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The Utilization of Readiness and Emergency
Management for Schools Programming
Emily Collins, Homeland and Corporate Security Studies, eec1003@sru.edu
Slippery Rock University
Important Terminology
• REMS – Readiness and Emergency Management for
Schools
• Emergency Operations Plan – provides details on
what the agency or facility is to do during the event of
a disaster
• REMS TA Center – the REMS Technical Assistance
Center offers a variety of information and training
• Critical Infrastructure – there are 16 critical
infrastructure sectors that are so valuable to the
United States that their destruction or incapacitation
would have a debilitating impact on the U.S. physical,
economic, and public health security
Introduction
• In Homeland Security, there are many programs that
play an important role in everyday life and in the
promotion of safety and readiness in the event of an
emergency
• The Readiness and Emergency Management for
Schools (REMS) is one of these critical programs
• Preparedness in the education system is of the utmost
importance
• Since 2003, REMS has been administered by the U.S.
Department of Education’s Office of Safe and DrugFree Schools
• REMS is a grant program that allows local education
agencies to improve and strengthen emergency
management plans within schools
• Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) can be developed
with the help of REMS
• The REMS program is a great initiative, but there is still
a lot of needed steps and changes that should be done
for the purpose of bettering the program
Research
• REMS provides great resources, however, there is much
improvement that can be made to ensure safety in schools
• The education system is one of the most important sectors of
critical infrastructure in the United States
• Currently 32 of the 51 state education departments require
their school districts to have an Emergency Operations Plan in
place (schoolsafety.gov)
• It is imperative that every district or individual school
develops and implements a comprehensive EOP so that
students, faculty, and staff can remain safe and know
what to do in a disaster
• Prior to the effects of COVID-19 and the shift of education to
virtual or hybrid models of learning, there was a surge of
school shootings over the last 10 years
• Since 2009, there have been at least 177 school
shootings over the last 10 years (Cable News Network)
• School shootings can often be seemingly random and
spontaneous, there are warning signs that school staff
and students should be aware of to mitigate these types
of events
• A pandemic in 2020 was not what anyone expected, but it
did happen, and the U.S., especially school systems, were not
prepared
• With some schools resuming in person learning, it has
been difficult to guarantee the safety of students
• To prepare for an outbreak of COVID-19 in a school,
faculty, staff, and students need to be educated on how
to behave responsibly during a pandemic – this includes
social distancing, mask usage, and regular testing
• REMS and the U.S. Department of Education have
released several plans for reopening schools safely amid
the pandemic
• The REMS TA Center has information, products, and
services needed to respond, operate, and recover from
the pandemic
Discussion
My recommendations for improving readiness and
emergency management in schools include:
• Greater dissemination of information and resources
that are available through REMS
• Mandatory EOPs for all school districts and individual
schools
• Improved communication between emergency
management professionals and education facilitators
Most of these are simple, yet effective, steps that can
be taken to better the preparedness, prevention
protection, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts
within schools
References
• Cable News Network. 10 years. 180 school shootings. 356 victims.
CNN. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/07/us/ten-years-ofschool-shootings-trnd/.
• Emergency Planning. SchoolSafety.gov.
https://www.schoolsafety.gov/protect-and-mitigate/emergencyplanning.
• Preventing School Shootings: A Summary of a U.S. Secret Service
Safe School Initiative Report. (2002). PsycEXTRA Dataset.
https://doi.org/10.1037/e527842006-002
• Readiness and Emergency management for Schools (REMS)
technical Assistance (ta) Center. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16,
2021, from
https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/resources/readiness-andemergency-management-schools-rems-technical-assistance-tacenter
• 101 American SCHOOL Statistics: 2020 Data, trends & predictions.
https://www.guide2research.com/research/american-schoolstatistics#:~:text=How%20many%20schools%2C%20colleges%2C
%20and,schools%2C%20colleges%2C%20and%20universities.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Jordan Titera for assisting me in my
research and for encouraging me to submit my work to
the SRU Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship
and Creative Activity.
