Secretary Spellings Announces New Guidance to Improve Emergency Preparedness in Schools

New brochures offer guidance on Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

WASHINGTON, DC - On Tuesday October 30, 2007, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings joined U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez to commend Mt. Vernon High School in Alexandria, Va., and Fairfax County for the work the community is doing to equip schools with the knowledge and capability to prepare for and respond to emergencies and natural disasters.

Following a demonstration of the Fairfax County Public Schools emergency preparedness model, Secretaries Spellings, Chertoff and Gutierrez held a press conference, where Secretary Spellings announced the availability of new brochures that provide guidance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to enable schools to better balance students' privacy rights with school safety concerns.

"Nothing is more important to Americans than the safety of their children, and the guidance we are making available today will help make America's schools safer," said Secretary Spellings. "FERPA is not intended to be an obstacle to school safety, and the brochures will enable parents, teachers and administrators to safeguard students in our education system."

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, President Bush asked Secretary Spellings, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to conduct a listening tour across the country with educators, first responders, parents and others to address concerns related to emergency preparedness and school safety. Several recurring themes were heard across the country, including the need for additional guidance on the FERPA, the federal law that protects the privacy of students' education records.

In response, the U.S. Department of Education developed three new guides: one for K-12 educators, one for higher education officials and one for parents. The FERPA brochures for school officials include contact information for obtaining additional guidance and assistance. Understanding the law empowers school officials to act quickly and decisively when problems arise. These guides will further the collection of key emergency management resources available from the U.S. Department of Education to help schools and institutions of higher education plan for, respond to and recover from a serious incident. The guides, accompanied by a letter and handout on emergency management resources, were sent today to schools, school boards, associations and others nationwide.

The new FERPA guidance and brochures are available online at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/safeschools/.

Brochures can be ordered from the U.S. Department of Education's Publications Center (ED Pubs) by calling (toll free) 1-877-433-7827 or e-mailing edpubs@inet.ed.gov.

• Balancing Student Privacy and Campus Safety: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for Colleges and Universities (ED003905H)
• Balancing Student Privacy and School Safety: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for Elementary and Secondary Schools (ED003906H)
• Parents' Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: Rights Regarding Your Children's Education Records (ED003907H)

The letter and handout on emergency management resources are available online at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/secletter/071030.html.

Emergency Management for Schools: Key Resources

Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Emergency Planning Web Site

Emergency planning is part of the Department's Lead and Manage My School series, a group of Web sites designed to support administrators. It offers emergency planning resources, grants, publications, and more. Accessible at http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan

Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center

The REMS TA Center Web site offers additional school-based resources addressing emergency management through its four phases. Resources include three major publications series, archived training materials, referral links and the opportunity to pose direct technical assistance questions. Accessible at http://rems.ed.gov

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 emergency management as it applies to schools and basic guidelines for developing school emergency management plans based on the four phases of emergency management. Accessible at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/ emergencyplan/crisisplanning.pdf [PDF, 1.6M], or through the Department of Education's Publications Center (ED Pubs) by calling (toll free) 1-877-433-7827 or by e-mailing edpubs@inet.ed.gov. The publication ID is ED003416P.

The Safe School Initiative

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service collaborated to produce two reports and an interactive CD-ROM that outline a process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools, as well as provide ideas for creating safe school climates.

• Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates
• Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States
• Safe School and Threat Assessment Experience: Scenarios Exploring the Findings of the Safe School Initiative (Interactive CD-ROM)

The reports are accessible at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/ training/responding/crisis_pg34.html, and the CD may be ordered from the Department of Education's Publications Center (ED Pubs) by calling (toll free) 1-877-433-7827 or by e-mailing edpubs@inet.ed.gov. The publication ID is ED002738C.

Tips for Helping Students Recovering From Traumatic Events

This brochure provides practical information for parents and students who are coping with the aftermath of a natural disaster, as well as teachers, coaches, school administrators and others who are helping those affected. Accessible at http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/recovering/index.html

School Preparedness Virtual Town Hall

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education hosted a virtual town hall on K–12 school preparedness to provide an overview of grant opportunities, planning, training and other preparedness tools available to school districts nationwide. Accessible at http://www.vodium.com/goto/dhs/schoolprep.asp

Source: US Department of Education

Technorati Tags: News National Carlos M. Gutierrez Education Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - FERPA Government Margaret Spellings Michael Chertoff US Department of Education

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