New! COVID-19   Law    Advocacy    Topics A-Z    Training    Books & Videos   Store  Blog

  Home > Topics > Special Education Advocacy > Emergency Evaluation Planning for Students with Disabilities by Lori Scott RN, BSN, MS


The Special Ed Advocate newsletter
It's Unique ... and Free!

Enter your email address below:

2021-2022
Training Programs

Jun. 29-30 - USAF

Oct. 14 - Columbia, MD

Nov. 4-5 - Torrance, CA

Full Schedule

Wrightslaw

Home
Topics from A-Z
Free Newsletter
Seminars & Training
Yellow Pages for Kids
Press Room
FAQs
Sitemap

Books & Training

Wrightslaw Storesecure store lock
  Advocate's Store
  Student Bookstore
  Exam Copies
Training Center
Bulk Discounts
Military Discounts
Student Discounts
Mail & Fax Orders

Advocacy Library

Articles
Cool Tools
Doing Your Homework
Ask the Advocate
FAQs
Newsletter Archives
Short Course Series
Success Stories
Tips

Law Library

Articles
Caselaw
Fed Court Complaints
IDEA 2004
McKinney-Vento Homeless
FERPA
Section 504

Topics

Advocacy
ADD/ADHD
Allergy/Anaphylaxis
American Indian
Assistive Technology
Autism Spectrum
Behavior & Discipline
Bullying
College/Continuing Ed
Damages
Discrimination
Due Process
Early Intervention
  (Part C)

Eligibility
Episodic, such as
   Allergies, Asthma,
   Diabetes, Epilepsy, etc

ESSA
ESY
Evaluations
FAPE
Flyers
Future Planning
Harassment
High-Stakes Tests
Homeless Children
IDEA 2004
Identification & Child Find
IEPs
Juvenile Justice
Law School & Clinics
Letters & Paper Trails
LRE / Inclusion
Mediation
Military / DOD
Parental Protections
PE and Adapted PE
Privacy & Records
Procedural Safeguards
Progress Monitoring
Reading
Related Services
Research Based
  Instruction

Response to Intervention
  (RTI)

Restraints / Seclusion
   and Abuse

Retention
Retaliation
School Report Cards
Section 504
Self-Advocacy
Teachers & Principals
Transition
Twice Exceptional (2e)
VA Special Education

Resources & Directories

Advocate's Bookstore
Advocacy Resources
Directories
  Disability Groups
  International
  State DOEs
  State PTIs
Free Flyers
Free Pubs
Free Newsletters
Legal & Advocacy
Glossaries
   Legal Terms
   Assessment Terms
Best School Websites

 

Print this page


Emergency Evacuation Planning
for Students with Disabilities

by Lori E Scott RN, BSN, MS

 

The school system has a moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to keep their community safe in the event of an emergency.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are strapped to a wheel chair on the landing of a stairwell
while of your peers and school staff exit the building, leaving you behind!

In this era of threats of violence and shootings along with fire and weather emergencies, the paramount need is effective emergency evacuation plans for students with disabilities.

Schools must design plans for the individual needs of students, including those who:

  • have physical disabilities
  • have sensory disabilities
  • may lack understanding of a situation
  • are unable to act quickly

Although Title III of the ADA broadly addresses "discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodation such as restaurants, movies and schools," most schools have evacuation procedures that call for a person with a disability to shelter in place on the landing of a stairwell and wait for EMS rescue.

School personnel and visitors with disabilities also need protection. (Update on MD HB 1061)

Preplanning is Imperative

Preplanning for natural disaster, fires, active shooter, terrorist attacks, unplanned releases of chemicals in a school is imperative in today's world.

School systems must have the capacity to move all students, staff, and visitors with disabilities to a safe location immediately at the time of an emergency.

Sheltering in place and waiting for EMS to arrive for rescue can cause extreme fright and anxiety to the person with disability. Another result could be harm from burns, smoke inhalation, or by being in harms way of an active shooter.