Management for Schools Programming
Emily Collins, Homeland and Corporate Security Studies, eec1003@sru.edu
Slippery Rock University
Important Terminology
• REMS – Readiness and Emergency Management for
Schools
• Emergency Operations Plan – provides details on
what the agency or facility is to do during the event of
a disaster
• REMS TA Center – the REMS Technical Assistance
Center offers a variety of information and training
• Critical Infrastructure – there are 16 critical
infrastructure sectors that are so valuable to the
United States that their destruction or incapacitation
would have a debilitating impact on the U.S. physical,
economic, and public health security
Introduction
• In Homeland Security, there are many programs that
play an important role in everyday life and in the
promotion of safety and readiness in the event of an
emergency
• The Readiness and Emergency Management for
Schools (REMS) is one of these critical programs
• Preparedness in the education system is of the utmost
importance
• Since 2003, REMS has been administered by the U.S.
Department of Education’s Office of Safe and DrugFree Schools
• REMS is a grant program that allows local education
agencies to improve and strengthen emergency
management plans within schools
• Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) can be developed
with the help of REMS
• The REMS program is a great initiative, but there is still
a lot of needed steps and changes that should be done
for the purpose of bettering the program
Research
• REMS provides great resources, however, there is much
improvement that can be made to ensure safety in schools
• The education system is one of the most important sectors of
critical infrastructure in the United States
• Currently 32 of the 51 state education departments require
their school districts to have an Emergency Operations Plan in
place (schoolsafety.gov)
• It is imperative that every district or individual school
develops and implements a comprehensive EOP so that
students, faculty, and staff can remain safe and know
what to do in a disaster
• Prior to the effects of COVID-19 and the shift of education to
virtual or hybrid models of learning, there was a surge of
school shootings over the last 10 years
• Since 2009, there have been at least 177 school
shootings over the last 10 years (Cable News Network)
• School shootings can often be seemingly random and
spontaneous, there are warning signs that school staff
and students should be aware of to mitigate these types
of events
• A pandemic in 2020 was not what anyone expected, but it
did happen, and the U.S., especially school systems, were not
prepared
• With some schools resuming in person learning, it has
been difficult to guarantee the safety of students
• To prepare for an outbreak of COVID-19 in a school,
faculty, staff, and students need to be educated on how
to behave responsibly during a pandemic – this includes
social distancing, mask usage, and regular testing
• REMS and the U.S. Department of Education have
released several plans for reopening schools safely amid
the pandemic
• The REMS TA Center has information, products, and
services needed to respond, operate, and recover from
the pandemic
Discussion
My recommendations for improving readiness and
emergency management in schools include:
• Greater dissemination of information and resources
that are available through REMS
• Mandatory EOPs for all school districts and individual
schools
• Improved communication between emergency
management professionals and education facilitators
Most of these are simple, yet effective, steps that can
be taken to better the preparedness, prevention
protection, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts
within schools
References
• Cable News Network. 10 years. 180 school shootings. 356 victims.
CNN. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/07/us/ten-years-ofschool-shootings-trnd/.
• Emergency Planning. SchoolSafety.gov.
https://www.schoolsafety.gov/protect-and-mitigate/emergencyplanning.
• Preventing School Shootings: A Summary of a U.S. Secret Service
Safe School Initiative Report. (2002). PsycEXTRA Dataset.
https://doi.org/10.1037/e527842006-002
• Readiness and Emergency management for Schools (REMS)
technical Assistance (ta) Center. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16,
2021, from
https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/resources/readiness-andemergency-management-schools-rems-technical-assistance-tacenter
• 101 American SCHOOL Statistics: 2020 Data, trends & predictions.
https://www.guide2research.com/research/american-schoolstatistics#:~:text=How%20many%20schools%2C%20colleges%2C
%20and,schools%2C%20colleges%2C%20and%20universities.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Jordan Titera for assisting me in my
research and for encouraging me to submit my work to
the SRU Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship
and Creative Activity.