Comprehensive Safety Planning

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School Safety

A Comprehensive School Safety Plan outlines how a district or school is prepared to address the Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8) 5 Mission Areas: prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery from emergencies resulting from any and all threats and hazards.

RCW 28A.320.125 requires all school districts and schools in Washington state to have current comprehensive safe school plans, commonly referred to as Emergency Operation Plans (EOPs), and procedures in place. The legislation notes that coordinated plan development is essential to ensure the most effective response to any type of emergency situation.

Safety Planning Definitions

A Comprehensive School Safety Plan (CSSP)—often used interchangeably with a Safe School Plan—outlines how a school or district prepares for and responds to emergencies. It serves as a critical framework designed to identify and implement strategies ensuring safety compliance and mitigating risks associated with various threats and hazards.

CSSPs align with the Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8) 5 Mission Areas, which include:

Prevention: Measures taken to avoid, deter, or stop an incident from occurring.
Mitigation: Efforts to reduce the impact of potential emergencies.
Protection: Safeguarding students, staff, and facilities from threats.
Response: Actions taken during an emergency to ensure safety and limit damage.
Recovery: Steps to restore learning environments and school operations following an emergency.

These plans outline specific actions for students, teachers, and staff to take before, during, and after emergencies. They should be developed collaboratively with school personnel, emergency responders, and community partners, with regular reviews and updates to maintain effectiveness.

A Safe School Plan documents a school’s approach to safety, including:

Emergency procedures
Drills
Collaboration with first responders

Additional Key Definitions for Survey Guidance:

Comprehensive School Safety: A holistic approach to creating a safe and secure learning environment, addressing various threats and hazards such as natural disasters, human-caused incidents, health-related emergencies, and technological threats. It focuses on prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery strategies to ensure student and staff safety.
Emergency Operations Plan (EOP): A critical framework for schools to identify and implement strategies to maintain safety compliance. The EOP outlines specific actions students, teachers, and staff should take before, during, and after emergency events. It should be developed collaboratively with school personnel, emergency responders, and community partners and regularly reviewed and updated.
Safe School Plan: Often used interchangeably with "Comprehensive School Safety Plan", a Safe School Plan documents a school’s approach to safety, including emergency procedures, drills, threat assessments, and collaboration with first responders.
School Safety Policies: Guidelines and rules established by a school or district to maintain a secure environment. These policies cover physical security measures (e.g., access control, surveillance), behavioral expectations (e.g., anti-bullying, disciplinary procedures), emergency response procedures, staff and student training, and partnerships with law enforcement and emergency services.
Annexes: specific sections of the plan that outline detailed procedures and protocols for addressing specific functions or threats and hazards.
- Functional Annexes: Address specific functions (e.g., evacuation, lockdown, reunification) and provide detailed procedures for how to perform these functions during an emergency. Provide additional information or support that may be needed across multiple functions or during different types of incidents (e.g., family reunification, mental health support).
- Threat- or Hazard-Specific Annexes: Focus on specific threats or hazards (e.g., active shooter, natural disaster) and outline the unique response actions required for each scenario.

RCW Requirements

There are several specific requirements identified in the RCW 28A.320.12 5:

Incident Command System (ICS) certification for principals
Reference to all required safety policies and procedures
Addressing prevention, mitigation, protection, response, and recovery from known threats and hazards
Specified monthly drill exercise and documentation requirements,
A plan for student-family reunification
Guidelines for meetings with law enforcement and other 1st responders,
Assessment of all threats and hazards
Addressing the specific, special needs of students with disabilities and diverse language needs
Training on plans and procedures
Consideration of schools as community assets during emergency situations
An inventory of all hazardous materials on school grounds
Information on emergency supplies, communication, notification, and alert procedures
Transportation procedures in the event of an emergency
Annual review and update of the plan

RCW 28A.300.645 requires monitoring on a 5-year cycle, at minimum.

Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) Planning Process

EOP plans are developed, practiced, reviewed, and revised. As requirements change, the plan will also change. However, the process of developing and revising the plan will remain constant.

The process of developing EOPs follows two nationally recognized Federal planning guidelines:

Both were developed by partnering Federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

EOP Assist is a web-accessible software application for state agencies, school districts, and schools to host on their own servers. It guides planning team members through a process that will result in the creation of a safety plan built on Federal guidelines for developing a high-quality school EOP. All plans developed through this tool will be both customizable and downloadable.

REMS TA Center EOP Interactive Tools support individuals and planning teams at schools, school districts who are assessing their knowledge of concepts fundamental to emergency management, and in creating and evaluating emergency operations plans (EOPs).

Annex Planning

Topics to consider when you are planning the annexes of your EOP:

Reunification Planning

The sooner students are safely reunited with family or other caregivers, the less traumatic stress they are likely to experience. Reunification planning considers several factors. Each must be well-planned and shared with the school community, especially family members and caregivers.

Laws and Policies

Model policy and procedures are developed by the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) and made available to member districts to use in developing their district policies and procedures. Numbers may change across districts, however, sample policies and frequently used numbers include the following:

Topic	Frequently Used Policy/Procedure Numbers
Safe School Plans	3432/ 3432P
Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)	6580
Emergency Procedures	3432/ 3432P
Firearms and Weapons	3428/ 3428P
Gang Activity	3433/ 3433P
Gender Inclusive Schools	3211/ 3211P
HIB/Bullying	3207/ 3207P
Notification of Threats or Harm	4310/ 4310P
Notifications	3143/ 3143P
Restraint and Isolation	3246/ 3246P
Sexual Harassment	3208/ 3208P
SRO Program	4311
Threat Assessment	3225/ 3225P

Review the list of School Safety RCWs for schools and districts to consider and address in their EOP planning process.

Comprehensive School Safety Coordinators

In 2020, the legislature funded each of the nine educational service districts (ESD) to provide a network of support for school districts to develop and implement comprehensive suicide prevention and behavioral health supports for students and support for School-Based Threat Assessment Programs. The Comprehensive School Safety Coordinators (CSSC) was funded in 2021.

The CSSC is responsible for:

helping plan, coordinate, and deliver required training
providing technical assistance to school districts
developing collaborative relationships with community organizations, private schools, businesses, and others interested in supporting safe schools
and providing other services consistent with state and federal school safety requirements