Federal Agencies Provide Resources to Support School Emergency Management Planning, but Some Resources Are Often Underutilized and Efforts Are Not Strategically Coordinated

		Federal Agencies Provide Various Resources to Help Schools Prepare for Emergencies, but Most School Districts Reported Not Using Federal Guidance and Other Non- Financial Resources

Education, DHS, HHS, and Justice each provide assistance to school  districts and schools with preparing for emergencies. 3). Education, DHS, HHS, and Justice also separately develop and provide  resources such as guidance, training, technical assistance, and funding,  in line with their respective missions, to help districts and schools prepare  for emergencies. We found:
Not all relevant federal agencies are included in collaboration  efforts. Relevant agency officials are not always aware of each other’s  efforts and resources, including within their own agency. Agencies that collaborate offer different interpretations of the  same federal guidance. According to these officials, the presidential plan that required  development of the Federal Guide did not designate a lead agency going  forward or give any agency direct authority or responsibility to convene an  interagency working group or require the participation of other federal  agencies. However, they said that the Department of Education  Organization Act provides the agency the general authority to collaborate  with other federal agencies to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness  of its programs and, where warranted and agreed upon, to serve as the  lead agency in such collaborations. Most States Reported Requiring Emergency Operations Plans and Exercises, and Providing Training or Other Support

		Most States Reported Requiring District or School Emergency Operations Plans, and Many Also Allowed Districts and Schools to Determine Plan Specifics

According to our survey of state educational agencies in the 50 states  and the District of Columbia, 32 states reported requiring that districts  have emergency operations plans and 34 states reported requiring that  schools have plans, and 25 states reported requiring plans for both (see  fig. 5). Our state survey also asked about requirements that district or individual  school plans address the needs of specific populations of students,  including those with disabilities, and found that fewer than half of states  reported having such requirements; however, our district survey shows  that most districts included these procedures in their plans. Nearly All States Provided Support to Plan for Emergencies, and Fewer Than Half Reported Requiring States or Districts to Review Emergency Operations Plans

Based on our survey of 51 state educational agencies, nearly all states  provided training, technical assistance, or guidance to districts to assist in  developing or implementing emergency operations plans. In contrast, our district survey estimates that about half of districts  specified how they would maintain continuous operations or recover after  an incident. Most Districts Conducted Emergency Exercises and Many Did So Regularly with First Responders

Our survey estimated that most school districts recently completed a  variety of emergency exercises, such as drills and group discussions, and  many did so regularly with first responders (see fig. 12). Majority of Districts Reported Difficulty Balancing Emergency Management Planning with Other School Priorities

Based on our survey, an estimated 59 percent of districts reported  difficulty balancing emergency management planning with higher  priorities, such as instructional time. Although  individual agencies continue to work on a range of emergency  preparedness issues, and, in some cases, have continued to collaborate  with other agencies in doing so, current collaboration efforts are  insufficient to comprehensively address the complex and unique needs of  schools. Moreover, in the absence of a well-coordinated federal  strategy for school emergency preparedness planning, federal agencies’  piecemeal approaches to school emergency management planning  contribute to the gaps we identified in timely, continued, and most  importantly, strategic coordination, and risk wasting limited federal  resources on efforts that may be overlapping, duplicative, or fragmented. Recommendation for Executive Action

Using its general authority to collaborate with other federal agencies, we  recommend that the Secretary of Education convene its federal  interagency partners to develop a strategic approach to interagency  collaboration on school emergency preparedness. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Education  (Education), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security  (DHS), and Justice (Justice) for review and comment. In light of Education’s response, which we agree is consistent with  leading practices on federal interagency collaboration that, among other  things, include identifying leadership for the collaborative mechanism and  all relevant participants, we modified the recommendation and report  accordingly. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report addressed the following questions: (1) how do federal  agencies support school emergency management planning and to what  extent do they coordinate their efforts; (2) to what extent do states require  and support efforts to plan for school emergencies; and (3) what have  school districts done to plan and prepare for emergencies and what  challenges, if any, have they faced? In total, we interviewed officials from 12  schools.
Why GAO Did This Study

The 2012 school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and the 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma stress the need for schools to prepare for emergencies to help protect the 50 million students in K-12 public schools. In 2007, GAO found that most districts developed emergency operations plans and GAO made recommendations to improve school emergency planning. In 2013, the President directed Education, DHS, HHS, and Justice to help schools with their plans. GAO was asked to report on these efforts.
This report examines (1) how federal agencies support school emergency management planning and the extent to which they coordinate efforts; (2) the extent to which states require and support efforts to plan for school emergencies; and (3) what districts have done to plan and prepare for school emergencies and challenges faced. GAO interviewed federal officials and surveyed relevant state agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. GAO also surveyed a generalizable random sample of 573 districts (70 percent response rate), and visited 5 districts and 12 schools in 3 states selected to reflect diverse locations and characteristics.

What GAO Found

The Departments of Education (Education), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), and Justice (Justice) support K-12 schools in preparing for emergencies with various resources, including training, technical assistance, and funding, but their efforts are not strategically coordinated. Since jointly issuing a Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans in 2013 in response to a presidential plan, individual agencies have continued to work on a range of emergency preparedness initiatives, sometimes collaboratively; however, with the guide completed and no strategic coordination of agency efforts particular to schools, federal agencies have taken a piecemeal approach to their efforts. GAO found gaps in coordination that suggest recent efforts are insufficient: not all relevant agencies and officials are included in collaborative efforts or are aware of related efforts and resources, and agencies are offering different interpretations of the same federal guidance—all of which risks wasting limited federal resources on duplicative, overlapping, or fragmented efforts. Education officials said that although agencies discussed the need to continue coordinating following the guide, the presidential plan did not designate a lead agency going forward, nor give any agency direct authority or responsibility over an interagency effort, or require agency participation. However, these officials said Education has general authority to collaborate with other federal agencies to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of its programs and to serve as the lead agency, where warranted and agreed upon. Leading practices on federal interagency collaboration include identifying leadership, relevant participants, and resources, and agreeing on outcomes. Absent a well-coordinated effort, agencies will continue to determine their priorities individually, which may hinder assistance to schools.
In GAO's survey of 51 state educational agencies, 32 states reported that they require districts to have emergency operations plans, 34 reported they require schools to have plans, and almost all states reported providing training, technical assistance, or guidance to support districts in developing or implementing plans. GAO's survey also found that 32 states reported requiring districts to conduct emergency exercises, such as drills, and 40 states reported requiring individual schools to do so. In addition, many states reported allowing districts and schools to determine specific plan content, with fewer than half reporting that they required districts or states to review district or school plans.
GAO's generalizable survey of school districts estimates that most districts updated and practiced their emergency operations plans with first responders, but struggled to balance emergency planning with other priorities. GAO's survey results also found that most districts had plans addressing multiple hazards and emergency procedures, such as evacuation. However, GAO estimates about half of districts included procedures on continuing operations or recovering after an incident. GAO also found most districts conducted emergency exercises, such as fire drills, and about half did so annually with police and fire department officials. However, an estimated 59 percent of districts had difficulty balancing emergency planning with higher priorities, such as classroom instruction time.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that Education convene its federal interagency partners to develop a strategic approach to interagency collaboration on school emergency preparedness, consistent with leading practices. Education agreed that such improved federal coordination will better assist schools in preparing for emergencies.