Guidance and Resources to Help Plan for Terroristic Threats or Acts of Terrorism
This document has been prepared in response to many requests from parents and school administrators concerned about how schools should prepare to respond to biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism. Biological terrorism involves viral, bacterial, fungal, or toxins from living organisms. Chemical terrorism involves the purposeful release of chemical compounds in order to cause harm to individuals or to society. Radiological terrorism is the intentional or threatened release of radioactive materials including those found in nuclear weapons and nuclear plants, or found in other settings such as in medical devices.The United States is currently on High Alert Status (orange). However, currently there is no evidence indicating that Pennsylvania schools are targets for terrorism. Regardless, schools need to ensure that they are prepared for the worst case scenario. Crisis Response Plans should be comprehensive and responsive to the range of crises and disasters that could affect schools.
Although we have been asked to provide a plan that each school can use in the event of a terrorist threat, we are not able to do so because each plan must be developed locally to address the specific needs and resources of a community. What we can provide are guidance and resources to help you make decisions about terrorism preparedness and crisis response plan development.
The key principles of emergency preparedness are planning, teamwork, and practice. These are essential elements in preparing for many different types of emergencies. It is imperative that schools work directly with their local emergency management agencies, first responders, school-based security, and law enforcement agencies to prepare for any and all contingencies. School administrators and other staff need to be involved at all levels in the development of the plan and actively participate in drills and practices. Ideally, parents, healthcare professionals, public safety, and mental health agencies should be part of the planning team. Parents and other family members play an integral part in the implementation of any plans that are developed at the local level. Finally, the key to implementing a successful crisis response plan is planning, cooperation, training, and practice.
Parents can also assist by discussing plans, conducting exercises with children, and participating in school-community exercises and training programs. The key to keeping students calm and reassured in a crisis is training and practice.
To be prepared in the short term to respond to a potential terroristic event impacting your school, review your school's crisis response plan and/or multi-hazard safety plan for the following:
*Make sure it's up-to-date.
*Evacuation and transportation plans.
*Plan for accounting for students and returning them to their families, or moving students to a safe location should they need to leave school property.
You should also review family contact procedures to make sure student and employee emergency contact information is up-to-date and that policies and procedures for contacting parents and other caregivers are in place. A plan for contacting local and state emergency management agencies, including the fire department, law enforcement, medical emergency services, and, of course, your local and state mental health and medical health officials should be established.
Schools physically located near chemical facilities such as chemical storage, production plants, or near nuclear facilities, may include a plan for "sheltering in place" (keeping students and staff inside the school building in an emergency). In an emergency that requires "sheltering in place," your local emergency management agency would instruct you about what to do.
A recommended list of emergency supplies for schools is located on the American Red Cross's website at www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/supplies.html.
When you are notified of, or suspect a biological agent situation, the following procedures are recommended:
1. Call 911
2. Call your local emergency contact(s) indicated in your crisis response plan.
3. All students and staff should remain inside of the building.
4. Close, lock and seal all exterior doors and windows.
5. Shut down the HVAC system.
6. Account for all students and staff.
7. Move all students and staff to inside rooms of the building.
(Rooms without windows/doors to the outside.)
8. Follow evacuation plan if necessary.
This list of procedures is not intended to be all-inclusive. Remember that these procedures must be detailed in your crisis response plan.
Listed below are links to several resources to help you in developing or updating your plans.
TERRORISM INFORMATION:
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
www.pema.state.pa.us
Listing of County Emergency Management Agency Coordinators
www.pema.state.pa.us
Click on County EMA Coordinators in left bar
Pennsylvania Homeland Security
www.homelandsecurity.state.pa.us
PDE's Crisis Response Website
www.pde.state.pa.us/crisisresponse
PA Department of Health - Emergency Preparedness/Bioterrorism Information
Contains communicable disease fact sheets on Anthrax, dirty bombs and others.
webserver.health.state.pa.us/health/site/
Click on Emergency Preparedness and BioTerrorism button in left bar
Federal Emergency Management Agency
www.fema.org
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
www.dhs.gov/dhspublic
National Governor's Association - Homeland Security
www.nga.org/center/security
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Disasters and Emergencies
Resources for disasters including bioterrorism, disaster mental health, post-traumatic stress and emergency medical services.
www.os.dhhs.gov/disasters
Protection of Pupil Rights Act-Amendments Relating to Anti-Terrorism Activities
www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco/pdf/ht_terrorism.pdf
National Association of School Psychologists
A resource for teachers on students' emotional responses to terrorism.
www.nasponline.org/NEAT/terror_eds.html
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO's members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy, and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice. (Click on "Activities and Programs" then "Preparedness Policy")
www.astho.org
Centers for Disease Control - Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Contains information on biological, chemical and radiological emergencies, planning, responding, contacts in an emergency, resources
and links.
www.bt.cdc.gov
American Red Cross Homeland Security Advisory System - Recommended Actions for Schools
Recommendations for schools according to level of risk.
www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/hsas/schools.pdf
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-Fact Sheet on Dirty Bombs
A "dirty bomb" or radiological dispersal device (RDD) is a conventional explosive or bomb containing radioactive material. The conventional bomb is used as a means to spread radioactive contamination.
