Schools Ramp Up Efforts to Plan, Prepare for Emergency

 

 

08/29/2019
BATON ROUGE – Planning ahead and preparing for an emergency—natural or manmade—is the first line of defense for many educational institutions.

LSU’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education, or LSU NCBRT/ACE, is currently conducting Emergency Operations Plans, or EOP, workshops for school districts across the state. These vital courses guide participants through the best practices for school emergency management planning laid out by FEMA.

The “Developing and Enhancing School Emergency Operations Plans Workshop” will be conducted on Sept. 17 with the Ouachita Parish School Board at the Ouachita Parish Media Center at 100 Bry Street in Monroe.

The workshop covers a six-step planning process that enables schools to produce and update a comprehensive all-hazard EOP. These hazards can be any natural or manmade disaster. Examples include: chemical leaks from nearby facilities, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter precipitation or events like arson, active shooter or bomb threats.

Participants will discuss the collaborative planning process, identify the structure and functions of an all-hazard plan and develop best practices for creating functional and hazard-specific annexes tailored to the unique needs of their schools.

They will learn about working with response agencies, law enforcement, EMS, fire services and community partners such as nonprofits, religious institutions and private businesses—any agency that may provide support for prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery from a school-based emergency.

The Developing and Enhancing School EOPs Workshop is available at no cost to Louisiana school districts and schools through a partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education, or LDOE, and LSU NCBRT/ACE. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Grants to States for School Emergency Management Program, the LDOE and NCBRT/ACE are able to provide free training and technical assistance to enhance Louisiana school emergency management practices throughout the state. For more information on the program, visit: https://www.ncbrt.lsu.edu/programs/departmentofeducation.php.

 

 

Contact Alison Satake
LSU Media Relations
225-578-3870
asatake@lsu.edu

  

Rose Landry
LSU NCBRT/ACE
225-578-8187
schoolsafety@ncbrt.lsu.edu
www.ncbrt.lsu.edu