Adopted: MSBA/MASA Model Policy 806
Revised: Rev.
2023
806 CRISIS
MANAGEMENT POLICY
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Model Crisis Management Policy is to act
as a guide for school district and building administrators, school employees,
students, school board members, and community members to address a wide range
of potential crisis situations in the school district. The step-by-step procedures suggested by this
Policy will provide guidance to each school building in drafting crisis
management plans to coordinate protective actions prior to, during, and after
any type of emergency or potential crisis situation. Each school district
should develop tailored building-specific crisis management plans for each
school building in the school district, and sections or procedures may be added
or deleted in those crisis management plans based on building needs.
The school district will, to the extent possible, engage in
ongoing emergency planning within the school district and with emergency responders
and other relevant community organizations. The school district will ensure
that relevant emergency responders in the community have access to their
building-specific crisis management plans and will provide training to school
district staff to enable them to act appropriately in the event of a crisis.
II. GENERAL
INFORMATION
A. The
Policy and Plans
The school district’s Crisis Management Policy has been
created in consultation with local community response agencies and other
appropriate individuals and groups that would likely be involved in the event
of a school emergency. It is designed so
that each building administrator can tailor a building-specific crisis
management plan to meet that building’s specific situation and needs.
The school district’s administration and/or the
administration of each building shall present tailored building-specific crisis
management plans to the school board for review and approval. The building-specific crisis management plans
will include general crisis procedures and crisis-specific procedures. Upon approval by the school board, such
crisis management plans shall be an addendum to this Crisis Management
Policy. This Policy and the plans will
be maintained and updated on an annual basis.
B. Elements
of the District Crisis Management Policy
1.
General Crisis Procedures. The Crisis
Management Policy includes general crisis procedures for securing buildings,
classroom evacuation, building evacuation, campus evacuation, and
sheltering. The Policy designates the
individual(s) who will determine when these actions will be taken. These district-wide procedures may be
modified by building administrators when creating their building-specific
crisis management plans. A communication system will be in place to enable the
designated individual to be contacted at all times in the event of a potential
crisis, setting forth the method to contact the designated individual, the
provision of at least two designees when the contact person is unavailable, and
the method to convey contact information to the appropriate staff persons. The alternative designees may include members
of the emergency first responder response team. A secondary method of
communication should be included in the plan for use when the primary method of
communication is inoperable. Each building in the school district will have
access to a copy of the Comprehensive School Safety Guide (2011 Edition) to
assist in the development of building-specific crisis management plans.
All general crisis procedures will address specific
procedures for the safe evacuation of children and employees with special needs
such as physical, sensory, motor, developmental, and mental health challenges.
a. Lock-Down
Procedures. Lock-down procedures
will be used in situations where harm may result to persons inside the school
building, such as a shooting, hostage incident, intruder, trespass,
disturbance, or when determined to be necessary by the building administrator
or his or her designee. The building
administrator or designee will announce the lock-down over the public address
system or other designated system. Code
words will not be used. Provisions for emergency evacuation will be
maintained even in the event of a lock-down.
Each building administrator will submit lock-down procedures for their
building as part of the building-specific crisis management plan.
b. Evacuation
Procedures. Evacuations of classrooms and buildings shall be
implemented at the discretion of the building administrator or his or her designee. Each building’s crisis management plan will
include procedures for transporting students and staff a safe distance from
harm to a designated safe area until released by the building administrator or
designee. Safe areas may change based
upon the specific emergency situation. The
evacuation procedures should include specific procedures for children with
special needs, including children with limited mobility (wheelchairs, braces,
crutches, etc.), visual impairments, hearing impairments, and other sensory,
developmental, or mental health needs.
The evacuation procedures should also address transporting necessary
medications for students that take medications during the school day.
c. Sheltering
Procedures. Sheltering provides
refuge for students, staff, and visitors within the school building during an
emergency. Shelters are safe areas that
maximize the safety of inhabitants. Safe
areas may change based upon the specific emergency. The building administrator or his or her designee
will announce the need for sheltering over the public address system or other
designated system. Each building
administrator will submit sheltering procedures for his or her building as part
of the building-specific crisis management plan.
2. Crisis-Specific
Procedures. The Crisis Management
Policy includes crisis-specific procedures for crisis situations that may occur
during the school day or at school-sponsored events and functions. These district-wide procedures are designed to
enable building administrators to tailor response procedures when creating
building-specific crisis management plans.
