When I was in school, we regularly had nuclear drills. We either hid under our desks or ran to a shelter in the school’s basement. We’re fortunate. We laugh about it now.
We can laugh about it because first, nuclear war never happened. And second, the idea that being under a desk would protect us from nuclear weapons is laughable.
In 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma, a tornado hit the elementary school, killing 7 students. For some families, this isn’t a “what if” scenario.
Let’s talk about something schools don’t always get right: emergency plans for students with special needs. Tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and other severe weather events can hit with little warning.
Please Note: This article has now been split into two–the school shooter drill information and tips is its own post now.
When they do, every second counts. Schools have emergency plans for these events, but how often do those plans actually include students with disabilities?
When we think about weather emergencies, we might imagine a group of students calmly moving to a safe area, all following the same routine. But what if your child can’t move quickly? What if they can’t hear the storm sirens or understand the instructions?
What if, during a tornado drill, they have a sensory meltdown because of the noise and chaos? Unfortunately, most emergency plans for students with special needs overlook these important questions.
Emergency Plan for Students with Special Needs
What is the plan? If there was an emergency at your school, what happens to your disabled child.
Fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes…it seems every part of the country is subject to some type of emergency. So between shootings and natural emergencies, there’s a lot to think about.
So, let’s think about it and talk about it.
Gaps in Emergency Plans for Students with Special Needs
Here’s the reality: Many emergency plans for weather events are far from inclusive. A generic plan might sound great—get all the students to a safe zone, stay quiet, follow instructions—but that plan quickly falls apart when it comes to students who use wheelchairs, have hearing or vision impairments, or struggle with anxiety and emotional regulation.
Take a tornado drill, for instance. Schools might assume everyone can make it to the designated shelter in a few minutes. But what about a student with mobility challenges who can’t navigate the stairs quickly?
Or a child with Down syndrome who doesn’t understand the urgency and becomes frightened by the sudden change in routine? What happens to the non-verbal child who relies on visual cues and sees nothing but panic around them?
Weather emergencies are unpredictable and can be terrifying for any child, but they can be even more traumatic for students with special needs. And when emergency plans don’t account for their needs, the consequences can be devastating.
Legal Responsibilities: Schools Must Be Prepared
Here’s a crucial point: schools have a legal duty to protect all students, including those with disabilities. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), schools must ensure that emergency plans for students with special needs provide equal access to safety measures.
Ignoring the needs of disabled students is not just negligent—it’s illegal.
Unfortunately, compliance often isn’t prioritized until after something goes wrong. And when it does, it’s usually too late to make things right.
The U.S. Department of Education provides guidelines for inclusive emergency planning, but many schools fail to implement these due to inadequate time, training, or resources.
Disability Considerations for Emergencies
Think about what your child needs, should an emergency happen.
- Are they ambulatory? If your child is non ambulatory, what is the plan?
- Do they pick up on social cues? If they see all their classmates running out a door or hiding under a desk, would they follow suit and do the same?
- If they were taken to another location during an emergency, can they communicate personal information? (like parent name, phone number)
- I have more on medications further down in this article. But, think about what your child cannot be without.
- During a crisis, there’s a lot of noise–alarms, sirens, yelling, screaming, power flickering, transformers exploding…. How will your child react?
- Think about your child and fight, flight or freeze. None of us can predict how we’ll react to tornado outside, but what do you think your child would do in any emergency situation?
- Once your child is included in crises, emergency responses and drills, what things does your child need to learn and prepare for a drill?
Adding Your Child’s Needs to Emergency Response Plans
Think about what your child would need during an emergency situation. Ask around, ask other parents. Visit your local firehouse or police station, ask them.
Now, many of you might be thinking:
- Why bother, schools don’t follow IEPs anyway.
- During a crisis, I am NOT going to dig up and read IEPs.
- If I do any of this, my child will perseverate on it and it will only increase their anxiety.
You know your child best. Some of us don’t want our kids to even see this stuff on TV because they will perseverate on it. Talk with your child’s medical and educational team, to see if you can brainstorm on ways to prepare them without upsetting them.
Yep, nothing is 100%.
However, at least get the disabled kids, and their emergency protocols, on emergency plans.
Then, you have to follow up and reinforce. There are several opportunities to do this.
- Before/after emergency drills, see if your child’s specific needs were thought of and the protocols followed. If not, re-educate the IEP team.
- Back to school nights, parent teacher conferences, IEP meetings–make sure this emergency information is on a one-sheet IEP to remind them. You don’t have to discuss it ad nauseum each time, but a quick reminder cannot hurt.
None of this is a guarantee, but we know that proper preparation works.
