children experienced a lockdown in the 2017–2018 school year, and among that group, at least 220,000 were in kindergarten or prekindergarten. (9) While the Department of Homeland Security active shooter emergency guidelines recommend that students and personnel in school and early child care and education settings Run, Hide, and Fight , these strategies can exacerbate danger for young children in prekindergarten and child care centers, and can exclude and put at risk students with a wide range of disabilities. (10) At the height of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic, emergency closures of early education centers, elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education created great disruptions in learning and cast a light on educational institutions’ lack of preparedness protocols for public health emergencies. (11) During the pandemic, early child care and education remains indispensable for the development of children and for millions of health care workers, first responders, educators, and essential personnel, and it is imperative that early child care and education centers and schools have emergency preparedness plans to ensure the safety of students and educators. (12) Emergency preparation drills and real-life lockdowns where danger may be external can create undue stress, fear, and trauma in children, youth, employees, and other specific populations in schools, early child care and education settings, and institutions of higher education. (13) Traumatic events have a long-lasting and profound sensory impact on young children, as birth to age 5 is a critical developmental age. Frightening visual stimuli, loud noises, violent movements, and other sensations associated with an unpredictable frightening event, such as in an emergency preparation drill or lockdown, can cause substantial stress. Unlike older children, young children cannot express in words whether they feel afraid, overwhelmed, or helpless, and may have difficulty regulating their behavior and emotions after