Adopted: MSBA/MASA Model Policy 806
Orig. 1999
Revised: Rev. 2025
806 CRISIS
MANAGEMENT POLICY
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Model Crisis Management Policy is to act
as a guide for school district and building administrators, school employees,
students, school board members, and community members to address a wide range
of potential crisis situations in the school district. The step-by-step
procedures suggested by this Policy will provide guidance to each school
building in drafting crisis management plans to coordinate protective actions
prior to, during, and after any type of emergency or potential crisis
situation. Each school district should develop tailored building-specific
crisis management plans for each school building in the school district, and
sections or procedures may be added or deleted in those crisis management plans
based on building needs.
The school district will, to the extent possible, engage in
ongoing emergency planning within the school district and with emergency responders
and other relevant community organizations. The school district will ensure
that relevant emergency responders in the community have access to their
building-specific crisis management plans and will provide training to school
district staff to enable them to act appropriately in the event of a crisis.
II. GENERAL
INFORMATION
A. The
Policy and Plans
The school district’s Crisis Management
Policy has been created in consultation with local community response agencies
and other appropriate individuals and groups that would likely be involved in the
event of a school emergency. It is designed so that each building administrator
can tailor a building-specific crisis management plan to meet that building’s
specific situation and needs.
The school district’s administration
and/or the administration of each building shall present tailored building-specific
crisis management plans to the school board for review and approval. The
building-specific crisis management plans will include general crisis
procedures and crisis-specific procedures. Upon approval by the school board,
such crisis management plans shall be an addendum to this Crisis Management
Policy. This Policy and the plans will be maintained and updated on an annual
basis.
B. Elements
of the District Crisis Management Policy
1. General
Crisis Procedures
The Crisis Management Policy includes
general crisis procedures for securing buildings, classroom evacuation,
building evacuation, campus evacuation, and sheltering. The Policy designates
the individual(s) who will determine when these actions will be taken. These
district-wide procedures may be modified by building administrators when
creating their building-specific crisis management plans. A communication
system will be in place to enable the designated individual to be contacted at
all times in the event of a potential crisis, setting forth the method to
contact the designated individual, the provision of at least two designees when
the contact person is unavailable, and the method to convey contact information
to the appropriate staff persons. The alternative designees may include members
of the emergency first responder response team. A secondary method of
communication should be included in the plan for use when the primary method of
communication is inoperable. Each building in the school district will have
access to a copy of the Comprehensive School Safety Guide (2011 Edition) to
assist in the development of building-specific crisis management plans.
All general crisis procedures will
address specific procedures for the safe evacuation of children and employees with
special needs such as physical, sensory, motor, developmental, and mental
health challenges.
a. Lock-Down
Procedures
Lock-down procedures will be used in
situations where harm may result to persons inside the school building, such as
a shooting, hostage incident, intruder, trespass, disturbance, or when
determined to be necessary by the building administrator or his or her designee.
The building administrator or designee will announce the lock-down over the
public address system or other designated system. Code words will not be used.
Provisions for emergency evacuation will be maintained even in the event of a
lock-down. Each building administrator will submit lock-down procedures for
their building as part of the building-specific crisis management plan.
b. Evacuation
Procedures
Evacuations of classrooms and buildings
shall be implemented at the discretion of the building administrator or his
or her designee. Each building’s crisis management plan will include procedures
for transporting students and staff a safe distance from harm to a designated
safe area until released by the building administrator or designee. Safe areas
may change based upon the specific emergency situation. The evacuation
procedures should include specific procedures for children with special needs,
including children with limited mobility (wheelchairs, braces, crutches, etc.),
visual impairments, hearing impairments, and other sensory, developmental, or
mental health needs. The evacuation procedures should also address transporting
necessary medications for students that take medications during the school day.
c. Sheltering
Procedures
Sheltering provides refuge for
students, staff, and visitors within the school building during an emergency. Shelters
are safe areas that maximize the safety of inhabitants. Safe areas may change based
upon the specific emergency. The building administrator or his or her designee
will announce the need for sheltering over the public address system or other
designated system. Each building administrator will submit sheltering
procedures for his or her building as part of the building-specific crisis
management plan.
