2009 REMS Grant Application Deadline: April 14

The REMS grant competition is designed to provide resources to school districts to increase local capacity and to institute a sustainable emergency management program

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant competition is designed to provide resources to school districts to increase local capacity and to institute a sustainable emergency management program that can be maintained by district staff after the period of Federal funding. 

Timeline

Families trust schools to keep their children safe during the day. Thanks to the efforts of millions of teachers, principals, and students across the country, the majority of schools remain a safe haven for our nation’s youth. The unfortunate reality is, however, that at some point many school districts in this country will be touched either directly or indirectly by an emergency or crisis of some kind.  

The creation and maintenance of a safe school environment is an issue of national concern. Recent events that have occurred in, or around, schools have made it clear that schools must be prepared to respond to multiple hazards.  Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and tornadoes, can strike a community with little or no warning.  School shootings, threatened or actual, are extremely rare, but are traumatizing when they do occur. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita reinforce the need for schools and communities to plan for natural crises and emergencies, as well as other catastrophic events. In addition, recent events and science demonstrate that schools and communities also need to take chemical/biological hazards, as well as potential public health emergencies, into account in their planning process. While studies show that schools are the safest places for children to be during the morning and afternoon hours, schools and communities must take steps to continually review and enhance their level of preparedness for potential emergencies.   

In recent years, the nation’s schools have placed an increased emphasis on developing strong written emergency management plans based upon the framework of the four phases of emergency management – Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.  However, because emergency management is a continuous process, it is important for schools to recognize that emergency management efforts are not “one-time” activities.  Rather, they are long-term efforts that need to be maintained on a regular basis.  A key aspect to ensuring sustainability of the emergency management process is the development of local school district capacity to implement all aspects of emergency management, including conducting vulnerability assessments, developing and updating written emergency management procedures, training staff, and conducting drills and exercises. 

The REMS grant competition is designed to provide resources to school districts to increase local capacity and to institute a sustainable emergency management program that can be maintained by district staff after the period of Federal funding.  In developing project activities, districts should consider what foundational components are needed to provide staff with the requisite skills and knowledge to carry out key emergency management tasks, such as conducting vulnerability assessments; implementing the National Incident Management System (NIMS); and planning, conducting, and evaluating emergency drills and exercises.    

Developing a sustainable emergency management process should not be accomplished in isolation.  As districts work toward increasing staff capacity, they are strongly encouraged to utilize and leverage the expertise of local community partners including local government, law enforcement, public safety and/or emergency management, public health, and mental health.  For example, school districts can work with their local emergency management agency for training on conducting drills and exercises.  They may also work with their local public health department to develop biohazard and infectious disease plans, conduct trainings, and establish prevention protocols.  By working with community partners and establishing strong and reciprocal relationships, communities will see increased benefits from local emergency planning efforts.    

Developing effective protocols and procedures that will assist school districts in sustaining emergency management efforts should also be completed in coordination with local community partners.  These plans should include clearly defined roles and responsibilities based upon the Incident Command System and should be shared with all relevant stakeholders before a crisis occurs.   

In developing emergency management plans, it is also important to consider the particular vulnerabilities a district or individual school may face.  Conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments—of school buildings, grounds, and school cultures and climates—is an important first step in developing emergency management plans.  For example, are schools located near a chemical plant or a military base?  Are schools’ physical plants able to withstand natural disasters a region may encounter?  In addressing these, and all other potential vulnerabilities, it is important to ensure that emergency management plans are coordinated with State and local emergency procedures. To ensure that protocols are consistent with the expectations of local emergency responders, schools should familiarize themselves with the four recognized phases of emergency management and build these into their plans:  

Prevention-Mitigation:  Prevention is the actions(s) schools and districts take to decrease the likelihood that an event or crisis will occur.  Mitigation is the action(s) schools and districts take to eliminate or reduce the loss of life and property damage related to an event(s) that cannot be prevented.   

Preparedness:  Preparedness includes actions designed to prepare the school community for potential emergencies by coordinating with community partners through the development of policies and protocols, incident command systems, training, and exercises.   

Response:  Response is taking action to effectively contain and resolve an emergency.  

Recovery:   Recovery includes actions designed to assist students, staff, and their families in the healing process and to restore education operations in schools.   

Plans that are developed to include these four phases should be reviewed and updated on a continuous basis.  Moreover, each phase should be seen as being interrelated and as an extension of the others.  For example, when creating school emergency management teams during the Preparedness phase, school officials should consider the role that the team member will play during the Response phase.   

In the event of an emergency, schools must also be prepared to communicate information to parents and guardians quickly and efficiently.  Developing protocols and expectations for parents and guardians in advance may eliminate some of the chaos that can occur during, and after, an emergency.  Schools should pay careful attention to parent and guardian/child reunification plans and test these procedures with drills and exercises.  In addition, emergency management plans must consider the specific needs of all populations – particularly students and staff with disabilities or special needs and parents and students whose first language is other than English. 

A REMS grant will enable school districts to create, strengthen, or improve emergency management procedures and increase local capacity to sustain these efforts to include:   

1. Addressing and incorporating all four phases of emergency management – Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery in emergency management plans at the district and school-building levels;
2. Developing agreements to coordinate the strengthening and improvement of emergency management efforts among education, local government, law enforcement, public safety and emergency management, public health, and mental health;
3. Coordinating with State or local Homeland Security Plans;
4. Supporting the National Incident Management System (NIMS);
5. Establishing comprehensive emergency management plans based on an all-hazards approach;
6. Garnering support from top leadership within the district;
7. Identifying pre-established roles for faculty, staff, parents, students and first responders;
8. Developing sustainable training programs, such as train-the-trainer programs and trainings on electronic media, for staff, teachers, and incident management team members;
9. Conducting emergency drills and exercises for staff and students;
10. Reviewing and revising emergency management plans to reflect what works, what does not, and to address emerging crises;
11. Developing an emergency management plan that does not leave any child (or adult) behind—addressing the needs of all populations, including students and staff with disabilities and special needs;
12. Developing a plan that addresses infectious diseases, including pandemic flu;
13. Developing a plan that addresses food defense and is designed to safeguard school food supplies; and
14. Purchasing emergency equipment and technology (but not as a majority of the requested funding).