Operation of Schools in Emergency Circumstances

Definitions

Emergency - an event that requires prompt co-ordination of action and special regulation of persons or property to protect the safety, health or welfare of people or to limit damage to property. 

Emergency Management - the organized analysis, planning, decision-making and assignment of available resources to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of all hazards.

Regulation

1. In emergency circumstances that affect the safety and well-being of students or staff:
   1. if necessary, first call 911;
   2. contact Security Services at 780-429-EPSB (3772);
   3. once Security Services staff have received notification about emergency circumstances, they shall issue an alert e-mail and contact those departments or service providers that are required to assist in addressing the situation;
   4. whenever feasible, school buildings and other Division facilities shall remain open;
   5. when school buildings and other Division facilities are open, or are operating in alternative locations, principals shall ensure that students present in the schools are provided with supervision and instruction; and
   6. only the Superintendent of Schools or designate may authorize the closure of a school or other Division facility; and;
   7. if the school is not open for instruction, staff members shall report for duty.

2. When emergency circumstances exist, every effort shall be made to provide students, parents and staff with prompt and accurate information about the situation:
   1. if the Superintendent of Schools has closed a school, Communications shall send out a public service announcement (PSA) regarding closure; in addition, the principal shall notify parents of the closure through a phone fan-out by school staff or by using the school's automated calling system; and
   2. when emergency circumstances affect the operation of one more schools or Division facilities, or student transportation services provided by the Division, Communications shall assist the Superintendent of Schools and affected principals in notifying parents of the situation.
3. The Division plan, by which decisions are made and communicated under emergency circumstances, shall:
4. 1. be reviewed each year by November 30, by representatives of the Issues and Security Action Advisory Committee (ISAAC), a subgroup of the Division Emergency Response Team (DERT) comprised of staff from Facilities Services, District Support Services and Communications.
   2. include the following:
      1. the Division Plan for Decision-Making in Emergency Circumstances;
      2. the Security Monitoring Decision-Making Tree;
      3. the Division Emergency Response Framework;
      4. a list of members of the Division Emergency Response Team with ISAAC staff identified.

Each school principal shall use Division templates to develop school specific emergency preparedness plans for dealing with emergency circumstances, annually review and revise copies of these plans that have been stored on the Security Services website, and communicate school plans to students, parents, staff and applicable community agencies.

References