2. Crisis-Specific
Procedures
The Crisis Management Policy includes
crisis-specific procedures for crisis situations that may occur during the
school day or at school-sponsored events and functions. These district-wide
procedures are designed to enable building administrators to tailor response
procedures when creating building-specific crisis management plans.
3. School
Emergency Response Teams
a. Composition
The building administrator in each
school building will select a school emergency response team that will be trained
to respond to emergency situations. All school emergency response team members
will receive on-going training to carry out the building’s crisis management
plans and will have knowledge of procedures, evacuation routes, and safe areas.
For purposes of student safety and accountability, to the extent possible,
school emergency response team members will not have direct responsibility for
the supervision of students. Team members must be willing to be actively
involved in the resolution of crises and be available to assist in any crisis
situation as deemed necessary by the building administrator. Each building will
maintain a current list of school emergency response team members which will be
updated annually. The building
administrator, and his or her alternative designees, will know the location of
that list in the event of a school emergency. A copy of the list will be kept
on file in the school district office, or in a secondary location in single
building school districts.
b. Leaders
The building administrator or his or
her designee will serve as the leader of the school emergency response team and
will be the primary contact for emergency response officials. In the event the
primary designee is unavailable, the designee list should include more than one
alternative designee and may include members of the emergency response team. When
emergency response officials are present, they may elect to take command and
control of the crisis. It is critical in this situation that school officials
assume a resource role and be available as necessary to emergency response officials.
III. PREPARATION
BEFORE AN EMERGENCY
A. Communication
1. District
Employees
Teachers generally have the most direct
contact with students on a day-to-day basis. As a result, they must be aware of
their role in responding to crisis situations. This also applies to
non-teaching school personnel who have direct contact with students. All staff shall
be aware of the school district’s Crisis Management Policy and their own
building’s crisis management plan. Each school’s building-specific crisis
management plan shall include the method and dates of dissemination of the plan
to its staff. Employees will receive a copy of the relevant building-specific
crisis management plans and shall receive periodic training on plan
implementation.
2. Students
and Parents
Students and parents shall be made
aware of the school district’s Crisis Management Policy and relevant tailored
crisis management plans for each school building. Each school district’s
building-specific crisis management plan shall set forth how students and
parents are made aware of the district and school-specific plans. Students
shall receive specific instruction on plan implementation and shall participate
in a required number of drills and practice sessions throughout the school year.
B. Planning
and Preparing for Fire
1. Designate a safe area at least 50 feet away
from the building to enable students and staff to evacuate. The safe area
should not interfere with emergency responders or responding vehicles and
should not be in an area where evacuated persons are exposed to any products of
combustion. (Depending on the wind direction, where the building on fire
is located, the direction from which the fire is arriving, and the location of
fire equipment, the distance may need to be extended.)
2. Each
building’s facility diagram and site plan shall be available in appropriate
areas of the building and shall identify the most direct evacuation routes to
the designated safe areas both inside and outside of the building. The facility
diagram and site plan must identify the location of the fire alarm control panel,
fire alarms, fire extinguishers, hoses, water spigots, and utility shut offs.
3. Teachers
and staff will receive training on the location of the primary emergency
evacuation routes and alternate routes from various points in the building. During
fire drills, students and staff will practice evacuations using primary
evacuation routes and alternate routes.
4. Certain
employees, such as those who work in hazardous areas in the building, will receive
training on the locations and proper use of fire extinguishers and protective
clothing and equipment.
5. Fire drills will be conducted
periodically without warning at various times of the day and under different
circumstances, e.g., lunchtime, recess, and during assemblies. State law requires a minimum of five fire drills
each school year, consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 299F.30. See Minnesota
Statutes, section 121A.035.
6. A
record of fire drills conducted at the building will be maintained in the
building administrator’s office.
7. The
school district will have prearranged sites for emergency sheltering and transportation
as needed.
8. The school district will determine
which staff will remain in the building to perform essential functions if safe
to do so (e.g., switchboard, building engineer, etc.). The school district also
will designate an administrator or his or her designee to meet local fire or
law enforcement agents upon their arrival.