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/dirty-bombs.html
U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Bioterrorism
Provides numerous fact sheets and information on bioterrorism.
www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/bioterrorism.html
Prevention, Response, and Management of a Bio-Terrorism
(Anthrax) Crisis in Schools (Hamilton Fish Institute)
www.hamfish.org/pub/biocrisis.html
How to Cope with Terrorism and Violence in our Schools
Researchers that completed a recent study on school emergency preparedness recommends that each school system develop customized guidelines that can be incorporated into a comprehensive plan that best serves its distinctive needs. They advise that school officials work with local authorities and submit current scale diagrams of their facilities to local first-responder authorities such as the police and fire departments; conduct school drills to prepare all for such a crisis. Additionally, they suggest holding biannual assemblies to discuss conflict resolution and how to identify violent behavior and to improve school security by installing magnetic metal detectors and setting up other ways to keep a closed campus.
www.asse.org/psmar.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Education Collaborative to Help Schools Prepare for Possible Terrorism
Contains information on what should be contained in a comprehensive crisis response plan.
www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/schools/QandA.htm
Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering From Attacks
Kentucky Center for School Safety
kysafeschools.org/clear/crisis.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
It describes basic skills and techniques for clear, effective crisis communications and information dissemination, and provides some of the tools of the trade for media relations. It can help you prepare for meeting the important responsibility of communicating with the public both directly and successfully during a crisis.
www.riskcommunication.samhsa.gov/index.htm
Bioterrorism and the People: How to Vaccinate a City Against Panic
(Infectious Diseases Society of America)
Includes Guidelines for Including the Public in Bioterrorism Response Planning.
STATE RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING/REVIEWING CRISIS RESPONSE PLANS:
Crisis Response Checklist (PA Department of Education)
www.pde.state.pa.us/crisisresponse
Results from November 2001 Crisis Response Survey
www.pde.state.pa.us/crisisresponse
School Crisis Response Planning Website (A collaboration between the PA Department of Education, Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit and Erie City School District)
www.iu5.org/crisisresponse
Colonial Intermediate Unit's Student Crisis Assistance Manual
www.iu20.npss.org/crisismanual/
NATIONAL RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING/REVIEWING CRISIS RESPONSE
PLANS:
National Education Association - Crisis Communications Guide and Toolkit
www.nea.org/crisis/b4home.html
THREAT ASSESSMENT:
Potential Indicators of Threats Involving Weapons of Mass
Destruction and Emergency Actions
www.pema.state.pa.us/pema/cwp/view.asp?a=548&q=252472
United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center
The National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) was created to provide leadership and guidance to the emerging field of threat assessment. NTAC offers timely, realistic, useful, and effective advice to law enforcement and other professionals and organizations with responsibilities to investigate and/or prevent targeted violence.
www.treas.gov/usss/ntac.shtml
Threat Assessment in Schools (U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education) - a Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and Creating Safe School Climates
www.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS/threatassessmentguide.pdf
Assessing Threats of Violence (Center for Safe Schools)
Online manual containing "FBI's The School Shooter," "Bomb Threats and Physical Security Planning," "PSBA's Terroristic Threats/Acts," "Bomb Threat Policy Templates," and numerous other publications.
www.center-school.org/viol_prev/css/css-s-threats.html
RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES:
American Red Cross - Family Disaster Planning
www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/familyplan.html
Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness
www.fema.org/areyouready/
Citizens Emergency Personal Protection Guide
www.pema.state.pa.us/pema/cwp/view.asp?a=221&q=252479
In Their Own Words: 9/11 Parents Help Other Parents and Schools with Lessons Learned
www.healthyschools.org/downloads/wtcNTHEIROWNWORDS.doc
Terrorism: Preparing for the Unexpected - Family Resource (American Red Cross Disaster Services)
Among actions to be taken described in this booklet about preparing for emergencies are: 1) create an emergency communications plan; 2) establish a meeting place; 3) assemble a disaster supply kit, and 4) check on the school emergency plan.
www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/terrorism.pdf
RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN:
Federal Emergency Management Agency for Kids
www.fema.gov/kids
MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES:
Pennsylvania Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
www.pde.state.pa.us/sdfsc
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles on building or retrofitting schools to withstand natural disasters and terrorism, developing emergency preparedness plans, and using school buildings to shelter community members during emergencies.
www.edfacilities.org/rl/disaster.cfm
Hamilton Fish Institute
The Institute, with assistance from Congress, was founded in 1997 to serve as a national resource to test the effectiveness of school violence prevention methods and to develop more effective strategies. The Institute's goal is to determine what works and what can be replicated to reduce violence in America's schools and their communities.
www.hamfish.org/resources/type/1/ (Resource List)