Fast Facts: Written plans for emergency scenarios (954)

Written plans for emergency scenarios

Question:
How many schools have written plans for emergency scenarios, such as a pandemic disease?

Response:

Schools use a variety of practices and procedures to promote the safety of students, faculty, and staff.¹ The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) collects data on school safety and security practices by asking public school principals about their school’s use of safety and security measures,² as well as whether their school had written procedures for responding to selected scenarios and whether it had emergency drills for students.

In 2021–22, more than 90 percent of public schools had a written plan for procedures to be performed in the event of each of the following scenarios:

active shooter (96 percent)
natural disasters³ (96 percent)
suicide threat or incident (94 percent)
pandemic disease (92 percent)
bomb threats or incidents (92 percent)

From 2009–10 to 2021–22, the percentage of schools that had written plans increased for active shooter scenarios (from 84 to 96 percent) and suicide threats or incidents (from 75 to 94 percent). There was no consistent trend in the percentage of public schools that had a written plan for pandemic disease from 2009–10 to 2021–22, but the percentage was higher in 2021–22 (92 percent) than in 2019–20 (52 percent), the first school year impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.^4,5

In 2021–22, schools were also asked whether they had drilled students during the current school year on the use of selected emergency procedures. About 96 percent of public schools had drilled students on a lockdown procedure,⁶ 93 percent had drilled students on a shelter-in-place procedure,⁷ and 93 percent had drilled students on an evacuation procedure.⁸

¹ For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Condition of Education Reader’s Guide.
² In addition to data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this Fast Fact uses 2013–14 data from the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) for select trend analyses. The 2013–14 FRSS survey was designed to allow comparisons with SSOCS data. However, the mode of the 2013–14 FRSS survey differed from that of SSOCS, which evolved over time. Specifically, all respondents to the 2013–14 survey could choose either to complete the survey on paper (and mail it back) or to complete the survey online. All respondents to SSOCS had only the option of completing a paper survey prior to 2017–18. In 2017–18, SSOCS experimented with offering an online option to some respondents. In 2019–20 and 2021–22, SSOCS switched to using primarily an online survey instrument. The 2013–14 FRSS survey also relied on a smaller sample than SSOCS. The FRSS survey’s smaller sample size and difference in survey administration may have impacted the 2013–14 results.
³ For example, earthquakes or tornadoes.
⁴ Prior to 2017–18, respondents were asked if they had a written plan that describes procedures to be performed in the event of a “pandemic flu.” In 2017–18 and 2019–20, respondents were asked if they had a written plan that describes procedures to be performed in the event of a “pandemic disease.” In 2021–22, respondents were asked if they had a “formal plan in place to prepare for and respond to multi-country or worldwide pandemic diseases (such as the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19).”
⁵ The coronavirus pandemic affected the 2019–20 data collection activities. The change to virtual schooling and the adjusted school year may have impacted the data collected by the School Survey on Crime and Safety. Readers should use caution when comparing 2019–20 estimates with those from other years. For more information, see Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools in 2019–20: Findings From the School Survey on Crime and Safety (NCES 2022-029).
⁶ Defined for respondents as “a procedure that involves securing school buildings and grounds during incidents that pose an immediate threat of violence in or around the school.”
⁷ Defined for respondents as “a procedure that requires all students and staff to remain indoors because it is safer inside the building or a room than outside. Depending on the threat or hazard, students and staff may be required to move to rooms that can be sealed (such as in the event of a chemical or biological hazard) or that are without windows, or to a weather shelter (such as in the event of a tornado).”
⁸ Defined for respondents as “a procedure that requires all students and staff to leave the building. The evacuation plan may encompass relocation procedures and include backup buildings to serve as emergency shelters. Evacuation also includes ‘reverse evacuation,’ a procedure for schools to return students to the building quickly if an incident occurs while students are outside.”

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Safety and Security Practices at Public Schools. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a19/school-reported-safety-practices.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 233.65. % of public schools w/ a written plan for procedures to be performed in selected scenarios and % that have drilled students on the use of selected emergency procedures, by selected school characteristics: Selected years, 2003–04 through 2021–22

Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)