Emergency Operations Plans for Schools

High-quality Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) are critical documents that can help schools navigate any emergency situation. These documents outline how the school prepares for and responds to a critical incident, including personnel responsibilities and student safety. Not only do EOPs help school staff maintain clear, rational thinking in times of crisis, they set the expectations for emergency responders who may be required at the scene.

The EOP planning process can reveal vulnerabilities in the school’s safety and security infrastructure, and improve the school’s ability to recover following an incident.

The 6 Steps to Create an Emergency Operations Plan

Creating an Emergency Operations Plan may look different for every school, since each district faces unique circumstances, but the process should follow some general guidelines. This is a collaborative effort that may require support from the district staff, community partners, and local students/parents.

There are six steps to create an effective EOP:

• Assemble a team
• Determine goals and objectives
• Perform a risk assessment
• Develop the plan
• Stakeholder review and approval
• Implementation and maintenance

An EOP is what’s known as a “living document.” It must be regularly reviewed and revised to keep it current with a school’s needs. An Emergency Operations Plan may not need all six steps every time it is reviewed, but each revision should still be handled with the same high level of attention to detail and care.

The Main Components of an Emergency Operations Plan

The main components of an emergency operations plan logically and efficiently coordinate activities before, during, and after an emergency. These activities help staff and emergency responders take the right steps to minimize the potential effects of an adverse event, providing maximum protection for students, staff and visitors.

Basic Plan Content

The basic plan provides identification of goals, responsibilities, and planning actions.

• Establish purpose and overview. Lay the foundation for a high-quality EOP by establishing the purpose of the document, including an overview of the threats and hazards that the school may have to withstand.
• Identify critical roles and responsibilities. You may outline who has the authority to activate the plan, local agencies and emergency response organizations, and a broad overview of expectations for staff responsibilities during an emergency.
• Plan your communication. Identify reputable external information sources before and during an emergency, who is responsible for coordinating the internal team and external organizations, and post-incident communication with the local community.
• Determine training and exercises. Set expectations for staff training, school-wide incident drills, and other activities to support the EOP.
• Plan maintenance. Identify a regular cadence for reviewing and revising your EOP.

Functional Annexes Content

The functional annexes of the emergency operation plan identify specific actions that may be required in different scenarios. This includes sequential actions within an emergency incident and the recovery efforts. These may include:

• Evacuation
• Lockdown
• Shelter-in-place
• Headcounts
• Communications and warnings
• Family reunification
• Continuity of operations
• Recovery
• Medical, mental health, public health
• Security
• Specific hazards (natural disaster, biological hazard, human threats, etc)

Evacuation and Critical Incident Maps

Many school incidents require emergency response teams like local law enforcement, fire department, or EMTs. When time is of the essence, it is crucial that people who are unfamiliar with the school layout quickly and easily identify the location where they are needed. Evacuation and incident maps provide intuitive, at-a-glance information faster than verbal communication. When time is of the essence, there is no substitute for having clear building maps posted at logical, useful locations.

Evacuation maps provide wayfinding and egress information for building inhabitants both before and during an incident.

Critical incident maps are detailed maps used by first responders to local critical features of a building and coordinate response actions during an incident.

A comprehensive EOP should include both types of maps, including how they are posted or communicated, to provide the best protection for the school. In fact, you may consider adding multiple types of maps for different incident responses.

Contact Building Maps for Professional EOP-Ready Maps

Someone working on an Emergency Operations Plan may not have the right skills to create easy-to-read maps or identify the best locations to post them.

That’s where we come in. The illustration team at Building Maps have extensive experience creating safety and wayfinding maps for schools just like yours. Our maps are made to easily guide people toward safety, in compliance with local and federal codes like OSHA, ICC, NFPA, and more.

To learn more about partnering with Building Maps as part of your Emergency Operations Plan, request a quote or give us a call at 877.866.9696. When it comes to schools, we know there is nothing more important than the safety of students, staff and visitors.