RUMOR: Is it true that my grand-kids' school doesn’t have an emergency plan?
TRUTH: We don't know which school you are referring to, but according to https:/www.azauditor.gov/arizona-school-safety-emergency-operations-planning : "None of the school emergency operations plans (EOPs) we reviewed fully met the State’s EOP Minimum Standards and none of the schools we reviewed had fully implemented and tested their plans; additionally, student safety could be enhanced State-wide through efforts to provide more guidance to schools, review and update the EOP Minimum Standards, monitor compliance, and clarify the role of emergency responders."
In a recently published report, the Arizona Auditor General found that most schools had fewer than half of EOP Minimum Standards, and some charter schools didn’t have any EOPs. The Auditor General determined that all schools needed increased outreach, guidance, and training on emergency planning.
“Most schools we visited had not provided emergency procedures training to all staff, including substitute teachers; had not conducted all required safety drills; and had not posted certain safety reference materials, which could affect their preparedness to respond to emergencies,” according to the report summary.
In response, the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools stated it lacks the “resources or subject matter expertise” for monitoring and enforcing compliance, “The Charter Board believes it is appropriate for a state-centralized review process to be established to monitor whether EOPs meet the required minimum standards. This process would ensure that both charter and district schools are held to the same standards of review and oversight,” said the Board.
The standards were developed jointly by the Arizona Departments of Education (ADE) and Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA). DEMA responded that the State Board of Education and ADE bore statutory responsibility for supervising and regulating public school conduct, “ADE has full-time school safety and preparedness planners that can support this purpose and has an opportunity to communicate any additional resource needs to further effect this recommendation through their Audit response process.