Panel: Schools Need to Update Emergency Plans
WASHINGTON — Too many schools and universities are relying on outdated emergency management plans to prevent and respond to a crisis, according to a recent report by a nationwide panel of state attorneys general.
In response to the shootings at Virginia Tech in April and other recent incidents of school violence, the National Association of Attorneys General Task Force on School and Campus Safety conducted research, reviewed documents and heard testimony from 12 school safety experts to identify issues affecting school safety and make recommendations on how schools, universities and government agencies can improve their emergency response plans and policies.
The report focuses on issues affecting the prevention of violence, including threat assessment, information sharing and addressing the mentally ill, and emergency response, such as the preparation, revision and the exercise of emergency plans and the implementation of crisis communication systems.
The task force, co-chaired by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch, found that almost all of the incidents of school and campus violence have been carried out by those whom experts consider avengers — people who seek vengeance for a real or perceived slight at the hands of fellow students, faculty or staff. In most cases, the perpetrator or perpetrators are insiders — students or staff members known to the faculty and the student body — and are rarely an individual unassociated with the school.
Information sharing for mentally ill individuals is one of the biggest impediments to school and college safety, the report states. State medical and privacy laws are considered obstacles by school officials to sharing information about possibly threatening students and staff.
The scope and application of certain federal laws, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, can be misunderstood by administrators, limiting the flow of critical information, which could impact school and campus safety, according to the report.
In general, schools do not consistently or accurately report on-campus crimes, the task force found. Students who may want to anonymously report suspicious behavior are often fearful that teachers, administrators or parents may not keep their identities confidential and decide not to report a possible danger to school safety.
States do not properly hold schools accountable for their emergency management plans, according to the report. Although 38 states have mandated the implementation of school emergency management plans and several more have voluntarily adopted such policies, not enough plans have been subjected to revisions or modernization during the past few years, the report states.
While most states provide funding and other resources, such as guidance and training to school districts, most schools do not regularly conduct training exercises to test plans or revise them as needed, according to the report. The task force also found that a majority of schools do not involve community partners, including law enforcement, when developing, practicing and updating emergency response plans.
The task force recommends several changes to school policy to prevent violence. Suggestions include establishing a system that allows students to anonymously report disturbing behavior to an individual or multidisciplinary team with experience and training in risk assessment, assessing critical information and implementing an appropriate response.
State and federal lawmakers should re-examine privacy laws to remove obstacles to effective information sharing, the report recommends. Federal agencies should also clearly define how information, such as mental health records, can be shared under existing privacy laws.
To improve crisis management, state legislators should require all schools and colleges to create, maintain and continually update emergency management plans as a condition of receiving state funding, according to the report.
Schools should also utilize available technology, such as mass notification systems, loud speakers and Web-based incident command systems, to communicate with students, parents, staff and community members.