Safeguarding Our Schools Against Terrorist Activities Texas School Safety Center Texas State University- San Marcos
Training Objectives: To Inform Terrorism and school violence To Introduce Homeland security themes To Identify Key actions for schools To Infuse Readiness into safe school planning To Inspire A commitment to respond appropriately to the call for readiness
“Forever Green” Green used to be the standard for safe school operations and planning.
New Expectations Understanding Terrorism Managing Evidence – Telling the Tale Emergency Operations Plans School Security Audits Threat Assessment Conducting an Emergency Drill Understanding Your Role
Top Issues for Schools Emergency Operations –Lockdown –Evacuation –Family Reunification –Relocation –Reverse Evacuation Disruption of Services Managing Panic & Fear
Finding The Balance Pretending terrorism isn’t there Allowing terrorism to dominate our lives
How do you define terrorism? Threat of violence Systematic use of fear Done for political, ideological or religious purposes Desire to alter the behaviors of others
An Invitation Into the Unthinkable A car bomb exploded at Randolph Air Force Base At least 13 military personnel are dead; as many as 150 wounded A bomb exploded in the local Elementary School parking lot As many as 3 adults and 4 children dead, unknown number of injured At least two other schools received bomb threats
An Invitation into the Unthinkable Quickly generate a comprehensive list of decisions facing this site. Avoid focusing on the authenticity of the scenario. Note: List should reflect impending decisions NOT recommended actions
How does terrorism affect us? Just because it didn't happen to you, doesn't mean it didn't affect you
Who commits acts of terrorism?
School Terror Incidents Red Lake, Minn.
Bullying & Terrorism: Connections School Bullying Misuse of power Intent to harm Repetitive in nature Causing fear Direct/indirect victims Escalation in severity World Terrorism Abuse of power Intent to kill or maim Systematic activity Causing fear and panic Direct/indirect victims Intensification of violence Both result in paralyzing effects
What shall we prepare for?
The Enduring Message for Schools Be vigilant – Take notice of people, events and situations Take precautions – Develop/update emergency operations plans – Identify & gather resources Network & share information Think like a terrorist; Act as a team
Resources: US Department of Justice US Department of Education FEMA