In case of an emergency, the Superintendent/designee is authorized to close any school or all schools and to dismiss a school(s) before the regular daily dismissal hour. The principal may dismiss the school when the Superintendent or designee cannot be contacted and an extreme emergency exists endangering the health, safety, or welfare of students. Any such early dismissal made by the principal shall be reported immediately to the Superintendent’s office and the Chief of the Sarasota County Schools Police Department with a statement describing the reasons for early dismissal. Any emergency closing will be reported to the School Board as quickly as possible with the reasons therefore.

A. In a declared state of emergency, control of students shall be maintained by school personnel until these students are released from school or in the case of transported students until they depart from the school bus.

B. The principal shall cooperate with emergency preparedness authorities and the Sarasota County Schools Police Department during a natural or man-made disaster. In all emergency situations, the principal shall cooperate with the Sarasota County Schools Police Department and law enforcement authorities from the local jurisdiction.

C. One critical aspect of crisis response is accountable reunification of students with their parents or guardians in the event of a school crisis or emergency. Successful planning and implementation also demand partnerships with all responding agencies participating in crisis response. A predetermined, practiced reunification method ensures the reunification process will not further complicate what is probably already a chaotic, anxiety-filled scene.

D. The District will establish and train a district reunification team. This team will be comprised of staff from departments within the district and will be activated by the SCSPD Chief of Police, or designee, or by request of the Principal.

E. The District will not announce the location of the reunification site until after all able students have been delivered to the site and the Chief of Police or designee determines it is safe to do so.

The Principal shall appoint members of their staff to the Emergency Response Team (ERT). This team will be assigned and trained to respond to critical events at the school. This ERT will be responsible for school-site Reunification and establish the following:

1. Establish a parent check-in location.

a) Greeters will greet parents, show them the process, and direct them to the Checkers.

b) Checkers verify ID through their ID and SIS

c) Parents complete reunification cards.

2. Establish a student staging area. This area is not in the same location as the check-in

a) This area is out of sight of parents and is out of sight of the check-in area.

b) Reunifier recovers students from the staging area and delivers them to the reunification site. The reunification site must be located away from and out of sight of the parent check-in area.

c) Designated teachers are to remain in the student assembly area to manage students

d) Students are reunified with parents/guardians after all information is verified

3. Counselors should be available and in a private area out of sight of students and parents. For parents who cannot be reunified with their student.

F. Offsite reunification will follow the same procedures as above but require staff to be assigned to the following jobs.

1. The Principal Transportation Team:

a) Assemble a master student roster, teacher roster, and guest roster

b) Account for students on their assigned bus and deliver students to the student staging area.

2. The district reunification coordinator will assist in the identification of a reunification site

3. The Director of Transportation or their designee will provide transport of students and staff to the reunification site.

4. The Principal will assign a staff member to track students and staff being taken to medical facilities.

5. Reunification Team, have roles already assigned (same as onsite)

6. Proceed to location and prepare for student, staff, and parent arrival

7. District teams will be in-route to assist.

G. RECOVERY PHASE:

Recovery starts when the crisis begins. Actions taken during the Recovery Phase may be initiated because of the serious injury or death of a student/staff member whether naturally or prematurely, violently or accidentally, on-campus or off- campus. The District and schools will activate designated Emergency Response Teams.

1. Designate members of your staff as members of the school-based ERT who have leadership abilities and react with calm assurance in the face of a crisis.

2. The members should be faculty/staff who know and relate well to the students and have the students’ respect.

3. The school should include a school counselor, psychologist, or social worker on the ERT who has been trained in post-crisis intervention.

4. Other members may include coaches, social workers, and family resource coordinators.

5. School-Based ERT roles include the following:

a) Leader/Coordinator – coordinates the school’s crisis response team activities, in conjunction with the principal.

b) Family Liaison – opens communication between the family and the school; also, provides support to the family, advising them of school and district procedures.

c) Phone Tree Coordinator – establishes and disseminates contact information to mobilize the school’s crisis response team in the event of a crisis

d) Support Services Coordinator – assesses and coordinates additional resources

e) School Counselor, Psychologist or Social Worker - provides support to those in need

f) Roamers – members of the crisis response team or staff appointed on the day of the crisis to assist the crisis response team by being visible and available to students

6. Establish a crisis response action plan with activities, contact information, sample letters to parents/guardians, and staff, and checklists.