Leader’s Perspective: Emergency Preparedness for Students with Disabilities – What Schools Can and Should Be Doing

By Glenn Martins

It’s not merely a question of if your school could be affected by a disaster; it’s quite possibly a matter of when. Most Americans believe that school should be a child’s safest place. And it can be, even in an unlikely disaster or emergency.

From the unremarkable to the cataclysmic, disasters can be managed and mitigated through planning and practice. Sandy Hook Elementary School in peaceful, quiet Newtown, Connecticut conducted regular lockdown drills – a strategy that enabled heroic teachers to save numerous lives when tragedy struck last year.

According to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, “Knowing how to respond quickly and efficiently in a crisis is critical to ensuring the safety of our schools and students. The midst of a crisis is not the time to start figuring out who ought to do what. At that moment, everyone involved – from top to bottom – should know the drill and know each other.”

Since September is National Preparedness Month, now it a good time for school administrators to consider how well they are prepared to prevent and manage the unanticipated.

Crisis planning is carried out in four stages: mitigation and prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The superintendent and principal should work together to make school crisis planning a priority, set the policy agenda, and bring together the emergency management team of administrators, teachers, nurses, support staff and, when appropriate, students. A thoughtful process means planning for all children, including students with disabilities.

The crisis team should include a disability specialist from the school’s multidisciplinary team and a mental health crisis counselor.

The team should identify and maintain a confidential roster of students with special needs, including names, the nature of the child’s disability, and the implications for safety planning. A “one size fits all” approach to planning will not work when considering the needs of students with disabilities. For example, a child with mobility challenges will have different needs in an emergency than a child with autism, or a child who is blind. Similarly, the team should consider how best to plan for students with epilepsy, ADHD, mental health issues, Aspergers, anxiety and other “invisible” disabilities, whose support needs may be less obvious in an emergency. Leaders should gather consent and authorization from the students and/or guardians allowing each team member to have access to this confidential information for purposes of safety planning and emergency use. The confidential roster should list students with disabilities, their teachers, classrooms and daily schedules, as well as their potential needs during an emergency, including mobility, medication, notification of guardians and where to evacuate if necessary. Some schools set up a buddy system whereby one or two others are tasked with taking care of an individual student with a disability. To ensure that this information can be found during an emergency, it should be stored with administrative emergency gear and in the applicable classrooms. To help children understand the information and emergency procedures, they should be taught in many forms, including written steps, picture schedules, and video.

Parents and teachers have a deeper understanding of the unique and special needs of each child, so they should be consulted during emergency preparedness planning. And because each student with a disability usually has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), the crisis team can coordinate new emergency strategies with the plan’s existing accommodations and modifications. The crisis team should communicate with everyone about the inclusion of students with disabilities in the school’s emergency preparedness program and ensure that parents know about efforts to keep their child safe at school.

Because they are experts in emergency response, first responders are an irreplaceable resource to inform the school’s crisis team of the most successful ways to support students with disabilities. It’s the collaboration and ongoing communication with first responders that makes it possible to ensure the safety of the entire school community. Leaders not only should inform first responders of the students who have disabilities and the nature of their special needs, the crisis team should include first responders in many of the school’s planning sessions, exercises and drills. When students with disabilities are included in preparation and practice sessions, they will cope better because they know what to expect and what role they need to play.

When disaster strikes, the first question is likely to be whether to stay or go. The crisis plan should delineate “shelter in place” strategies, such as securing doors and windows, or monitoring official instructions and keeping students calm. Evacuation plans, on the other hand, bring together the wider community, including special transportation modes, advance preparations with area resources, and designated places to meet up. Students with wheelchairs or other mobility issues should practice communicating with first responders about how best to transport them. Those with cognitive or mental health issues should have a written statement to describe their needs in simple terms.

Every school should prepare a “Go Bag” with 2-3 days of life-saving supplies, including stable food, can opener, one gallon of water per day per person, first aid kit, area maps, as well as a flashlight, radio, extra batteries and a whistle. If necessary, each student with a disability also should prepare a personal Go Bag, including medications and a copy of prescriptions, dosage information, vital contact information, written description of special needs, and comfort items. Training sessions often afford an opportunity for each participant to prepare a Go Bag for his or her area of responsibility.

Experts point out that most students survive emergency situations. Even in the most tragic incidents, there remain survivors who are grateful that thoughtful leaders planned and practiced a crisis program in advance.

Resources

Since the 9-11-2001 World Trade Center attacks, most schools have established a crisis plan. Some schools have put their plans into practice with periodic drills, but many other plans gather dust in the principal’s bookcase. Here are examples from good plans:

• U.S. Department of Education — Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities
• FEMA – Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs
• USDOE – USDOE – Practical Information on Crisis Planning — A brochure and complete guide on crisis planning for schools and communities
• Health in Schools (healthinschools.org) – How to put together a Crisis Response Team
• Health in Schools (healthinschools.org) – Sample Communication Plan
• Health in Schools (healthinschools.org) – Training and Practice Guidelines
• Ready.gov – Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Special Needs

Glenn Martins is a New Jersey School Psychologist and Assistant Director for Y.A.L.E. School in southern New Jersey. He recently retired from the Hamilton Township Public Schools , Atlantic County where he worked as Supervisor of Special Education and Emergency Management Coordinator. Martins was Board Certified in School Crisis Response by the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress in 1999.