Mitigation (the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters) is a crucial part of emergency planning in schools and should never allow leaving anyone behind because they are differently abled.


Robust Emergency Planning in the 504 or IEP Process

Robust emergency and evacuation planning should be part of a student's 504 and IEP process.

Schools must protect every student at risk for incompetent decision-making and physical immobility at the time of an emergency.

Comprehensive Written Plans

Emergency and evacuation planning should include a comprehensive written plan individualized to meet the student's needs. Attach the plan to the IEP or 504.

This plan should ensure:

  • full mitigation
  • practice drills
  • staff training
  • evaluation process to identify obstacles before an emergency occurs and as they arise

Schools may implement the use of a stair evacuation device, two-person lift, or med sled as a means of removing someone in need from a multi-floor building.

Staff must be trained on the use of evacuation devices. Drills must occur to ensure everyone’s safety and ability to use devices as needed.

Mobility is NOT the Only Concern

Some students may be mobile but unable to seek refuge or get themselves out of a building without one to one assistance. A successful evacuation may depend on a teacher or paraprofessional guiding the student to safety.

Staff should pre-identify and address this need in an emergency plan with the IEP team.

Parents who have children with special evacuation needs should make sure this is on the agenda for discussion at the team meeting. When a plan is complete, it should be added to the IEP or 504.

Staff and visitors with disabilities can also be at risk. School administrators and staff should develop a plan to necessitate provisions and share the information with all people concerned.

Through the entire process, the school system has a moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to keep their community safe in the event of an emergency.

*****************

Meet the Author

Lori Scott RN,BSN,MS is a Nurse working in the field of health care consulting for special needs schools and facilities. She is an advocate for special needs children and frequently speaks at National seminars regarding health services and health planning for the disabled. She is the mother of three children.

Update

April 18, 2017: Emergency and Evacuation Plans - Individuals With Disabilities, Approved by the Governor. Students, staff and visitors to public school buildings in MD will have accommodations to assist them to get out of harms way in case of an emergency/fire.This accommodation means a Med Sled, Evac Chair or device to move people with disabilities down the stairs and out of a building immediately and with their peers. No more waiting at the top of a stairway for EMS to get them...if they can find them! Common sense bill with unanimous votes from the House and Senate!

On April 4, 2017, the MD Senate passed HB 1061. The Bill is now on the way to Governor's desk for signature.

Summary: MD HB 1061: Requiring the State Department of Education, on or before December 1, 2017, in consultation with disability advocacy groups, to update specified guidelines to accommodate, safeguard, and evacuate students, staff, and visitors with disabilities on public school grounds; requiring each local school system, on or before July, 2018, to update the local school system's emergency plan based on a specified update of the Department's guidelines and regulations; etc.

More Links

Howard County parents sound off about safety (ABC News, 02/27/18)

Emergency Evacuation Plans in IEPs - Special Ed Advocate Newsletter (04/04/2017)

Proposed bill creates task force to review school evacuation plans for people with disabilities

Evacuate Cassidy

Mother outraged by school evacuation plan for disabled student


Created 03/20/17
Revised 03/01/18

Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon The Special Ed Advocate: It's Free!

 

June Special!
Special Ed Law &
Advocacy Training (6.5 hrs)


Check Out
The Advocate's Store!

Wrightslaw on FacebookWrightslaw on TwitterWrightslaw YouTube Channel 

Wrightslaw Books
Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, by Pam and Pete Wright

About the Book

Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About IEPs
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments
About the Book

Wrightslaw: Special Education Legal Developments and Cases 2019
About the Book

Surviving Due Process: Stephen Jeffers v. School Board
About the DVD Video

Student Discounts

Military Discounts


The Advocate's Store

Wrightslaw Multimedia Training


Understanding Your Child's
Test Scores (1.5 hrs)

Wrightslaw Special: $14.95

Wrightslaw Mutimedia Training Download


Special Education Law & Advocacy Training
(6.5 hrs)

Wrightslaw Special: $49.95