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FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Scope
Intent
Development
Requirements
Resources
Glossary

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Statewide Policy for Strengthening Domestic Security

in Florida’s Public Schools

Approval Date: October 10, 2003

(Modified by NIMS Policy Project Final Report February 28, 2006)

Scope

Florida public schools have not been targeted to date, nor are there any known, direct

and credible threats against any potential target in Florida. However, schools are

included in the Florida Domestic Security Strategy, which is a comprehensive approach

to ensuring that Florida will address all known vulnerabilities, providing a level of

certainty that, given the nature of the possible target and its potential vulnerability, it has

taken every prudent step to limit that vulnerability consistent with the value of the

potential target.

Intent

The intent of this policy is to:

•

Capitalize

current

school protection measures;

•

Provide policy guidance to school districts in terms of terrorism protection

procedures and training focused on deterrence; and

•

Explore infrastructure enhancements and policy guidance for infrastructure.

This policy is not intended to be exhaustive or to supercede federal, state, or local

statutes or regulations.

Purpose of Policy

The purpose of this policy is to help Florida’s public schools prevent, prepare for,

and respond to possible terrorist attacks.

Development

During fiscal year 2002-2003, Florida school district superintendents or designated

staff members met with representatives from 1) the Florida Department of

Education, 2) the Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Forces Education Sub-

Committees, and 3) the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Office of Domestic

Security, to develop this statewide policy. In addition, the policy was reviewed and

approved by the Florida Domestic Security Oversight Board.

During fiscal year 2005-2006, the policy was revisited to address compliance with

the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Representatives from the

Florida Department of Education, the Florida Regional Domestic Security Task

Forces Education Sub-Committees, and a variety of school districts convened to

provide input.

Requirements

The following list of policy requirements is provided in priority order and covers the

six major elements of domestic security.

1. ACCESS CONTROL

Control access to and enhance security of school campuses and transportation by:

♦

Establishing single points of entry (reduce access points);

♦

Integrating fencing into the design of school campuses;

♦

Integrating vehicle standoff barriers on school campuses;

♦

Integrating appropriate locking systems;

♦

Restricting access to ventilation system intakes;

♦

Reassigning plainclothes officers to uniforms in order to enhance visibility and

coverage of vulnerable areas;

♦

Providing uniformed school resource/security officers as a preventative measure;

♦

Maintaining a ratio of one school resource officer to 1,500 students, including

elementary schools, consistent with school resources and in consultation with

local law enforcement;

♦

Enhancing police patrol of campus during peak times of traffic and activity; at a

minimum, at all schools that lack school resource officers; and at all schools

during increased security level alerts;

♦

Providing marked patrol cars for school district police/security personnel;

♦

Establishing visitor control (i.e., sign-in requirement, screening, badging, etc.);

♦

Installing visitor screening and tracking systems for photo identification and

fingerprint verification, as appropriate (follow best practice standards);

♦

Establishing staff and student verification (identification and accountability)

procedures (follow best practices standards);

♦

Ensuring personnel are highly visible at non-classroom settings;

♦

Reviewing employee screening procedures;

♦

Recommending common background check policy for volunteers, mentors, and

service personnel, to include fingerprint-based state and national criminal history

checks, along with checks through local law enforcement (follow best practices

standards);

♦

Controlling bus embarkation and debarkation;

♦

Inspecting buses each morning;

♦

Providing a secure facility for unattended buses;

♦

Inspecting school grounds daily for possible suspicious persons, objects,

behavior, or activities;

♦

Increasing physical checks of critical operations equipment on campus during

periods of increased alert (i.e., mechanical room, etc.); and

♦

Maintaining safe mail handling procedures.

2. EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT

Ensure availability and operability of emergency equipment and supplies by:

♦

Providing personal protective equipment to school-based law enforcement

personnel;

♦

Ensuring primary and back-up communications connectivity between first

responders and school/district personnel; and

♦

Ensuring emergency supplies and equipment are available, operational, current

on shelf-life, and appropriate for specific school campus, with considerations to

access and location issues; presence of an emergency shelter facility; contract

supplier vs. stockpiles; as well as school kits for emergency use with suggested

inventories specific to school site and size of student population.

3. TRAINING

Provide training to school personnel, students and state and local partners by:

♦

Conducting a standard Weapons of Mass Destruction course for first responders

for school districts;

♦

Conducting table-top exercises for administrators and district-level staff, and

practical exercises for schools;

♦

Conducting domestic security drills in addition to required fire drills, specific to

age group and school needs;

♦

Training school personnel to recognize potential hazards and to respond

appropriately (common responses include evacuation, lockdown, and shelter-in-

place);

♦

Providing security training to school bus drivers and school personnel; and

♦

Providing safe mail handling training to appropriate personnel.

4. COMMUNICATION AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES

Ensure external communication and notification procedures are developed and

implemented by:

♦

Providing ThreatCom access for appropriate school district staff with proper

access level;

♦

Establishing and sharing parent communication procedures;

♦

Establishing communication procedures to notify parents of possible or actual

terrorist or emergency incident (before and during an emergency);

♦

Informing students and parents of district’s policy regarding National Domestic

Security Alert levels (red, orange, etc.);

♦

Reviewing school and district websites to ensure that sensitive information such

as security plans and procedures, detailed school floor plans, etc. is not included

with general public information;

♦

Establishing procedures to communicate with the media during incident; and

♦

Following best practices standards.

5. COORDINATION WITH PARTNERS

Ensure coordination with state and local partners by:

♦

Developing a close working relationship with local law enforcement and

emergency responders from all disciplines and the County Emergency

Operations Center; and

♦

Providing Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) representation for

planning and policy.

6. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

Conduct vulnerability assessment and establish standards by:

♦

Establishing core recommendations for critical areas;

♦

Tailoring assessment to each school;

♦

Coordinating with RDSTF for vulnerability assessment tools and standards;

♦

Providing guidance of what to look for;

♦

Providing guidance for individual solutions;

♦

Establishing statewide best practices standards; and

♦

Developing policies specific to school-level needs; i.e., elementary, middle, high

and alternative education schools and vocational technical schools.

7. NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NIMS) COMPLIANCE

Ensure compliance with NIMS requirements by:

♦

Incorporating NIMS protocols and Incident Command System (ICS) procedures

into emergency plans; ensuring all emergency plans are consistent with NIMS

terminology in accordance with applicable state and county emergency

management protocols;

♦

Coordinating plan modifications with appropriate county emergency management

officials;

♦

Ensuring that staff assigned as members of the school district’s incident

command element, such as Incident Commander, Operations Chief, Planning

Chief, Logistics Chief, Finance Chief, Intelligence Officer, Public Information

Officer, Safety Officer, or Liaison Officer and their assigned alternates as well as

any other key emergency responsibilities complete the IS-100

(Introduction to

ICS)

and IS 700

(NIMS-An Introduction)

courses

♦

Considering the adoption of IS-100

(Introduction to ICS)

and IS-700

(NIMS-An

Introduction)

courses as the minimum standard maintained for school principals

and their crisis management team members, as appropriate;

♦

Administering and maintaining additional training courses, per federal compliance

guidelines, for those persons designated as members of an incident command

element (such as a school district police department or county emergency

operations center), according to specific institutional policy. This requirement is

also applicable to all persons with emergency responsibilities;

♦

Developing school district policies for the institution and maintenance of NIMS

training.

8. NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NIMS) CERTIFICATION

♦

In order to ensure the maximum availability of funding of Florida school districts

for U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding, the Florida Department of

Education will participate in a process of NIMS compliance and certification with

the Florida Division of Emergency Management and county-level emergency

management organizations.

♦

Districts shall coordinate plans and training with appropriate level County

Emergency Management Officials for verification as NIMS-compliant in

accordance with Florida Department of Education statewide standards.

♦

School districts shall request a letter from their County Emergency Management

agency to the Florida Division of Emergency Management indicating compliance

with NIMS requirements.

♦

Upon notification by letter from the Florida Division of Emergency Management,

the Commissioner of Education will provide a letter of certification to individual

school districts noting the approval of the Florida Division of Emergency

Management and the appropriate county.

Resources

“Advice for Safeguarding Buildings Against Chemical or Biological Attack,” Lawrence

Berkeley National Laboratory, Indoor Environmental Department

•

http://securebuildings.lbl.gov/

Mail Handling Procedures:

• U.S. Postal Service http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/pr01_1010tips.htm

Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Forces

•

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/osi/DomesticSecurity/Regionalcontacts.htm

Personnel Background Check information:

• Florida Department of Law Enforcement www.fdle.state.fl.us

•

Florida Sexual Predator/Offender Registry

http://www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sopu/

Volunteer and Employee Background Checks--Florida and FBI fingerprint-based

criminal history record checks for volunteers, employees, and certain vendors of

qualified organizations that provide service to children, the elderly, or the disabled.

Public Records Checks--Florida Criminal History Record Checks:

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/CriminalHistory/

•

Florida Wanted Persons Search Page

http://www3.fdle.state.fl.us/fdle/

• Florida Corrections Offender Network

http://www.dc.state.fl.us

• Local law enforcement agencies; search local criminal history databases

• National Sex Offender Registry:

http://www.nsopr.gov/

• The National Response Plan (

December 2004

)

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (

February 28, 2003)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030228-9.html

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (

December 17, 2003)

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/assessments/hspd8.htm

IS 100: Introduction to ICS:

Fact Sheet: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/nims/ics_100_fs.pdf

Course: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100.asp

IS 700: Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction:

Fact sheet: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/nims/is_700_fact_sheetm.pdf

Course: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700.asp)

IS 362: Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is362.asp

Glossary

Evacuation

Involves leaving the building or campus in an emergency such as a fire, bomb threat,

indoor chemical release, or any event where students and staff are safer outside the

building/off campus. (More information on evacuating in a chemical emergency

available from the Centers for Disease Control at:

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/planning/evacuationfacts.asp)

Lockdown

Involves gathering students and staff in classrooms, closing and locking all doors and

windows, and turning off lights. Everyone is to remain quiet and make the room appear

vacant. Many districts also require that staff not respond to knocks or voices at the door

unless directed by a school administrator or civil authority.

Personal Protective Equipment

Includes both respiratory and physical protection from chemical, biological, and nuclear

contamination.

Shelter-in-Place

Involves creating a shelter out of the place where students and staff are by making the

building as safe as possible from outside contamination. Leaving the area may take too

long or put people in danger. Vehicles are not airtight enough to give adequate

protection from some chemicals or biological agents. Shelter-in-place usually requires

turning off any ventilation systems, sealing off doors and windows, and having access to

a radio or telephone to monitor the incident. (More information available from the

Centers for Disease Control at: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/planning/Shelteringfacts.asp)

Tabletop Exercise

Involves a simulation of an emergency situation in an informal, stress-free environment.

Tabletops are designed to generate discussion as participants examine and resolve

problems based on existing emergency plans. Generally, a facilitator provides a

scenario and a series of events to stimulate discussion related to emergency roles and

responsibilities.