National Institute of Justice - 2014

“No single commonly accepted school safety model exists…”

National Clearinghouse for Education Statistics - 2009

“There are no nationally-adopted emergency management standards for schools…”

Partner Alliance for Safer Schools – Aug. 2023

“…you’re as keenly aware as we are that there are no national codes, regulations, rules or even guidelines for significant school incidents such as active shooters. And it’s probably occurred to all of us that since the United States implemented fire codes, there have been zero deaths from fires in schools.”

American Society of Civil Engineers

School Infrastructure Report Card “D+” – Public safety/resilience, capacity/condition, operations/maintenance.

Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy [HHS, DOJ and ED] - 2007

“Integrate comprehensive all-hazards emergency management planning for schools into overall local and state emergency planning.” “Communicate emergency management plans to all school officials, school service workers, parents, students, and first responders. Regularly practice and revise plans.”

SchoolSafety.gov [ED, DOJ, HHS and DHS]

“While there isn't a universal school safety plan, you can use the Safety Readiness Tool to get common actions that you should consider to create a safe school environment.” – Jul. 2023

Just a 10-question, multiple choice survey was provided with this quote.

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Department of Commerce May 2016, updated May 2021

“No objective, standard, science-based method exists that can assess resilience on a community scale." “…a community-centric science-based methodology, model, or decision-support tool to enhance community resilience is not available.”

“A holistic and community-based approach to school safety can empower everyone to take action and play a role in creating safer schools and communities.” – Aug. 2023

Only an infographic was provided with this quote and one-pagers with tips

The Honorable Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the FEMA – 2023

“Our mission has not changed, but our operating environment has. Emergency Managers – at every level of government – are being asked to do more, respond more, and solve more complex problems.” Between 2015 and 2021, FEMA experienced… “an unprecedented 346% increase in the number of days FEMA personnel were deployed to disaster operations annually”.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

"Public and private sectors must build intersections to protect communities, must have shared situational awareness, and the ability to synchronize efforts."

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments

“Research shows that when schools, parents, families, and communities work together, students: earn higher grades; attend school more regularly; stay in school; and, are more motivated.”

Sandy Hook Advisory Commission’s 2015 Final Report

Recommends changes to infrastructure in areas of: “design, operations, law enforcement, mental and behavioral health services, response and recovery tactics, and resiliency programs”.

MSDHS Public Safety Commission – 2022

“Florida schools lack an effective, consistent, highly functioning and sustainable threat management system in all 67 school districts. Today, we have 67 districts doing their own thing.”

M. Matranga, Former Exec. Dir. of Security & Safety, Texas City Independent School District

“…same tactics, techniques & procedures used over 30 years… frankly, they are not working. Those methods were developed for a different problem, in a different time period in history ”.

DHS’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

The Emergency Services Sector is charge with assuring continuity of operations for itself, and in large part, protecting the remaining 15 U.S. Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Yet, there is no organized, private sector program which proactively coordinates a unified effort to assist in critical infrastructure resilience and continuity of operations for the nation’s first responders. The lack of such a program “directly affects preparedness, planning, response, efficiency and effectiveness, and recovery”.

Report to Congress – Gov’t Accountability Office - 2018

Emergency Mgt.; Federal Gov’t Could Improve Dissemination of Resources to Colleges "There is currently no systematic way for federal agencies to share information about resources for college emergency preparedness."

Military Resources in Emergency Management FEMA IS-75 – May 2011

Emergency managers should have a basic understanding of military resources, capabilities and limitations. The role of the military should be considered in campus emergency and disaster plans, trainings and joint exercise programs.

School Safety Infrastructure Council

“State government… has not established uniform preventative school security design standards”.

RAND Corp. 2016 Report commissioned by NIJ

The Role of Technology in Improving K-12 School Safety

“All-in-one” applications were determined to be of highest priority by urban, suburban, and rural schools. Findings highlight that “fragmented”, outdated, school safety initiatives should be replaced.

Campus Safety Magazine – May 2023

How Universities Can Make ICS Work for Them, J. Sears, Dir. of EM & Public Safety, ISU

“NIMS and the ICS are not filled with common terminology. In fact, there are classes upon classes that individuals take to be able to ‘speak the language’.” Problems mentioned: difficult to teach, forced to rely on just-in-time training, plans that collect dust, unworkable forms, too many acronyms.

Campus Security & Life Safety - May 2023

Designing Safer Schools: Considerations for Increasing School Security, D. Bowman

“There is not yet a standardized code for building security…”

C. Fugate, Former FEMA Administrator & FL Div. of EM Director

“Growing strong working relationships between emergency managers and the private sector is a good business decision for everyone – it helps us (the Government) better serve survivors, rebuild our communities, and boost local economies.”

“The National Planning System does nothing but reiterate the content already provided in a six-year-old document, one has to question what purpose it really serves. This document has been in development for several years and has been much anticipated but it really adds nothing to the discussion around national planning. There is no attempt to integrate the various planning frameworks or various national plans into a cohesive framework. There is no mention of the relationship of response planning to continuity of operations planning. There is no theoretical basis for planning or planning methodology that builds on the vast amount of research done on planning. The document could easily have been produced six years ago and saved whatever it cost the government to develop it. While the document summarizes good, proven concepts it really does not present a true system. If you are familiar with CPG 101, you can probably give the National Planning System a pass.”

Disclaimer: The above agencies do not endorse any individual, enterprise, product, or service.

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