FILE:  EBBC

Cf:  EBB, EBBB

 

EMERGENCY/CRISIS MANAGEMENT

 

 

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSE

 

Unanticipated tragic events can quickly escalate into a school-wide catastrophe if not dealt with immediately and effectively.  School personnel shall plan in advance for the welfare, safety, and care of students and staff members.  Every school shall be required to have a Crisis Management and Response Plan and a District Threat Assessment Team. The School District shall have an Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Point of Contact.

 

DEFINITIONS

 

Crisis Management and Response Plan shall mean a plan to address school safety and the incidence of a shooting or other violence at schools, on school buses, and at school-related activities; to respond effectively to such incidents; and to ensure that every student, teacher, and school employee has access to a safe, secure, and orderly school that is conducive to learning. The plan shall also address the management of any other emergency situation. 

 

District Threat Assessment Team shall mean a team established by the School Board. The team shall include the Superintendent; the principal of each school; a person with responsibility over the school facilities; a mental health professional employed by the School Board, or, if the School Board has no such employee, a mental health professional selected by the Superintendent; any school resource officer employed by the School Board; and the district emergency preparedness and recovery point of contact.

 

Emergency preparedness and recovery point of contact which shall mean a person selected by the Superintendent to serve as a point of contact with local and state officials and the media in the event of an emergency.

 

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSE PLAN

 

The Crisis Management and Response Plan shall be prepared by each principal jointly with local law enforcement, fire, public safety, and emergency preparedness officials.  The plan shall seek to utilize resources and information available through the Louisiana Commission on School and Nonprofit Security, La. Rev. Stat. Ann.  §29:726.5, et seq.  In preparing or revising the plan, the principal shall consult with the District Threat Assessment Team. The principal and the Threat Assessment Team shall determine whether to consider input from students enrolled in the school and their parents, teachers at the school, other school employees, and community leaders. 

 

The plan, which shall focus on preventing the loss of life and the injury of students and teachers and other school employees, shall:

 

  1. Detail the roles and responsibilities of each school employee and of each local and state public safety and emergency preparedness office.

  2. Include the relevant coordination agreements, services, and security measures of a school.

  3. Provide for an all-hazards approach response plan for emergency events.

  4. Provide for notification of parents, faculty, staff, and local public safety officials in the event of a shooting or other violent incident or emergency situation.

  5. Provide for the counseling of students by mental health professionals, encouraging peer helper programs, and identifying students who may have experienced rejection or other traumatic life events.

 

Each principal, jointly with local law enforcement, fire, public safety, school resource officers, and emergency preparedness officials, shall review the plan at least once annually and shall revise the plan as necessary.  Each principal shall submit the plan in writing to the Superintendent for approval at least once annually, including upon each revision, and shall notify all teachers and other school employees of the contents of the plan and any revisions made to it.

 

Within the first thirty (30) days of each school year, each principal shall conduct a safety drill to rehearse the components of the Crisis Management and Response Plan, including an active shooter scenario.  In addition, each school year, each principal shall conduct at least one additional drill during high traffic or transition points in the school day.  Not later than seven (7) days after each drill, the principal shall submit a written report summarizing the details of the drill to the Superintendent.  The Superintendent shall comment on the drill to the principal, who shall consider the comments in revising the plan.

 

Each Crisis Management and Response Plan shall provide that:

 

  1. Each plan shall provide information on compliance with locks in reference to state fire code.

  2. If legislative funding is provided, bleeding control kits shall be placed in easily accessible location in each school; and,

  3. The principal shall designate employees to be trained in the proper use of a bleeding control kit and in traumatic injury response.

 

Each school year, each principal shall be responsible for providing in-service training for all employees at their school pertaining to the plan. The training shall be reported to the Superintendent and the Louisiana Department of Education.

 

Each principal shall keep a copy of the approved plan in a secure location.  A copy will be provided to designated stakeholders as outlined in Act 334.

 

The Superintendent shall make an annual report to the School Board on the status of the plan of each school under the School Board’s jurisdiction and shall submit a copy of the report to the Louisiana Department of Education and the Center for Safe Schools.

 

OTHER EMERGENCY DRILLS

 

The West Baton Rouge Parish School Board shall require procedures be planned by the principal and faculty of each school to assure orderly movement and evacuation of students to the safest area in the event of fire, weather, or other disasters.  Practice drills shall be used to ensure the effectiveness of the procedures.

 

Every separate administration building shall conduct practice drills as well.

 

Revised:  August, 2013 Revised:  September, 2019
Revised:  November 28, 2018 Revised:  May 15, 2024

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:416.16, 29:726.5, 29:726.5.1, 40:1578.6

Louisiana School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, Bulletin 119

Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education

Life Safety Code, National Fire Protection Association

Board minutes, 11-28-18, 5-15-24

 

West Baton Rouge Parish School Board