3. School
Emergency Response Teams
a. Composition. The building administrator in each school
building will select a school emergency response team that will be trained to
respond to emergency situations. All school emergency response team members
will receive on-going training to carry out the building’s crisis management
plans and will have knowledge of procedures, evacuation routes, and safe
areas. For purposes of student safety
and accountability, to the extent possible, school emergency response team
members will not have direct responsibility for the supervision of students. Team
members must be willing to be actively involved in the resolution of crises and
be available to assist in any crisis situation as deemed necessary by the
building administrator. Each building
will maintain a current list of school emergency response team members which
will be updated annually. The building
administrator, and his or her alternative designees, will know the location of
that list in the event of a school emergency.
A copy of the list will be kept on file in the school district office,
or in a secondary location in single building school districts.
b.
Leaders. The building
administrator or his or her designee will serve as the leader of the school
emergency response team and will be the primary contact for emergency response
officials. In the event the primary designee is unavailable, the designee list
should include more than one alternative designee and may include members of
the emergency response team. When emergency
response officials are present, they may elect to take command and control of
the crisis. It is critical in this
situation that school officials assume a resource role and be available as
necessary to emergency response officials.
III. PREPARATION
BEFORE AN EMERGENCY
A. Communication
1. District
Employees. Teachers generally have
the most direct contact with students on a day-to-day basis. As a result, they must be aware of their role
in responding to crisis situations. This
also applies to non-teaching school personnel who have direct contact with
students. All staff shall be aware of
the school district’s Crisis Management Policy and their own building’s crisis
management plan. Each school’s
building-specific crisis management plan shall include the method and dates of
dissemination of the plan to its staff. Employees
will receive a copy of the relevant building-specific crisis management plans
and shall receive periodic training on plan implementation.
2. Students
and Parents. Students and parents shall
be made aware of the school district’s Crisis Management Policy and relevant
tailored crisis management plans for each school building. Each school district’s building-specific
crisis management plan shall set forth how students and parents are made aware
of the district and school-specific plans.
Students shall receive specific instruction on plan implementation and
shall participate in a required number of drills and practice sessions
throughout the school year.
B. Planning
and Preparing for Fire
1. Designate a
safe area at least 50 feet away from the building to enable students and staff
to evacuate. The safe area should not
interfere with emergency responders or responding vehicles and should not be in
an area where evacuated persons are exposed to any products of combustion. (Depending on the wind direction, where the building on fire
is located, the direction from which the fire is arriving, and the location of
fire equipment, the distance may need to be extended.)
2. Each
building’s facility diagram and site plan shall be available in appropriate
areas of the building and shall identify the most direct evacuation routes to
the designated safe areas both inside and outside of the building. The facility
diagram and site plan must identify the location of the fire alarm control panel,
fire alarms, fire extinguishers, hoses, water spigots, and utility shut offs.
3. Teachers and
staff will receive training on the location of the primary emergency evacuation
routes and alternate routes from various points in the building. During fire
drills, students and staff will practice evacuations using primary evacuation
routes and alternate routes.
4. Certain
employees, such as those who work in hazardous areas in the building, will receive
training on the locations and proper use of fire extinguishers and protective
clothing and equipment.
5. Fire drills
will be conducted periodically without warning at various times of the day and
under different circumstances, e.g., lunchtime, recess, and during
assemblies. State law requires a minimum
of five fire drills each school year, consistent with Minnesota Statutes
section 299F.30. See Minnesota Statutes,
section 121A.035.
6. A record of
fire drills conducted at the building will be maintained in the building
administrator’s office.
7. The school
district will have prearranged sites for emergency sheltering and transportation
as needed.
8. The school
district will determine which staff will remain in the building to perform
essential functions if safe to do so (e.g., switchboard, building engineer,
etc.). The school district also will
designate an administrator or his or her designee to meet local fire or law
enforcement agents upon their arrival.
C. Facility Diagrams and Site Plans
All school buildings will have a facility diagram and site
plan that includes the location of primary and secondary evacuation routes,
exits, designated safe areas inside and outside of the building, and the
location of fire alarm control panel, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, hoses,
water spigots, and utility shut offs. All facility diagrams and site plans will
be updated regularly and whenever a major change is made to a building.
