USD Emergency Response Plan

 

During the 2023 legislative session, Utah lawmakers passed HB140, which streamlined school drills and procedures for incidents and threats. These incidents or threats can include a range of potential disruptions during a school day. The drills and procedures are designed to ensure the safety of students, staff, and first responders.

 

The Uintah School District has adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), which has been around for several years. It was developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation, a nonprofit organization created in 2006 following a school shooting in Colorado that took the life of Emily Keyes. A final text message to her parents became the name of the foundation, which is dedicated to improving school safety in Emily’s memory. 

 

Click to view a downloadable PDF of the Standard Response Protocols.

 

The Uintah School District will continue to communicate and reinforce the SRP system with students, staff, first responders, and families annually. This will include drills, specific strategies, and preparation that solidifies the use of SRP in our district. 

 

The SRP system is simple. It consists of 5 commands. The commands, and the directives that follow them, form a shared language – meaning all students and staff will come to understand them completely. This should eliminate confusion in an emergency. The district’s communication channels will be used to notify families if an incident significantly alters a school day.

 

The 5 SRP commands are:

 

Hold!

Schools will restrict student movement in the building to their current location, take roll to establish accountability, and resume activities. Students in the hallways will go to the nearest secure room.

 

Examples of when a Hold command may be issued include, but are not limited to medical issues, altercations, unfinished maintenance operations, or other disruptions. 

 

Secure!

Schools will lock exterior doors, restrict student movement to inside the building, take roll to establish accountability, and resume activities. 

 

Examples of when a Secure command may be issued include, but are not limited to police activity near campus, wild or domestic stray animals, civil unrest, or other exterior disruptions. 

 

Lockdown!

Schools will restrict student movement to their current location, take roll to establish accountability, turn off lights, and move students to a designated area that is out of immediate visibility.

 

Examples of when a Lockdown command may be issued include, but are not limited to a campus intruder, an active assailant, a wild or domestic stray animal entering the building, or other escalated incidents.

 

Evacuate!

Schools will direct students to leave the building, gather at designated locations, and take roll to establish accountability. Students not with their class will join the nearest group. 

 

Examples of when an Evacuate command may be issued include, but are not limited to fire, flooding, compromised facility safety, or a credible bomb threat.

 

Shelter!

Schools will direct students to take shelter at specific locations, depending on the disruption, where roll will be taken to establish accountability.

 

Examples of when a Shelter command may be issued include, but are not limited to hazardous materials spills, earthquakes, flooding, lightning, or other severe weather conditions.

 

5 Ways Families Can Help

We recognize school safety and potential incidents shared here are unpleasant topics. But your cooperation and support are critical to the implementation of SRP. Here are 5 ways you can help ensure the safety of all students, staff, and first responders:

 

1.    Rely on Official Sources for Communication: When an incident happens, you will be notified through the district’s communication channels (i.e., email, text message, and/or phone call). Social media and the school or district website will NOT always be an immediate channel for communication because some incidents are isolated to one school. Social media and websites will be used as secondary communication sources. During an emergency, information takes time to verify to ensure accuracy. Please be patient as we work to quickly gather and release accurate information.

 

And please resist sharing information from unconfirmed sources.

 

2.   Stay Away for Safety: Parents/guardians should NOT come to the school. Doing so can put students, staff, first responders and even yourself in danger. First responders are trained professionals who have the skills needed to resolve incidents and stop threats. They need to focus on keeping students, staff, the public and themselves safe. If you are in their way, you are preventing them from performing their job.

 

3.   Do Not Call the School or the District Office: The safety of students and staff is our No. 1 priority. Calling a school or the district office during an emergency takes staff away from the critical tasks that could protect students and staff from harm, or even end a potential threat more quickly. The district will provide updates as quickly as possible once information has been checked for accuracy and we are sure it won’t jeopardize the safety of students, staff or first responders.

 

4.   Be Ready: If a situation at your child’s school requires reunification, it must be conducted in a swift and orderly manner. Again, the district will use its communication tools (email, text and/or phone call) to share reunification instructions. Please be prepared to act on them quickly.

 

5.   Avoid Immediate Communications with Students: This one is tough. Some incidents are volatile or evolving when you first learn about them. If you call or text your student at that moment, phone notifications could jeopardize their safety and the safety of those around them. It may also compromise the instruction they are given to remain quiet during an incident.

 

Two More Thoughts

There are a couple important ways you can also support your child, as well as other kids and school staff.

 

First, if you see something, say something. Students and their families often know about potential or real threats first. Even if aren’t sure a threat is credible, report it to school, district, and law enforcement officials. Information about threats can also be shared with officials using the SafeUT app.

 

Second, keep an open channel of communication with your student. Talk with them regularly about their safety and emergency response. Rehearse the SRP protocols with them so that the commands and responses are fully understood. And, if they experience an incident, talk with them about it. Help them process it openly so they feel heard and understood.

 

Thank you for your support of the SRP program. Preparedness is the key to safety. The Uintah School District values our partnership with you and our first responders to keep students and school staff prepared and safe.