After tragic incidents, we always hear stories of love and heroism. Planting those seeds during practice drills will help students respond appropriately and know what to do if it happens to them.
As a parent, think of an emergency in your own home.
- carbon monoxide detector goes off
- fire
- earthquake
- tornado
- flash flood
- fracking accident
- pipeline explosion
Now, think of your kids. All of them, but of course the ones who learn differently.
Now, think of what your disabled child needs in order to be safe and respond correctly in an emergency.
What Skills a Disabled Child May Need During an Emergency
- assistance evacuating (blind, wheelchair)
- understanding the importance and gravity of a situation (autism, IDD)
- unable to sit still, hide, be quiet
- inconsolable in a crisis
- unable to follow directions, even “Run!” (autism, IDD, physical disabilities)
- cannot follow multi-step directions “Everyone! Walk quickly to the office and no talking!”
- Does not get social cues, inherent learning, follow what everyone else is doing
Now, apply it to school. It’s always best to have a plan.
What Evacuation Plan I am Asking for
So it came up on Facebook…”Like, what do I even ask for?
It is going to depend on the child, so I’ll use mine as an example.
My son is a very slow processor of information and requests. In the morning, if I walk into his room and say “Your bus is here” this is what happens.
- He looks up at me, usually for a few seconds.
- He then proceeds to stand up, but he lacks decent motor planning, so that takes a few seconds.
- Then, he scans the room for what special toy he wants to take to school. Add another few seconds.
- Finally, we are at the front door headed out to the van, maybe 20-30 seconds after my initial ask.
We don’t have that kind of time if there’s a shooter or a tornado or a pipeline explosion (a real concern in parts of my county).
And, sometimes when either me or his school team asks him to walk some place, he does what we call the “flop and drop.” He drops to the ground and refuses to budge. In every day situations, we give him choices. If there’s a shooter in the building, we do not have those same choices.
In such a situation, my son will require heavy, full on, assertive, physical prompting. In other words, grab him by the arm and drag his butt out of there. That’s what my son needs.
Sure, verbally console him and tell him what you’re doing along the way, I suppose. My guess is if all that was going on, he’s not going to be able to process verbal information anyway.
If he’s upset by this, I’ll work on fixing it later. I want him alive.
So, that is what I am asking for as part of a shooter plan or emergency drill. It then is my job to make sure that anyone on his IEP team or anyone who may be with him during the school day, knows this.
New staff hired? Great, I’ll introduce us and let them know.
So, request, in writing, that your child’s specific needs be added to emergency plans and practiced during training and drills.
Smaller child who uses a wheelchair? Pick them up and run like hell.
Child who usually requires choices and won’t want to be stuffed in a classroom bathroom with 20 other kids? Too bad. Grab and GO. We don’t have time to offer choices, transitions and support during this.
Again, I’m talking extreme situations–there’s a shooter in your building, a tornado headed toward the building, stuff like that.
For the drills–you prepare. “Hi Katelyn, if there was an actual tornado, I will just pick you up and carry you to the safety shelter. This is because we likely won’t be able to make it through the hallways with your wheelchair during a tornado.”
Verbally and physically walk them through the scenario so that hopefully them have some comfort and recall, if it actually has to happen.
And again, parents, it’s on you to keep this on your radar and remind your teams and staff who are with your kid each day.
*Pipelines and gas emergencies have specific protocols. Make sure your school is aware of them. Contact the county emergency services department for resources.
Weather Emergencies and your IEP
Seven months. Imagine being away from your child for 7 months. Not knowing where they are or who they are with. That is how long it took for the last child to be reunited with their parents after Hurricane Katrina.
Several years ago, I was a Fellow for Save the Children, and asked to spread the word and share this important information– about emergency plans and evacuation plans for schools.
Hurricane season is usually June 1 to November 30. But, September is typically our busiest hurricane month. I know here in the mid-Atlantic, we got a bit complacent with these kinds of things, didn’t we?
We saw bad storms in the south, empathized with them but never thought it could happen here. And it did. Katrina was the catalyst for Save the Children to become a leader in helping American families prepare for disasters.
Because Superstorm Sandy hit such a densely populated area, we learned a lot from it. Like how unprepared we are for such storms! Do you have a plan for your family? If something hit your home in the middle of the night or the middle of the day, what is your reunification plan?
Does your school have a plan? Have you asked? For a moment, when I picture my defenseless, non-verbal 13-year-old lost in the middle of a disaster, my stomach tightens and my pulse races.
What would we do? If another September 11 happened today, right here, right near you, are you ready?
Different Kids, Different Emergency Needs
Parenting a disabled child, we have extra responsibilities depending on our child’s disability. You should notify your state and local agencies if your child is a high priority rescue.
