Pandemic Preparedness for Schools

NEW! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been working closely with the Department of Education (ED) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Officials to develop new guidance for Child Care Programs, Schools, Colleges, and Universities as we plan for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

The recently updated Federal guidelines to schools offer state and local public health and school officials as well as child care providers a range of options for responding to 2009 H1N1 influenza in school and child care settings, depending on how severe the flu may be in their communities. The guidance says officials should balance the risk of flu in their communities with the disruption, potential safety risks, and other consequences that dismissals could cause in education and the wider community.

The guidance activities are part of a broader national framework to respond to novel H1N1 influenza, which includes encouraging people to be vaccinated against the virus and to take other actions to avoid infection. The current guidance documents are designed to decrease exposure to regular seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu while limiting the disruption of day-to-day activities and the vital learning that goes on in schools. Each set of guidance recommends measures to be taken under conditions with similar severity as in spring, 2009 as well as conditions with increased severity compared to spring, 2009.

The Departments of Education (ED), Homeland Security (DHS), and Health and Human Services (HHS) and CDC will continue to monitor the situation and update the community as more information is obtained on H1N1. CDC, ED, HHS, and DHS announced new guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) August 20th and for K-12 schools August 7th. Guidance for child care settings is forth coming.

See the Key Policy Letters Signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary, June 11, 2009: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/090611.html

Latest CDC Guidance Documents

Resource Information on H1N1 Flu Outbreak, 2009

Additional H1N1 guidance and resources for K-12 schools, higher education institutions, preschools and child care programs are presented at ED.gov, Flu.gov and CDC Web sites as well as the REMS TA Center Web Site:

U.S. Department of Education Information and Resources for School Officials

Flu.gov Information and Resources

Additional CDC Guidance, Information, and Resources for Flu.gov

US Department Agriculture

U.S. Dept. of Education Provides Technical Assistance for State Pandemic Planning

Business Not as Usual: Preparing for Pandemic Influenza  [PDF, 4.4 MB]

Emergency Support Function Annexes (Pandemic Handout)  [PDF, 16 KB]

Dana Carr, Director, Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health and Physical Education Programs, OSDFS, U.S. Department of Education, and Pegi McEvoy, Director, Safety and Security Department, Seattle Public Schools (WA), presented Pandemic 101 for participants to gain a better understanding of pandemic influenza and response considerations for schools. Ms. Carr and Ms. McEvoy walked participants through a pandemic influenza plan and important factors for schools to consider in their pandemic planning efforts.

The session also incorporated the video, Business Not As Usual: Preparing for a Pandemic Flu, which was developed by Seattle King County Public Health Department, into the session. Grantees viewed portions of the video and then worked in small groups to identify issues that might affect their district. The video is designed to assist pandemic flu planning efforts for businesses, government agencies and community-based organizations and serves as a useful tool for school districts as well. The video is divided into six sections: 1) Introduction to pandemic flu; 2) Life during a pandemic; 3) Social distancing; 4) Creating a plan; 5) Benefits of planning; and 6) Recovering from a pandemic. Leaders from a variety of organizations, non-profits and service industries are profiled as they prepare for the consequences of an influenza pandemic.

Over the last few years, states have been developing plans to address a potential influenza pandemic.

In response to the need for better Federal guidance, the Department of Education delineated a set of minimum considerations for states to include in their pandemic plans. The guidance is geared to possible responsibilities for the state educational agency. However, not all elements will be applicable to the state-level, as the local educational agency may have responsibility for some or all of the elements. This guidance can be found at: www.pandemicflu.gov/news/guidance031108.pdf [PDF 1.5MB]
(Student dismissal/school closure guidance is Appendix B.4, beginning on page 70)

For additional questions on the guidance, please contact Dana Carr (dana.carr@ed.gov).

There are two additional opportunities for more technical assistance on state-level pandemic planning: a video teleconference and a web cast series.

HHS Web Cast Series for Pandemic Planners
The Department of Health and Human Services hosted a series of three web seminars ("webinars") to help state planners in the next round of pandemic influenza planning. The web cast series gave an overview of the guidance and specific content areas and provided an opportunity for a live question-and-answer session with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and Department of Education.

Archives of the webinars can be found at: www.pandemicflu.gov/news/panflu_webinar.html

The third webinar in the series focused on issues related to school closure and student dismissal, including workforce challenges and the potential for providing school meals to students. The archive of this webinar can be found at: www.pandemicflu.gov/news/panflu_webinar3.html

Sample Pandemic Plans for Schools
The Department of Education has gathered information on state and local pandemic planning efforts to help others begin or refine their pandemic influenza plans. After examining plans and information from school districts across the country, a panel of experts in the field of emergency management identified the following as examples of strong planning efforts or useful resources. As with all emergency management plans, these plans and efforts are works in progress. As new information emerges, we will provide additional sample plans and resources on this page.

2007 Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Conference
The 2007 Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) National Conference, Celebrating 20 years of Collaboration To Make Schools Safe, Healthy, and Drug Free: Reflecting on the Past and Looking Ahead, brought together leaders at the national, regional, and local levels, including experts from various fields of health, education, mental health, substance abuse prevention, and violence prevention. The purpose of this conference was to reflect on events over the past 20 years that have impacted the OSDFS mission, and set goals for the future. Following is a description of information provided during three different conference sessions: Emergency Management for Schools Training, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Emergency Response and Crisis Management (ERCM) Final Grantee Meeting, and Planning for a Pandemic: An Interactive Session.

1. School District (K-12) Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist available at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/schoolchecklist.html
2. U.S. Department of Education's Pandemic Planning Web site available at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/index.html
3. The Federal government's one-stop access point for all federal information related to pandemic and avian flu is available at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/. The site also includes comprehensive information for community planning.
4. "Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States-Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions" by the Centers for Disease Control is available at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/community_mitigation.pdf.
5. The Center for Law and the Public's Health presented its findings from a Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-funded project, "Assessing Legal Preparedness for School Closure in Response to Pandemic Flu or other Emergencies," at the 2007 Public Health Preparedness Summit. For more information, including a link to the Center's Power Point presentation, please visit http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/school/schoolclosures.pdf.
6. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a "HHS Issues Interim Guidance for the Use of Facemasks and Respirators in Public Settings During an Influenza Pandemic." The CDC makes numerous recommendations for using facemasks in combination with other protective strategies (i.e., hand washing) to minimize the spread of germs during. See the full press release and additional resources for pandemic influenza planning at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/05/pr20070503a.html.

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