C. Facility
Diagrams and Site Plans
All school buildings will have a
facility diagram and site plan that includes the location of primary and
secondary evacuation routes, exits, designated safe areas inside and outside of
the building, and the location of fire alarm control panel, fire alarms, fire
extinguishers, hoses, water spigots, and utility shut offs. All facility
diagrams and site plans will be updated regularly and whenever a major change
is made to a building. Facility diagrams and site plans will be maintained by the
building administrator and will be easily accessible and on file in the school
district office. Facility diagrams and site plans will be provided to first
responders, such as fire and law enforcement personnel.
D. Emergency Telephone Numbers
Each building will maintain a current
list of emergency telephone numbers and the names and addresses of local,
county, and state personnel who may be involved in a crisis situation. The list
will include telephone numbers for local police, fire, ambulance, hospital, the
Poison Control Center, county and state emergency management agencies, local
public works departments, local utility companies, the public health nurse,
mental health/suicide hotlines, and the county welfare agency. A copy of this
list will be kept on file in the school district office, or at a secondary
location for single building school districts and will be updated annually.
School district employees will receive
training on how to make emergency contacts, including 911 calls, when the
school district’s main telephone number and location is electronically conveyed
to emergency personnel instead of the specific building in need of emergency
services.
School district plans will set forth a
process to internally communicate an emergency, using telephones in classrooms,
intercom systems, or two-way radios, as well as the procedure to enable the
staff to rapidly convey emergency information to a building designee. Each plan
will identify a primary and secondary method of communication for both internal
and secondary use. It is recommended that the plan include several methods of
communication because computers, intercoms, telephones, and cell phones may not
be operational or may be dangerous to use during an emergency.
E. Warning
and Notification Systems
The school district shall maintain a
warning system designed to inform students, staff, and visitors of a crisis or
emergency. This system shall be maintained on a regular basis under the
maintenance plan for all school buildings. The school district should consider an alternate
notification system to address the needs of staff and students with special
needs, such as vision or hearing.
The building administrator shall be
responsible for informing students and employees of the warning system and the
means by which the system is used to identify a specific crisis or emergency
situation. Each school’s building-specific crisis management plan will include
the method and frequency of dissemination of the warning system information to
students and employees.
F. Early
School Closure Procedures
The superintendent will make decisions
about closing school or buildings as early in the day as possible. The early
school closure procedures will set forth the criteria for early school closure
(e.g., weather-related, utility failure, or a crisis situation), will specify
how closure decisions will be communicated to staff, students, families, and
the school community (designated broadcast media, local authorities, e-mail, or
district or school building web sites), and will discuss the factors to be considered
in closing and reopening a school or building.
Early school closure procedures also
will include a reminder to parents and guardians to listen to designated local
radio and TV stations for school closing announcements, where possible.
G. Media Procedures
The superintendent has the authority
and discretion to notify parents or guardians and the school community in the
event of a crisis or early school closure. The superintendent will designate a
spokesperson who will notify the media in the event of a crisis or early school
closure. The spokesperson shall receive training to ensure that the district is
in strict compliance with federal and state law relative to the release of
private data when conveying information to the media.
H. Behavioral
Health Crisis Intervention Procedures
Short-term behavioral health crisis
intervention procedures will set forth the procedure for initiating behavioral
health crisis intervention plans. The procedures will utilize available
resources including the school psychologist, counselor, community behavioral
health crisis intervention, or others in the community. Counseling procedures
will be used whenever the superintendent or the building administrator
determines it to be necessary, such as after an assault, a hostage situation,
shooting, or suicide. The behavioral health crisis intervention procedures
shall include the following steps:
1. Administrator
will meet with relevant persons, including school psychologists and counselors,
to determine the level of intervention needed for students and staff.
2. Designate
specific rooms as private counseling areas.
3. Escort
siblings and close friends of any victims as well as others in need of
emotional support to the counseling areas.
4. Prohibit
media from interviewing or questioning students or staff.
5. Provide
follow-up services to students and staff who receive counseling.
6. Resume normal school routines as soon
as possible.
I. Long-Term Recovery Intervention
Procedures
Long-term recovery
intervention procedures may involve both short-term and long-term recovery
planning:
1. Physical/structural recovery.
2. Fiscal recovery.
3. Academic recovery.
4. Social/emotional recovery.
IV. ACTIVE
SHOOTER DRILL
A. Definitions
1. "Active
shooter drill" means an emergency preparedness drill designed to teach
students, teachers, school personnel, and staff how to respond in the event of
an armed intruder on campus or an armed assailant in the immediate vicinity of
the school. An active shooter drill is not an active shooter simulation, nor
may an active shooter drill include any sensorial components, activities, or
elements which mimic a real life shooting.
