Ensuring the Safe Evacuation of all Students, Staff, and Visitors
Many questions may arise about evacuation during emergency management planning team meetings and whole community discussions. When and how to evacuate is a common concern for the whole school community, including students, staff, visitors, families, and community partners. This includes, but is not limited to, questions related to how to evacuate individuals with limited mobility, how procedures change depending on the type of threat or hazard, and where to move students, staff, and visitors when routes are unstable. Education agencies should consider these questions and others when developing an Evacuation Annex as a part of their emergency operations plans (EOPs). An Evacuation Annex outlines roles and responsibilities, and courses of action for everyone involved in the process. Maximizing the strength of an education agency’s plans for evacuation is an important part of the work that emergency management teams do at the K-12 and higher ed levels to ensure that loss of life during any emergency is minimized.
What’s on this page?
Resources from the REMS TA Center, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal agency partners on the topic of evacuation within K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. They are organized based on the before, during, and after phases used to comprehensively manage emergencies.
Before
- Alternating Evacuation Site Locations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Clarifying Responsibilities for Evacuation of Students From Multiple Districts Attending a Shared School Location, Federal Emergency Management Agency (K-12)
- Emergency “Go-Kits” (Helpful Hints Volume 1, Issue 1), REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People With Disabilities, National Fire Protection Association (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Emergency Evacuations: Planning for the Whole School Community Webinar, REMS TA Center and U.S. Department of Education with Office of Special Education Programs, National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Oregon (K-12)
- Evacuation Planning Guide for Stadiums, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Evacuations Community of Practice Forum, REMS TA Center (K-12)
- An Example of a Course of Action Addressing the Function of Evacuation, REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Guidance on Fire Emergency Procedures for Emergency Stair Travel Devices, National Institute of Standards and Technology (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Identifying On-Campus Sheltering Facilities for Students From Other Schools, Federal Emergency Management Agency (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning Tool for School Students With Disabilities, National Fire Protection Association (K-12)
- School Emergency Supplies: Possible Supply Items for Consideration, REMS TA Center (K-12)
During
- Evacuating the School Bus Training Instructions, Federal Emergency Management Agency (K-12)
- Evacuating the School Bus Training Presentation, Federal Emergency Management Agency (K-12)
- Evacuation Assembly Areas Video, American Red Cross (K-12 and Higher ed)
- An Example of a Course of Action Addressing the Function of Evacuation, REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Responding to and Recovering From an Active Shooter Incident That Turns Into a Hostage Situation (Lessons Learned Volume 2, Issue 6), REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Tips for Evacuating Vulnerable Populations, Florida Division of Emergency Management (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Using Absolute Enrollment Numbers When Requesting Transportation Assets, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Using Highways During Evacuation Operations for Events With Advance Notice, Federal Highway Administration (K-12 and Higher ed)