No matter how congenial your community, every school is vulnerable to unstable students, desperate parents who’ve lost custody, jealous domestic partners, overstressed teachers, vengeful ex-employees and extremists.

You need an Active Shooter Response, you must train your people in your response, and you need to test your response to make sure it is free of the fatal flaws.

Meet the Police Before You Need Them

Ask your police department to come to your school and brief you on how they will respond to a 911 call for an active shooter. They will explain how they will respond. They may not be this blunt, but their mission will be to find and kill the shooter.

They will not stop to help the wounded, comfort the terrified, or explain to you what’s going on. Their job is to stop the shooting.

Your School is Also an Employer and Workplace

It’s your job to know what you must do to protect your people before the police arrive, and how to recover after they’re gone. As an employer, it is your legal responsibility to comply with federal law that requires employers to plan and train for a multitude of workplace emergencies, including active shooters. The police know nothing about federal standards to which you as an employer will be held. You are the responsible party for having a comprehensive and compliant emergency action plan specific to your school. Your plan must include an Active Shooter Response. You must train all personnel to your entire emergency action plan at least once a year.

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