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HCPSS / POLICIES

Policy 3010 Implementation Procedures - Emergency Preparedness and Response

Policy Document

Implementation Procedures

I. Definitions

Within the context of these implementation procedures, the following definitions apply:

  1. Emergency Procedures – Incident specific measures used to ensure the safety of students and employees.

    1. Active Assailant – Procedures for when one or more subjects participates in a random or systematic pattern of violence demonstrating their intent to continuously inflict serious bodily injury on another person or persons.

    2. Drop, Cover, and Hold –The appropriate action to reduce injury and death during earthquakes.

    3. Evacuation – A process where students and employees exit the school or support facility due to fire, smoke, or utility emergency.

    4. Lockdown – The confinement of people inside secured rooms for safety measures. Used when a serious threat exists to the campus that requires students, employees, and visitors to remain in a locked room/facility for safety.

    5. Modified Lockdown – Secures the building and safely shelters all students, employees and visitors inside the school building. School business and classroom activities continue as normal. A school will go on modified lockdown if there is a threat in their neighborhood that does not directly endanger the occupants of the school.

    6. Reverse Evacuation – A process where students or employees enter the building due to severe weather or other immediate threat outside the school or support facility.

    7. Shelter-in-Place – Taking refuge in interior rooms within your facility, or rooms with no or few windows. In many cases, local authorities will issue advice to shelter-in-place via TV or radio.

  2. Floor Captain – The individual tasked with implementing the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs).

  3. Hazard – Natural or manmade potential source or cause of harm or difficulty where the need to protect students, employees, visitors, and property is of the utmost importance according to the comprehensive analysis in the Howard County Office of Emergency Management’s Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA).

    1. Natural Hazard – A source of harm or difficulty created by a meteorological, environmental, or geological phenomenon.

    2. Manmade Hazard – A hazard that originates in some way from human activity. Manmade hazards include adversarial/intentional hazards and technological/accidental hazards and create an immediate risk, or present an imminent danger to the students, employees, or school community.

  4. Incident Command System – A management system designed to enable effective and efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure.

  5. Protective Action – A specific, pre-defined response used in emergency incidents to ensure the safety and well-being of those involved, such as school closing, closing of a support facility, or emergency procedures, such as, lockdown, modified lockdown, sheltering in place, evacuation, etc.

II. Emergency Management Guidelines

  1. Preparedness

    To prepare for emergencies, HCPSS performs regular reviews of the HCPSS EOPs, training plan, and any updates made to the Howard County EOP.

  2. Planning

    Each Division Chief will implement the system-level Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs), and EOPs. They will review and maintain each of these plans on an annual basis. HCPSS annually reviews the following information:

    1. Hazard (Threat) Analysis – A review of schools by region based on natural and manmade hazards for all schools and support facilities in the district.

    2. Concept of Operations – Describes the level of emergency and provides a process breakdown and examples of types of emergencies that fall in each level.

    3. Roles and Responsibilities during an Emergency – Provides high-level guidance of roles, responsibilities, and tasks for school system employees functioning in specific roles during an emergency.

    4. The Office of Safety and Security will coordinate the development, implementation, and annual evaluation of the system-level, school-specific EOPs, non-school facility EOPs, and the HCPSS COOPs in accordance with national, state, and local emergency standards.

    5. The Chief Communication, Community/Workforce Engagement Officer will review and publicize school system procedures for communicating emergency information to school system employees and to the community on an annual basis.

    6. Principals/designee will maintain their school-specific EOP on an annual basis.

    7. The building administrator/designee will assign employees with the Floor Captain responsibilities. The Floor Captain will review and update their facility-specific EOP on an annual basis.

  3. Resourcing

    1. The Office of Safety and Security will coordinate the delivery of emergency resources such as 800 MHz radios, incident kits, weather radios, etc. as required to ensure communication with the EOC during an incident.

    2. The Department of Program Innovation and Student Well-Being will provide support to Crisis Intervention Teams and school administrators during the immediate aftermath of an incident.

    3. The Office of Safety and Security and the Department of ProgramInnovation and Student Well-Being will provide school-based emergency kits and supply replacements as needed.