Facility diagrams and site plans will be maintained by the building
administrator and will be easily accessible and on file in the school district
office. Facility diagrams and site plans will be provided to first responders,
such as fire and law enforcement personnel.
D. Emergency Telephone Numbers
Each building will maintain a current list of emergency
telephone numbers and the names and addresses of local, county, and state
personnel who may be involved in a crisis situation. The list will include telephone numbers for
local police, fire, ambulance, hospital, the Poison Control Center, county and
state emergency management agencies, local public works departments, local
utility companies, the public health nurse, mental health/suicide hotlines, and
the county welfare agency. A copy of
this list will be kept on file in the school district office, or at a secondary
location for single building school districts and will be updated annually.
School district employees will receive training on how to
make emergency contacts, including 911 calls, when the school district’s main
telephone number and location is electronically conveyed to emergency personnel
instead of the specific building in need of emergency services.
School district plans will set forth a process to internally
communicate an emergency, using telephones in classrooms, intercom systems, or
two-way radios, as well as the procedure to enable the staff to rapidly convey
emergency information to a building designee. Each plan will identify a primary
and secondary method of communication for both internal and secondary use. It is recommended that the plan include several
methods of communication because computers, intercoms, telephones, and cell
phones may not be operational or may be dangerous to use during an emergency.
E. Warning and
Notification Systems
The school
district shall maintain a warning system designed to inform students, staff,
and visitors of a crisis or emergency. This system shall be maintained on a
regular basis under the maintenance plan for all school buildings. The school district should consider an alternate
notification system to address the needs of staff and students with special
needs, such as vision or hearing.
The building administrator shall be responsible for informing
students and employees of the warning system and the means by which the system
is used to identify a specific crisis or emergency situation. Each school’s building-specific crisis
management plan will include the method and frequency of dissemination of the
warning system information to students and employees.
F. Early School Closure Procedures
The
superintendent will make decisions about closing school or buildings as early
in the day as possible. The early school closure procedures will set forth the
criteria for early school closure (e.g., weather-related, utility failure, or a
crisis situation), will specify how closure decisions will be communicated to
staff, students, families, and the school community (designated broadcast
media, local authorities, e-mail, or district or school building web sites),
and will discuss the factors to be considered in closing and reopening a school
or building.
Early
school closure procedures also will include a reminder to parents and guardians
to listen to designated local radio and TV stations for school closing
announcements, where possible.
G. Media Procedures
The superintendent has the authority and discretion to
notify parents or guardians and the school community in the event of a crisis
or early school closure. The
superintendent will designate a spokesperson who will notify the media in the
event of a crisis or early school closure.
The spokesperson shall receive training to ensure that the district is
in strict compliance with federal and state law relative to the release of private
data when conveying information to the media.
H. Behavioral
Health Crisis Intervention Procedures
Short-term
behavioral health crisis intervention procedures will set forth the procedure
for initiating behavioral health crisis intervention plans. The procedures will
utilize available resources including the school psychologist, counselor,
community behavioral health crisis intervention, or others in the community. Counseling
procedures will be used whenever the superintendent or the building
administrator determines it to be necessary, such as after an assault, a
hostage situation, shooting, or suicide. The behavioral health crisis
intervention procedures shall include the following steps:
1. Administrator will meet with relevant
persons, including school psychologists and counselors, to determine the level
of intervention needed for students and staff.
2. Designate specific rooms as private
counseling areas.
3. Escort siblings and close friends of
any victims as well as others in need of emotional support to the counseling
areas.
4. Prohibit media from interviewing or
questioning students or staff.
5. Provide follow-up services to students
and staff who receive counseling.
6.
Resume normal school routines as soon
as possible.
I. Long-Term Recovery Intervention
Procedures
Long-term recovery intervention
procedures may involve both short-term and long-term recovery planning:
1. Physical/structural
recovery.
2. Fiscal
recovery.
3. Academic
recovery.
4. Social/emotional
recovery.
IV. ACTIVE SHOOTER
DRILL
A. Definitions
1. "Active shooter
drill" means an emergency preparedness drill designed to teach students,
teachers, school personnel, and staff how to respond in the event of an armed
intruder on campus or an armed assailant in the immediate vicinity of the
school. An active shooter drill is not an active shooter simulation, nor may an
active shooter drill include any sensorial components, activities, or elements
which mimic a real life shooting.
