Visit the REMS TA Center Calendar to find trainings, web chats, conferences, and other stakeholder activities and events related to comprehensive school safety for K-12 and higher ed practitioners. The featured events are FREE to participate in and range from virtual to in-person opportunities for engagement and professional development.

High-quality emergency operations plans (EOPs) are developed by multidisciplinary planning teams, with members bringing diverse perspectives that represent the whole school community. In celebration of National School Psychology Week (November 11-15), the REMS TA Center recognizes the valuable contributions that school mental health professionals make to enhance school safety efforts. Mental health professionals, including school psychologists, help schools balance physical safety with psychological safety, ensuring a well-rounded approach to emergency management planning. Consider learning more about the role of school mental health professionals in school safety efforts by engaging with and sharing REMS TA Center resources.

• Watch our webinars, titled “The Role of School Mental Health Professionals in Supporting School Safety Efforts” and “Understanding the Role of School Psychologists in Supporting School Safety Before, During, and After an Emergency,” and peruse the accompanying resource lists to further your learning; and
• Visit our web page on Collaborative Planning Teams at K-12 Schools and School Districts and read more about how mental health professionals can contribute to school safety and EOP development efforts.

Protests have increasingly become a vital means of expression in educational settings, from K-12 schools to institutions of higher education (IHEs). They highlight critical issues such as curriculum changes, social justice, and funding disparities. However, although protests are essential for democratic engagement, they can also pose challenges related to safety and institutional response.

To help education agencies navigate these complexities, the REMS TA Center has two NEW fact sheets. The Planning for Protests at K-12 Schools fact sheet provides recommendations for school administrators and educators, emphasizing communication, clear policies, and fostering dialogue with students and parents. The Planning for Demonstrations, Protests, and Civil Unrest on Higher Ed Campuses fact sheet focuses on considerations for campus safety leaders, such as engaging with on- and off-campus partners.

Both publications stress the importance of proactive planning to ensure the rights of individuals to protest while maintaining a safe learning environment. They also cover the development of a Protest/Civil Unrest Annex. Check out these fact sheets today!

Did you know the REMS TA Center provides support to IHEs? Public and private IHEs, including 2-year and 4-year institutions, can benefit from our fact sheets, topic-specific web pages, online courses, and live and virtual trainings. Although many of our resources are applicable to both K-12 and higher education, others are nuanced for the specific needs of IHEs.

A great place to start is the Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE Guide). This foundational document provides a framework for creating and maintaining customized and comprehensive EOPs.

Additional resources for IHEs include

• Institution of Higher Education Planning and Response Teams: Developing and Enhancing the Higher ed Emergency Operations Plan: guides campus leadership and core planning teams through the six-step planning process.
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Enhancing the Security of Your IHE Using an All-Hazards Approach: provides information on implementing a proactive approach to campus crime prevention.
• Developing a Bomb Threat Annex: Enhancing the Higher ed Emergency Operations Plan: outlines how emergency management planning teams can prepare for potential bomb threats by creating a Bomb Threat Annex.
• Resilience Strategies for Institutions of Higher Education: Techniques for Self-Care and Compassion Fatigue Prevention: trains faculty members, staff members, and students on how to prioritize well-being before and after an emergency.
• Six-Step Planning Process for Institutions of Higher Education: trains individuals or teams on higher ed safety planning and management processes.

Want to take your planning one step further? Our SITE ASSESS mobile application contains a site assessment tool for capturing and sharing critical information about campus safety.

Did you know the REMS TA Center provides free technical assistance to education agencies and their community partners? Our staff responds to questions and requests via email and telephone on a variety of topics pertaining to emergency management planning. Frequently, we are asked questions about funding opportunities to enhance school safety initiatives, such as the one below.

Does the REMS TA Center offer grant funding? No, the REMS TA Center does not award funding to any entity. Instead, the REMS TA Center helps education agencies build their preparedness capacity through the provision of technical assistance and training. We do update our website with information on other agencies’ funding opportunities related to emergency management planning, prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery for state education agencies, local education agencies, K-12 schools, and IHEs.

Where can I find additional information and resources about grant funding?

• Visit our Grant Programs web page for current and previous grant programs from federal agencies. Using our search feature, you can filter for grant programs that meet your specific criteria and easily identify grants available for your type of agency. This page contains grant programs from the U.S. Departments of Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation, and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Federal Communications Commission.
• Our State Emergency Management Resources map contains contacts for every state, every territory, and the District of Columbia. You can obtain funding opportunities by clicking on your state/territory/district to gather contact information and reach out to the right place directly. Many state education agencies, state higher education agencies, state school safety contacts, and state partners offer funding opportunities.

If you have any questions or need assistance with other emergency management planning topics, please do not hesitate to contact the REMS TA Center Help Desk via email at info@remstacenter.org, phone at 855-781-REMS (7367), or the online TA request form.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, the REMS TA Center staff would like to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the K-12 and higher ed emergency management and education professionals hard at work across the nation. Thanksgiving can come as a much-needed and well-earned respite in the academic calendar. At the same time, we know that the work of safeguarding students never stops. Many of you put in long hours, including over holidays and weekends, to respond to incidents; engage in recovery efforts; and keep students safe, healthy, and free to learn all year round. Headlines focus on disasters and incidents as they emerge, but there are also hundreds of emergencies that are prevented thanks to your constant vigilance. The immense positive impact of your daily efforts will never be fully quantified.

The REMS TA Center is honored to support your essential efforts through technical assistance, trainings, publications, tools, and more. Watch the short video linked below to discover several categories of free on-demand resources available to your emergency management planning team on the REMS TA Center website.