  4. Training

    1. The Office of Safety and Security will provide training to employees based on their assigned roles in the system-level EOC or the school-specific Incident Command System. Employees assigned to specific EOC roles must comply with the minimal requirements pertinent to their role in an incident.

    2. The Office of Safety and Security will provide training to appropriate employees on the use of two-way radios and conduct an annual evaluation of the radio communication system.

    3. The Office of Safety and Security will maintain training plans. Annually, the training and exercise plans which define the approach to comprehensive emergency training of all employees will be reviewed.

  5. Exercising

    1. The Office of Safety and Security follows the State of Maryland requirements for evacuation drills in public schools. The Office of Safety and Security, in conjunction with local officials has developed the following breakdown for drills and exercises as follows:

      1. Five (5) evacuation drills

      2. Two (2) reverse evacuation drills

      3. Two (2) active assailant drills

      4. One (1) shelter-in-place drill

      5. One (1) lockdown drill

      6. One (1) drop, cover, hold drill.

    2. The building administrator for each administrative facility will conduct the following drill and exercises:

      1. Three (3) evacuation drills

      2. Two (2) active assailant drills

      3. One (1) drop, cover, hold drill.

    3. The Office of Safety and Security will maintain a comprehensive training program that includes classroom based, small group settings, table top exercises, small scale exercises, and full scale exercises to ensure continual understanding of emergency response procedures and incident management.

  6. Response

    Any incident or emergency response performed by HCPSS follows the procedures outlined in the functional annex section of the EOPs. On a regular basis, HCPSS reviews the functional annexes to ensure best practice and alignment with federal, state and local law or guidance.

  7. Communication

    1. When the school system determines closing schools based on inclement weather or other emergencies, all after-school and evening activities and all school and non-school-sponsored activities scheduled in school facilities are canceled. This does not apply to early dismissals that are scheduled as part of the academic calendar.

    2. At times when inclement weather threatens the safety of students and employees, the Superintendent/designee may close or delay the opening of schools or the school system, or dismiss early. The Board will be notified of the decision.

    3. If an emergency results in a closure, a late opening, or an early dismissal, HCPSS employees will work in compliance with the provisions of their respective collective bargaining agreement, office/department supervisor, or administrative directive.

  8. Immediate Efforts

    1. The School Administrator will implement their school-specific EOP during an emergency.

    2. The Floor Captain will implement their support facility-specific EOP during an emergency.

    3. The Office of Safety and Security will activate the EOC as appropriate and follow the system-level EOP.

    4. The Chief Communication, Community/Workforce Engagement Officer will provide appropriate communications based on the system-level EOP.

  9. Transition to Recovery Management

    The Office of Safety and Security will provide management support during the transition from the response phase of an incident to the recovery phase of an incident.

  10. Recovery

    There are three phases of recovery: immediate, short-term, and long-term. Based on the EOP, HCPSS performs these phases based on information in our Reunification, Recovery, and Continuity of Operations plans.

    1. Immediate

      Immediately following incident response, HCPSS moves into the recovery process.

    2. Short-term

      1. Each Division Chief will implement the system-level COOP, EOP, and related functional annexes as required during an emergency.

      2. The HCPSS Recovery Plan will be enacted based on the complexity and duration of the recovery period.

    3. Long-term

      The designated Recovery Manager will be the main point of contact for recovery and will oversee the entire recovery process depending on the complexity and duration of the recovery period.

III. References

  • Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment Howard County, MD

IV. History

ADOPTED: January 5, 1971

REVIEWED:

MODIFIED:

REVISED:

  • August 24, 1989

  • January 13, 2005

  • April 12, 2012

  • March 14, 2019

EFFECTIVE: July 1, 2019

Policy History Key

  • Adopted-Original date the Board took action to approve a policy
  • Reviewed-The date the status of a policy was assessed by the Superintendent’s Standing Policy Group
  • Modified-The date the Board took action to alter a policy that based on the recommendation of the Superintendent/designee did not require a comprehensive examination
  • Revised-The date the Board took action on a that policy based on the recommendation of the Superintendent/designee needed a comprehensive examination
  • Effective-The date a policy is implemented throughout the HCPSS, typically July 1 following Board action.