2. "Active shooter
simulation" means an emergency exercise including full-scale or functional
exercises, designed to teach adult school personnel and staff how to respond in
the event of an armed intruder on campus or an armed assailant in the immediate
vicinity of the school which also incorporates sensorial components,
activities, or elements mimicking a real life
shooting. Activities or elements mimicking a real life
shooting include, but are not limited to, simulation of tactical response by
law enforcement. An active shooter simulation is not an active shooter drill.
3. "Evidence-based"
means a program or practice that demonstrates any of the following:
a. a statistically significant effect on
relevant outcomes based on any of the following:
i. strong evidence
from one or more well designed and well implemented experimental studies;
ii. moderate evidence from one or more well
designed and well implemented quasi-experimental studies; or
iii. promising evidence from one or more well
designed and well implemented correlational studies with statistical controls
for selection bias; or
b. a rationale based on high-quality
research findings or positive evaluations that the program or practice is
likely to improve relevant outcomes, including the ongoing efforts to examine
the effects of the program or practice.
4. "Full-scale
exercise" means an operations-based exercise that is typically the most
complex and resource-intensive of the exercise types and often involves
multiple agencies, jurisdictions, organizations, and real-time movement of
resources.
5. "Functional
exercises" means an operations-based exercise designed to assess and
evaluate capabilities and functions while in a realistic, real-time
environment, however, movement of resources is usually simulated.
B. Criteria
An active shooter drill conducted according to Minnesota Statutes,
section 121A.037 with students in early childhood through grade 12 must be:
1. accessible;
2 developmentally
appropriate and age appropriate, including using appropriate safety language
and vocabulary;
3. culturally aware;
4. trauma-informed; and
5. inclusive of
accommodations for students with mobility restrictions, sensory needs,
developmental or physical disabilities, mental health needs, and auditory or
visual limitations.
C. Student Mental Health
and Wellness
Active shooter drill
protocols must include a reasonable amount of time immediately following the
drill for teachers to debrief with their students. The opportunity to debrief
must be provided to students before regular classroom activity may resume. During
the debrief period, students must be allowed to access any mental health
services available on campus, including counselors, school psychologists,
social workers, or cultural liaisons. An active shooter drill must not be
combined or conducted consecutively with any other type of emergency
preparedness drill. An active shooter drill must be accompanied by an
announcement prior to commencing. The announcement must use concise and
age-appropriate language and, at a minimum, inform students there is no immediate
danger to life and safety.
D. Notice
1. The school
district must provide notice of a pending active shooter drill to every
student's parent or legal guardian before an active shooter drill is conducted.
Whenever practicable, notice must be provided at least 24 hours in advance of a
pending active shooter drill and inform the parent or legal guardian of the
right to opt their student out of participating.
2. If a
student is opted out of participating in an active shooter drill, no negative
consequence must impact the student's general school attendance record nor may
nonparticipation alone make a student ineligible to participate in or attend
school activities.
3. The Commissioner
of the Minnesota Department of Education must ensure the availability of
alternative safety education for students who are opted out of participating or
otherwise exempted from an active shooter drill. Alternative safety education
must provide essential safety instruction through less sensorial safety
training methods and must be appropriate for students with mobility
restrictions, sensory needs, developmental or physical disabilities, mental
health needs, and auditory or visual limitations.
E. Participation
in Active Shooter Drills
Any student in early childhood through grade 12 must not be required to
participate in an active shooter drill that does not meet the Criteria set
forth above.
F. Active
Shooter Simulations
A student must not be required to participate in an active shooter
simulation. An active shooter simulation must not take place during regular
school hours if a majority of students are present, or expected to be present,
at the school. A parent or legal guardian of a student in grades 9 through 12
must have the opportunity to opt their student into participating in an active
shooter simulation.
G. Violence
Prevention
1. A school district or charter school conducting an active shooter
drill must provide students in middle school and high school at least one hour,
or one standard class period, of violence prevention training annually.
2. The violence prevention training must be evidence-based and may be
delivered in-person, virtually, or digitally. Training must, at a minimum,
teach students the following:
a. how to identify
observable warning signs and signals of an individual who may be at risk of
harming oneself or others;
b. the importance of
taking threats seriously and seeking help; and
c. the steps to report
dangerous, violent, threatening, harmful, or potentially harmful activity.
