Supporting Students With Disabilities During School Crises

Abstract

Most schools have crisis plans to support student safety, but few plans address the complex needs of students with disabilities. School supports should include analysis of school plans and student strengths and needs to ensure that students with disabilities have the best opportunity to be safe in school crises. Recommendations include developing individual emergency and lockdown plans to provide procedures for explicit instruction and needed supports for students with disabilities during a crisis. Implications for such plans and support for their development are included.Mr. Hunter and Ms. Jakobs were looking around their co-taught classroom one afternoon, trying to decide how they could modify their school crisis plan to support three students with varying disabilities. Mr. Hunter told Ms. Jakobs, Before the tornado and school shooting that were in the news last month, I didn't really think about what we might need to do differently to help Jamaya, Sam, and Kesha stay safe, but now, I think we have to create a specific plan due to their unique needs.

Keeping Our Students Safe During School Crises

“…We recommend using specific language: "Is there a need for a specific plan for this student if there were a crisis in the building?" (p.2, Clarke et al, 2014). When the IEP team answers "yes" to this question, an Individual Emergency and Lockdown Plan (IELP) that takes into consideration the diverse range of intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development among children with disabilities, must be created (Clarke et al, 2014).…”

“…Specific supports or skills needed for both evacuation and shelter in place emergencies The special education teacher must work together with the rest of the IEP team to plan for the safety of students with a disability during a lockdown or natural disaster. The IEP team understands the intellectual, physical, emotional, and health needs of students with significant disabilities and as a result, this team is best suited to design and realize the Individual Emergency Lockdown Plan (IELP) (Clarke et al, 2014). The interdisciplinary IEP team made up of special and general educators, administrators, related service providers, parent or guardians, the student, and others should also consider consulting with first responders, nursing staff, school social workers, or other personnel who may be in a situation to protect or assist a student in the event of a crisis at school when designing an IELP.…”

“…This is especially important when a substitute teacher or instructional assistant is part of the student's day. For students who engage in learning in more than one classroom, every teacher and room needs to be ready to provide needed supports should a shelter in place order be given (Clarke et al, 2014).…”

“…This article is a call to parents, educators, and advocates to ensure that our IEP teams address crisis related skills in the annual review process by, a) assessing crisis related skills of the student at each annual review meeting and b) designing and implementing Individualized Emergency Lockdown Plans (IELP) (Clarke et al, 2014) for students who would need specially designed instruction to learn and implement crisis related skills. This article also provides specific guidance in understanding the need for, designing, and implementing Individualized Emergency Lockdown Plans (Clarke et al, 2014) for students with significant disabilities, recognizing the diverse range of developmental, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical needs of students with disabilities.…”

“…is impaired or not present. Teachers must plan for students with significant disabilities to learn to recognize the sounds of danger and understand what next steps must happen in order to stay safe (Clarke et al, 2014). The importance of teaching students the specific language of emergencies in school must also be recognized and addressed (Minnesota School Safety Center, 2011).…”