Disability Informed Safety Planning or Inclusive Safety Planning means each student, regardless of ability, language or communication skills, mental health or any other circumstance, will have a specific plan that addresses their needs. Plans will be developed with teachers, administrators, students, parents/primary caregivers and emergency responders. Plans will be communicated to the student, parent/primary caregiver, all staff and others who may need to know. The plan will be practiced, reviewed and when needed, improved.
Inclusive planning involves careful consideration of each child’s abilities, all self-contained classrooms and resource rooms in the context of the overall school emergency operations plan (EOP). Individual and classroom safety plans will be integrated into the school EOP. Inclusive planning is practiced regularly with individual students, specific classrooms and with the full school, as appropriate to the child’s age and development level. All staff should be prepared to provide the assistance that the child needs and the child is expecting, according to the plan. Students with special needs may take more time to learn. Modifications must be made to allow students to learn at their own pace. All plans must be adjusted accordingly.
Individual and classroom emergency plans may be added to students’ IEPs or 504 plans and to their school/district emergency operations plans. Students, paras and teachers in self-contained classrooms and resource rooms, should participate in individual safety planning. Teachers in nearby classrooms and other staff should be familiar with the students and their plans. All staff should have opportunities to practice plans with students.
It is critical that students are not harmed by practice or drills. Drills should not be traumatic. Drills must always be announced. Students must not be tricked into believing they are in danger. This does not help students in the moment and it does not help students in the future. Every precaution should be taken to make sure students are not being traumatized during safety drills.