2. "Active
shooter simulation" means an emergency exercise including full-scale or
functional exercises, designed to teach adult school personnel and staff how to
respond in the event of an armed intruder on campus or an armed assailant in
the immediate vicinity of the school which also incorporates sensorial
components, activities, or elements mimicking a real life shooting. Activities
or elements mimicking a real life shooting include, but are not limited to,
simulation of tactical response by law enforcement. An active shooter
simulation is not an active shooter drill.
3. "Evidence-based" means a program or
practice that demonstrates any of the following:
a. a statistically significant effect on
relevant outcomes based on any of the following:
i. strong
evidence from one or more well designed and well implemented experimental
studies;
ii. moderate evidence from one or more well
designed and well implemented quasi-experimental studies; or
iii. promising evidence from one or more well
designed and well implemented correlational studies with statistical controls
for selection bias.
b. a rationale based on high-quality
research findings or positive evaluations that the program or practice is
likely to improve relevant outcomes, including the ongoing efforts to examine
the effects of the program or practice.
4. "Full-scale exercise" means an
operations-based exercise that is typically the most complex and
resource-intensive of the exercise types and often involves multiple agencies,
jurisdictions, organizations, and real-time movement of resources.
5. "Functional exercises" means an
operations-based exercise designed to assess and evaluate capabilities and
functions while in a realistic, real-time environment, however, movement of
resources is usually simulated.
B. Criteria
An active shooter drill
conducted according to Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.037 with students in
early childhood through grade 12 must be:
1. accessible;
2 developmentally appropriate and age appropriate, including
using appropriate safety language and vocabulary;
3. culturally aware;
4. trauma-informed; and
5. inclusive of accommodations for
students with mobility restrictions, sensory needs, developmental or physical
disabilities, mental health needs, and auditory or visual limitations.
C. Student Mental Health and Wellness
Active shooter drill protocols must include a
reasonable amount of time immediately following the drill for teachers to
debrief with their students. The opportunity to debrief must be provided to
students before regular classroom activity may resume. During the debrief
period, students must be allowed to access any mental health services available
on campus, including counselors, school psychologists, social workers, or
cultural liaisons. An active shooter drill must not be combined or conducted
consecutively with any other type of emergency preparedness drill. An active
shooter drill must be accompanied by an announcement prior to commencing. The
announcement must use concise and age-appropriate language and, at a minimum,
inform students there is no immediate danger to life and safety.
D. Notice
1. The school district must provide notice of a
pending active shooter drill to every student's parent or legal guardian before
an active shooter drill is conducted. Whenever practicable, notice must be
provided at least 24 hours in advance of a pending active shooter drill and
inform the parent or legal guardian of the right to opt their student out of
participating.
2. If a student is opted out of participating in an
active shooter drill, no negative consequence must impact the student's general
school attendance record nor may nonparticipation alone make a student
ineligible to participate in or attend school activities.
3. The Commissioner must ensure the availability of
alternative safety education for students who are opted out of participating or
otherwise exempted from an active shooter drill. Alternative safety education
must provide essential safety instruction through less sensorial safety
training methods and must be appropriate for students with mobility
restrictions, sensory needs, developmental or physical disabilities, mental
health needs, and auditory or visual limitations.
E. Participation
in Active Shooter Drills
Any student in early childhood through grade 12
must not be required to participate in an active shooter drill that does not
meet the Criteria set forth above.
F. Active Shooter Simulations
A student must not be required to participate in
an active shooter simulation. An active shooter simulation must not take place
during regular school hours if a majority of students are present, or expected
to be present, at the school. A parent or legal guardian of a student in grades
9 through 12 must have the opportunity to opt their student into participating
in an active shooter simulation.
G. Violence Prevention
1. A school district or charter school conducting an active shooter
drill must provide students in middle school and high school at least one hour,
or one standard class period, of violence prevention training annually.
