Emergency Management: Most School Districts Have Developed Emergency Management Plans, but Would Benefit from Additional Federal Guidance
GAO-07-609
Published: Jun 12, 2007. Publicly Released: Jun 12, 2007.
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Highlights
Congress has raised concerns over emergency management in school districts, with a particular interest in how federal agencies provide assistance to school districts. GAO was asked to assess (1) the roles of federal and state governments and school districts in establishing requirements and providing resources to school districts for emergency management planning, (2) what school districts have done to plan and prepare for emergencies, and (3) the challenges, if any, school districts have experienced in planning for emergencies, and communicating and coordinating with first responders, parents, and students. To obtain this information, GAO interviewed federal officials, surveyed a stratified random sample of all public school districts, surveyed state education agencies and state administering agencies, conducted site visits to school districts, and reviewed relevant documents.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security | To help address the challenges school districts face in planning for emergencies, the Secretary of DHS should clarify that school districts are among those entities to which state and local governments may disburse grant funds received through the State Homeland Security Program, Urban Areas Security Initiative, and Citizens Corps grant programs. This should be done through its guidance for these programs so that states and local governments will know they can disburse these program funds to school districts. |
Closed – Implemented
In its initial comments on the report, FEMA/DHS stated that it would continue to reaffirm that school districts are eligible entities of DHS State Homeland Security Grant funds as it administers its preparedness grant programs. In FY11, FEMA reported that it had indeed reaffirmed school districts' eligibility, re-emphasizing it during site visits, monitoring visits, workshops, and other forums.
|
| Department of Education | To address the lack of procedures for continuing student education in the event of an extended school closure, the Secretary of Education should collaborate with the Secretary of HHS in his role as head of the lead agency on pandemics, to examine and identify successful strategies for developing such procedures and provide guidance to school districts on how to include the resulting procedures for the continuation of student education in their emergency management plans. These agencies may consider providing specific suggestions for states and districts to work with state education agencies, health departments, and local community organizations in the process of developing these procedures. |
Closed – Implemented
Education noted that since fiscal year 2006, grantees under the Emergency Response and Crisis Management grant program have been required to develop a written plan for responding to infectious disease that require a school closure. In December 2007, Education and HHS hosted a conference call with federal, state, and local officials that discussed strategies designed to support continuation of educational services during an extended period of school closure. Education also developed guidance for continuing learning in the event of a severe flu pandemic, which was posted to its website in January 2008. In May 2008, Education prepared a summary of best practices and recommendations in the event of an extended school closure, developed by selected school districts.
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| Department of Education | To help school districts shelter or evacuate students with special needs and temporarily disabled students in an emergency, the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretaries of DHS and HHS, should examine and identify successful procedures for sheltering and removing such students from school buildings and share these procedures with school districts. |
Closed – Implemented
In comments on the report, Education stated that the Department has shared, in training activities, strategies used by certain grantees for sheltering or evacuating special needs students. In January 2008, Education posted on its website, a summary of best practices for building design that incorporates ADA compliance requirements and effective evacuation procedures for students with special needs and disabilities. In December 2007 and January 2008, Education, FEMA, and HHS hosted virtual meetings on the special considerations and successful procedures for sheltering and evacuating individuals with special needs or disabilities. In May 2008, they held a Webinar on this topic that identified best practices. In August 2008, Education posted a tool that identifies successful procedures for evacuating or sheltering individuals with special needs or disabilities.
|
| Department of Homeland Security | To promote training between school districts and first responders and between school districts and community partners on how to implement district emergency management plans, the Secretaries of DHS and Education should identify the factors that prevent school districts, first responders, and community partners from training together and develop strategies for addressing those factors. These strategies should include the continued use of any current resources that could facilitate joint training. DHS and Education should share the strategies with school districts, first responders, and community partners and encourage them to consider implementing the strategies as appropriate. |
Closed – Implemented
DHS collaborated with Education to develop a newsletter that included specific recommendations for fostering interagency collaboration and training efforts between schools, first responders and other community partners. The newsletter was posted to Education's website in August 2008.
|
| Department of Education | To promote training between school districts and first responders and between school districts and community partners on how to implement district emergency management plans, the Secretaries of DHS and Education should identify the factors that prevent school districts, first responders, and community partners from training together and develop strategies for addressing those factors. These strategies should include the continued use of any current resources that could facilitate joint training. DHS and Education should share the strategies with school districts, first responders, and community partners and encourage them to consider implementing the strategies as appropriate. |
Closed – Implemented
In comments provided on the report, Education noted that it would identify some common barriers to collaboration between school districts and first responders through the experiences of its Emergency Response and Crisis Management grantees, as well as coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In collaboration with DHS, Education developed a newsletter that included specific recommendations for fostering interagency collaboration and training efforts between schools, first responders and other community partners. The newsletter was posted to Education's website in August 2008.
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Emergency managementEmergency preparednessEmergency response plansFederal aid to localitiesFederal aid to statesstate relationsGrants to statesHomeland securityLocal governmentsLocally administered programsRisk managementSchool districtsStrategic planning