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Board hears first reading of new school emergency operations plans and standard response protocol
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Jen Bookout presented a first reading of updated district emergency operations plans: four school-specific plans, adoption of the state's Standard Response Protocol terms, a wireless-device policy for emergencies, reunification procedures, and a new cardiac response plan.
The Milan Area Schools Board of Education received a first reading on June 3 of revised Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) that administration said align with new state requirements and recent best practices.
Assistant Superintendent Jen Bookout told trustees the district moved from a single districtwide plan to four school-specific plans so building-level details (facility maps, evacuation routes, command structure and utility-shutoff instructions) are clearer for first responders. “We moved from one single districtwide plan to four school specific plans,” Bookout said, adding that roughly 85% of the plans are consistent districtwide but that facility specifics and special-needs considerations vary by building.
Bookout explained the plans adopt the State’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP) language required beginning July 1: Hold (keep students in classrooms), Secure (lock exterior doors while operations continue inside), Lockdown (full classroom lockdown), Evacuate (move to different location or leave the building) and Shelter (shelter in place for weather or environmental hazard). She also described a newly required wireless-device protocol that defines appropriate student and staff cell-phone use during emergency responses and a written reunification plan for situations where the district must evacuate to off-site locations.
Bookout highlighted an added cardiac emergency response program that includes AED placement, staff training and building drills; she said drills already conducted this year allow staff to respond within one to three minutes to cardiac incidents. The plans have been shared with local public-safety partners (city police, fire, county sheriff and emergency manager); the county emergency manager provided feedback and indicated the plans were “very comprehensive.”
Superintendent McMahon said the EOPs will be brought to the board for approval at the next meeting and that administration will train staff, students and families on the new SRP language and related protocols over the summer.
No vote was taken; Bookout and administration said the board will consider formal approval at its July meeting.
