and other physical security devices to ensure they're in place where needed and in proper operating condition. Establish a monthly inspection of your security perimeter and key protective features of your facility.
• Create and follow strict visitor control procedures such as mandatory sign-ins, name badges, escorts, etc. In addition, all doors should be locked while school is in session, with a staff member monitoring who enters and exits. If you are considering building a new facility or renovating a current one, make sure that security and disaster resilience is a large factor in the building plans.
• Review your procedures for issuing facility keys and access cards. All staff, including parent volunteers and part-time or seasonal staff, should be screened before being issued building access. Keep lists of who has been issued keys/cards and have a procedure for handling a situation when an employee is terminated without returning them.

School Violence

With the growing trend of bullying and highly-publicized school violence, such as shootings, school violence is a serious risk that should be addressed in the following ways:

• Install metal detectors at entrances to the facility, if needed.
• Hire security guards or officers to monitor activity in the school.
• Enforce student conduct and dress code policies.
• Train staff to be observant of the warning signs of potentially violent behavior.
• Educate students about violence. For example, create an anti-bullying instructional program and conduct an active shooter training.

Other Criminal Activity

Be aware of criminal activity that occurs within 1,000 feet of school property such as gang activity, selling drugs and physical assaults. Crime prevention can include the following:

• Advise staff and volunteers to report any suspicious persons or activity in or around the building.
• Closed circuit television (CCTV) can serve as an excellent crime deterrent, and when the system is equipped with a recorder it can help solve crimes.
• Discuss security with your local police department. They are often very willing to provide information and support to local schools and child care facilities.

Fires & Hazardous Materials

U.S. fire departments responded to thousands of fires on educational properties. Have your local fire department visit your building to identify potential hazards and plan fire suppression priorities. In addition to conducting monthly fire drills with your local fire department, it's also important to take the following precautions:

• Pay special attention to areas where you store explosive, flammable or toxic chemicals. These areas should be properly secured and inventoried, with limited hands-on contact of these materials when possible. Evaluate other critical locations in your facility for proper security, including the electric, telephone and gas units, building entrances, transformers, outside storage units and computer rooms.
• If your facility has a security and/or fire alarm system, be sure it's operating properly. Don't forget to ensure that fire suppression systems are regularly inspected and maintained. Also be sure that a sufficient number of trusted personnel know how to activate, operate and shut them down.

Disaster Planning & Response

Though not all disaster and security threats can be avoided, some situations can be prevented with appropriate preparation. Due diligence is your responsibility; if you do not have sufficient security measures in place, you could be held liable for any vandalism, theft or student injury that occurs.

• Evaluate which disasters are most likely to occur in your area and be sure you are prepared for all of the risks you identify. If your school is part of a larger campus or district, you should have plans specific to your facility and then further procedures for collaborating with the larger entity. It's important to keep copies of insurance policies and other critical documents in a safe and accessible location (e.g. a fireproof safe).
• Make sure your emergency response procedures are comprehensive and up to date. This may include evacuation, building lockdown, communication with authorities and/or parents, or other responses depending on the situation.
• Remind all parties that they should never attempt to enter areas that are closed by police or other emergency responders.
• Conduct periodic drills that include your entire population of staff and students, so that everyone is familiar with emergency procedures. Include security and disaster response education in the curriculum. Determine which staff members are in charge in an emergency situation and establish a chain of command and reporting for easy communication within the building. You also need an established procedure for which district administrators and local authorities need to be contacted in each situation. Parents should also be educated on the school's security and disaster response procedures.
• Have call lists available (include cell phone numbers) for all key personnel so staff members can be contacted during non-working hours from any location. You also should have parent or guardian contact information for each student. Review procedures for notifying staff and parents that your facility is closed.
• Consider establishing an alternate method for your phone service if the switchboard becomes unusable (e.g. forwarding incoming calls to a cell phone or remote number).
• Check available emergency supplies such as flashlights, batteries, emergency generators/fuel, patching materials such as plastic sheeting, wood 2x4s, duct tape, spare fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc.
• Establish a recovery plan for coping after a disaster situation. This will include physical recovery of building functions and infrastructure, a plan for resuming school as soon as possible, and also emotional recovery for staff and/or students in some situations.

To learn more about disaster coverage, please contact a member of our team.