2. The violence prevention training must be evidence-based and may be
delivered in-person, virtually, or digitally. Training must, at a minimum,
teach students the following:
a. how
to identify observable warning signs and signals of an individual who may be at
risk of harming oneself or others;
b. the
importance of taking threats seriously and seeking help; and
c. the
steps to report dangerous, violent, threatening, harmful, or potentially
harmful activity, including providing information about the Department of
Public Safety's statewide anonymous threat reporting system and any local
threat reporting systems.
3. A school district or charter school must ensure that students have the opportunity
to contribute to their school's safety and violence prevention planning,
aligned with the recommendations for multihazard
planning for schools, including but not limited to:
a. student opportunities for leadership related to prevention and safety;
b. encouragement and support to students in establishing clubs and programs
focused on safety; and
c. providing students with the opportunity to seek help from adults and to
learn about prevention connected to topics including bullying, sexual
harassment, sexual assault, and suicide.
H. Board Meeting
At a regularly scheduled school board meeting, a
school board of a district that has conducted an active shooter drill must
consider the following:
1. the
effect of active shooter drills on the safety of students and staff; and
2. the
effect of active shooter drills on the mental health and wellness of students
and staff.
V. SAMPLE
PROCEDURES INCLUDED IN THIS POLICY
Sample procedures for the various
hazards/emergencies listed below are attached to this Policy for use when
drafting specific crisis management plans. Additional sample procedures may be found in the Response
section of the Comprehensive School Safety Guide (2011 Edition). After
approval by the school board, an adopted procedure will become an addendum to
the Crisis Management Policy.
A. Fire
B. Hazardous
Materials
C. Severe
Weather: Tornado/Severe
Thunderstorm/Flooding
D. Medical
Emergency
E. Fight/Disturbance
F. Assault
G. Intruder
H. Weapons
I. Shooting
J. Hostage
K. Bomb
Threat
L. Chemical
or Biological Threat
M. Checklist
for Telephone Threats
N. Demonstration
O. Suicide
P. Lock-down
Procedures
Q. Shelter-In-Place
Procedures
R. Evacuation/Relocation
S. Media
Procedures
T. Post-Crisis
Procedures
U. School Emergency Response Team
V. Emergency
Phone Numbers
W. Highly
Contagious Serious Illness or Pandemic Flu
VI. MISCELLANEOUS
PROCEDURES
A. Chemical Accidents
Procedures for reporting chemical
accidents shall be posted at key locations such as chemistry labs, art rooms,
swimming pool areas, and janitorial closets.
B. Visitors
The school district shall implement
procedures mandating visitor sign in and visitors in school buildings. See
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 903 (Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites).
The school district shall implement
procedures to minimize outside entry into school buildings except at designated
check-in points and assure that all doors are locked prior to and after regular
building hours.
C. Student Victims of Criminal Offenses
at or on School Property
The school district shall establish
procedures allowing student victims of criminal offenses on school property the
opportunity to transfer to another school within the school district.
Legal References: Minn.
Stat. Ch. 12 (Emergency Management)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 12A (Natural Disaster; State Assistance)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.035 (Crisis
Management Policy)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.038 (Students Safe
at School)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.06 (Reports of
Dangerous Weapon Incidents in School
Zones)
Minn.
Stat. § 299F.30 (Fire Drill in School; Doors and Exits)
Minn. Stat. § 326B.02, Subd. 6 (Powers)
Minn. Stat. § 326B.106 (General Powers of Commissioner of
Labor and Industry)
Minn. Stat. § 609.605, Subd. 4
(Trespasses)
Minn. Rules Ch. 7511 (Fire Code)
20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq. (Title IX)
20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (Every Student Succeeds Act)
20 U.S.C. § 7912 (Unsafe School Choice
Option)
42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.
(Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance)
Cross References: MSBA/MASA Model
Policy 407 (Employee Right to Know – Exposure to
Hazardous Substances)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 413 (Harassment
and Violence)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 501 (School
Weapons Policy)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 506 (Student
Discipline)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 532 (Use of
Peace Officers and Crisis Teams to Remove Students with IEPs from School
Grounds)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 903 (Visitors to
School District Buildings and Sites
Comprehensive School Safety Guide
Minnesota School
Safety Center - Resources (mn.gov)
Resources: I Love U Guys
Foundation, Standard Response Protocol
https://iloveuguys.org/The-Standard-Response-Protocol.html (012325)
Safe and Sound Schools
https://safeandsoundschools.org/ (012325)