NIMS Activity 26: PIO procedures during an incident
K-12 schools and IHEs ensure that public information procedures and processes can gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information during an incident/planned event.
COMMAND AND MANAGEMENT
Activity 26: Ensure PIO procedures can gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information during an incident or planned event.
K-12 schools and IHEs ensure that public information procedures and processes can gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information during an incident/planned event.
Association to NIMS
To support the NIMS, information is shared and used to provide and maintain a common operating picture among responders and to facilitate all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents and planned events. A comprehensive emergency management plan should provide procedures for gathering and or reporting information, coordinating among the command team and partners represented, as well for disseminating information.
Comprehensive communication planning identifies and outlines key personnel and their roles and responsibilities for supporting the incident command and communicating with each stakeholder. To support NIMS, communication planning will incorporate the needs of a variety of stakeholders including Federal, State, and local education agencies, response partners, the local emergency management authority and additional response partners, as well as the key members of the school and campus community such as students, staff and parents.
Implementation Guidance
Schools and IHEs should include communication policies and procedures in their comprehensive all-hazards plans. Plans should include procedure for gathering real-time accurate data necessary for decision-making as well as coordinating information to create a common operating picture, and a process for disseminating timely and accurate information to the educational community and greater public. Furthermore, schools can incorporate alert and notification activities in their plans that may be supported by systems, tools, templates.
Throughout, schools and IHE emergency management team should be thoughtful to uphold privacy laws and include assurances in the plan that are aligned with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The Department of Education offers resources on the Family Educational Rights and Protection Act (FERPA) through its Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO). It can be accessed at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/index.html. The office can also be reached at FERPA@ed.gov. Additionally, the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) also offers information and resources for schools and IHEs regarding HIPPA accessible at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/.
A school or IHE emergency management plan should address role of a PIO; develop processes and agreements; and coordinate with community partners about the release of information. This is especially important for large-scale incidents requiring support from community partners such as local emergency management authority, law enforcement, fire personnel, and emergency medical services. The background information and incident status information provided by the PIO to the incident commander will be instrumental, upon arrival of community responders and transfer of command, in the joint efforts to create a common operating picture.
In a joint response, the school, district, or IHE PIO would become a member of the command agency's Public Information System, providing support to the command agency's PIO. If the incident escalates and requires a multi-agency response that includes numerous community partners, a joint information center (JIC) would be established. Each participating agency PIO then becomes a member of the JIC, which is led by the command agency's PIO and IC.
Schools and IHEs should also develop plans and train the PIO on developing partnerships with the media and procedures for informing the public through the media. A plan combined with a cooperative relationship will facilitate effective dissemination of timely and accurate information necessary to support the response and the community. IMSI offers the "National Incident Management System (NIMS) Basic Guidance for Public Information Officers (PIOs)". at the NIMS Resource Center Web page accessible at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/AdditionalResources.shtm.
Activities demonstrating that schools and IHEs are ensuring public information procedures and processes can gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information during an incident/planned event include:
- Disseminating all pertinent information through the designated PIO;
- Creating their own information centers to execute predetermined processes and procedures for communication during and after a crisis;
- Creating processes for verifying, coordinating, and disseminating information during an incident;
- Detailing the management and coordination of publication information with community partners, the media, and the community, including parents, guardians and families; and
- Completing all applicable on-line Emergency Management Institute Independent Study courses.
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