3. A school district or charter school must ensure that students have the
opportunity to contribute to their school's safety and violence prevention
planning, aligned with the recommendations for multihazard
planning for schools, including but not limited to:
a. student opportunities for leadership related to prevention and safety;
b. encouragement and support to students in establishing clubs and programs
focused on safety; and
c. providing students with the opportunity to seek help from adults and to
learn about prevention connected to topics including bullying, sexual
harassment, sexual assault, and suicide.
H. Board
Meeting
At a regularly scheduled school board meeting, a school board of a
district that has conducted an active shooter drill must consider the
following:
1. the effect of
active shooter drills on the safety of students and staff; and
2. the effect of active
shooter drills on the mental health and wellness of students and staff.
V. SAMPLE
PROCEDURES INCLUDED IN THIS POLICY
Sample procedures for the various hazards/emergencies listed
below are attached to this Policy for use when drafting specific crisis
management plans. Additional sample procedures may be found in the Response
section of the Comprehensive School Safety Guide (2011 Edition). After
approval by the school board, an adopted procedure will become an addendum to
the Crisis Management Policy.
A. Fire
B. Hazardous
Materials
C. Severe
Weather: Tornado/Severe Thunderstorm/Flooding
D. Medical
Emergency
E. Fight/Disturbance
F. Assault
G. Intruder
H. Weapons
I. Shooting
J. Hostage
K. Bomb Threat
L. Chemical or
Biological Threat
M. Checklist for
Telephone Threats
N. Demonstration
O. Suicide
P. Lock-down
Procedures
Q. Shelter-In-Place
Procedures
R. Evacuation/Relocation
S. Media
Procedures
T. Post-Crisis
Procedures
U.
School Emergency Response Team
V. Emergency Phone Numbers
W. Highly Contagious Serious Illness or
Pandemic Flu
VI. MISCELLANEOUS
PROCEDURES
A. Chemical Accidents
Procedures for reporting chemical accidents shall be posted
at key locations such as chemistry labs, art rooms, swimming pool areas, and
janitorial closets.
B. Visitors
The school district shall implement procedures mandating
visitor sign in and visitors in school buildings. See MSBA/MASA Model Policy
903 (Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites).
The school district shall implement procedures to minimize
outside entry into school buildings except at designated check-in points and
assure that all doors are locked prior to and after regular building hours.
C. Student
Victims of Criminal Offenses at or on School Property
The school district shall establish procedures allowing
student victims of criminal offenses on school property the opportunity to
transfer to another school within the school district.
D. Radiological
Emergencies at Nuclear Generating Plants [OPTIONAL]
School districts within a 10-mile radius of the Monticello
or Prairie Island nuclear power plants will implement crisis plans in the event
of an accident or incident at the power plant.
Questions relative to the creation or implementation of such
plans will be directed to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Legal References: Minn. Stat. Ch. 12 (Emergency Management)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 12A (Natural Disaster; State Assistance)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.035 (Crisis Management Policy)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.038 (Students Safe at School)
Minn.
Stat. § 121A.06 (Reports of Dangerous Weapon Incidents in School
Zones)
Minn. Stat. § 299F.30 (Fire Drill in
School; Doors and Exits)
Minn. Stat. § 326B.02, Subd. 6
(Powers)
Minn. Stat. § 326B.106 (General Powers of Commissioner of
Labor and Industry)
Minn.
Stat. § 609.605, Subd. 4 (Trespasses)
Minn. Rules Ch. 7511 (Fire Code)
20 U.S.C. § 1681, et
seq. (Title IX)
20
U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (Every Student
Succeeds Act)
20 U.S.C. § 7912 (Unsafe School Choice Option)
42
U.S.C. § 5121 et seq. (Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance)
Cross References: MSBA/MASA Model Policy 407 (Employee Right
to Know – Exposure to
Hazardous Substances)
MSBA/MASA
Model Policy 413 (Harassment and Violence)
MSBA/MASA
Model Policy 501 (School Weapons Policy)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 506 (Student Discipline)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 532 (Use of Peace Officers and Crisis
Teams to Remove Students with IEPs from School Grounds)
MSBA/MASA
Model Policy 903 (Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites
Comprehensive School Safety Guide
Minnesota School
Safety Center - Resources (mn.gov)