Equitable Emergency Planning to Support all Students in Montgomery County

The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit will work with local schools to expand emergency planning that incorporates the unique needs of students with disabilities, as well as expands threat assessment training to provide focused training for building-level support staff. To maximize the impact of this work, a county-wide public relations campaign to remind all building staff and community members of their role in school safety will be developed and implemented. All the proposed projects are designed to be replicable to other regions, thus maximizing the input of this project. To support emergency planning for students with disabilities, this project will develop a template and training protocol for school personnel and local law enforcement. In addition to the trainings, the project will support local schools in updating their emergency plans to incorporate unique supports personalized for students with disabilities. The project will also seek the input and support of parents of students with disabilities by holding parent training and input-gathering sessions. The second area of focus for this project will be the expansion of threat assessment training materials that uniquely focus on building-level support staff, such as custodians, aides, and secretarial staff. Once developed, a minimum of 15 trainings/year will be provided. Additionally, a video-based option will be developed to ensure new hires have access to the training prior to beginning their employment at the school.