DRU Guides, Tools and Publications

Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Communities and Schools
The U.S. Department of Education has developed this guide to provide schools and their communities with a general introduction to crisis management as it applies to schools and basic guidelines for developing school crisis management plans. Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Communities and Schools outlines the four phases of crisis planning (prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery) and provides checklists of the critical issues encountered in each phase. The Guide also provides information on specific elements of crisis management, including leadership, communication and the Incident Command System (ICS). Within the year, OSDFS will be generating an updated version of this Guide specifically for institutions of higher education. 

 

Threat Assessment in Schools
The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service established the Safe School Initiative, a study of 37 school shootings and other school-based attacks that took place between 1974 and 1999. Through this initiative, the two agencies produced guidance and tools for schools putting forth a process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence. This process, known as threat assessment, was first pioneered by the U.S. Secret Service and has been modified based upon findings from this study. These guides are intended for collaborative use by school personnel, law enforcement officials and others with protective responsibilities in our nation's schools. Most recently, the initiative has produced an interactive CD-ROM presenting two hypothetical school scenarios to be used for further developing the assessments team's skills.

 

Bomb Threat Response: An Interactive Planning Tool for Schools.
The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) and The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) collaborated to develop a tool (CD) for schools and law enforcement. The CD is available for free, and it offers a comprehensive guide on how to best respond to bomb threats in schools. The planning tool offers guidance for schools administrators and law enforcement to develop policies specific to the school district and its unique needs. The "Bomb Threat Response" also addresses communication and presents guidelines for how to communicate during the response phase.
 

 

Building a Disaster-Resistant University
To help minimize injury, damage, monetary loss and disruption of services, post-secondary institutions should put in place a comprehensive set of pre-disaster planning and mitigation actions. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) presents this alongside lessons learned by six universities and colleges that have been working to become more disaster-resistant.

 

Campus Public Safety: Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Protective Measures
Office for Domestic Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security produced this guide with resources for the more than 4,000 Title IV institutions of post-secondary education. The guide provides affirmative steps listed below to prevent, deter or effectively respond to a weapons of mass destruction terrorist attack.

 

Homeland Security Best Management Practices
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked with five institutions and developed case studies on campus-based homeland security issues for institutions of higher education the case studies are included in the EPA "Best Management Practice Catalog." The EPA worked with Cornell University, Harvard University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of North Carolina, and Vanderbilt University to highlight best practices in the areas of preparedness, prevention-mitigation, response and communication.
 

Managing Threats: Safety Lessons Learned from School Shootings
UrbanED, the University of Southern California School of Education magazine, published this article, by Marleen Wong, Ph.D., on school shootings in spring 2007.