You can call them and ask. Some things that would make your child high priority would be needing oxygen or electricity for equipment, or frequent medication that is life-saving (seizures, diabetes).
Save the Children has the resources for you. You can use them at home and share with your school or daycare.
Here are the emergency plan resources you need to create one and add it to your IEP.
Emergency Action Plan Templates
Planning how schools and parents will communicate can greatly facilitate the reunification process if you become separated from your child.
Emergency Information for IEP Teams
Families expect to be quickly notified when an emergency happens, but effective communication should also happen before and after an emergency.
These are things schools should do during an emergency. But, they are also conversation points for parents, in regards to your child and their specific needs. How does your IEP student fit into this?
- First, share information about your program’s emergency plan.
- Second, routinely update parent/guardian contact numbers.
- Third, plan how you will alert parents/guardians in an actual emergency.
- Telephone service may be disrupted during an emergency. Prepare a back-up plan, perhaps asking a local radio or television station to broadcast your program’s emergency status.
- Become familiar with the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System and the National Emergency Child Locator Center and the American Red Cross systems. Both have been developed to help reunite families who are separated during disaster.
Parents, you need to take ownership in this. I can’t tell you how often schools cannot reach parents because they don’t have a valid number.
If you get a new phone, change it EVERYWHERE.
Make an ICE card.
Once you’ve filled it out, print it, and you’re done! Put it in a safe spot that is with your child every day, such as a smaller pocket in their backpack or lunch box.
Make sure that school personnel are aware of it, and of course, encourage them to do it as well. Then, should anything happen….you’re one step closer to being reunited.
Disaster and Emergency Plan Templates and Checklists
School Emergency Evacuation Plan
https://adayinourshoes.com/wp-content/uploads/Disaster-Checklist-1.pdf
And here is a similar one for you to complete, in case this happens at home.
The Emotional and Physical Toll on Students with Special Needs
Consider a child with autism who is hypersensitive to loud noises like storm sirens. During a tornado drill, the blaring sirens, rushing feet, and panicked voices become overwhelming, triggering a meltdown.
Instead of being safely guided to a shelter, that child might hide under a desk or refuse to move, increasing their risk during a real emergency.
Think about a student who is deaf or hard of hearing during a wildfire evacuation. If announcements are only made over the PA system, they might not even know there’s an emergency.
Or consider a student with cerebral palsy who takes extra time to move. If the school hasn’t planned for someone to assist them, they could be left behind in the rush to evacuate.
The emotional and psychological impact of feeling forgotten or neglected during emergencies is profound. Children who already face daily challenges at school shouldn’t have to worry about their safety on top of everything else.
How to Ensure Your Child Is Included in Emergency Plans
So, what can you do to ensure your child is accounted for in weather emergency plans? Start with your IEP team and bring this issue up at your next meeting. Don’t accept vague assurances—get specific. Here’s how:
- Request Details About Emergency Plans for Students with Special Needs: Ask the school for a written copy of their emergency plans. How do they plan to evacuate all students, including those with special needs, during events like tornadoes or wildfires? Ask for specifics on the steps they’ll take for children who have mobility issues, are non-verbal, or have other disabilities.
- Include Safety Measures in the IEP: Ensure the IEP includes specific accommodations for weather-related emergencies. If your child has mobility challenges, specify how they will be evacuated. If they have hearing impairments, make sure there are visual alarms or other systems to alert them. If your child has sensory sensitivities, request accommodations to help them manage the noise and chaos of a drill or real emergency.
- Insist on Regular Staff Training: Schools should provide regular training for staff on assisting students with special needs during weather emergencies. This training should include practical exercises on evacuating disabled students and strategies for maintaining calm and communication during a crisis.
- Request Inclusive Drills: Advocate for weather drills that consider the needs of all students. Drills should help all children—disabled or not—feel prepared, not terrified. This might mean modifying existing drills to be more inclusive or creating separate drills that cater specifically to students with disabilities.
- Create a Personal Emergency Plan: Work with your child’s IEP team to develop a personal emergency plan that addresses their unique needs. This plan should outline who is responsible for assisting your child, what tools or technology might be necessary, and any special considerations required.
- Stay Informed and Advocate for Broader Changes: Share your concerns with other parents, school administrators, and local officials. A united front can be more effective in advocating for comprehensive, inclusive emergency plans.
What Schools Can Do to Improve Emergency Plans for Students with Special Needs
Schools must ensure that emergency plans are inclusive and comprehensive. Here are a few steps they should take:
- Develop Individualized Emergency Plans: Schools should create individualized emergency plans for students with disabilities, similar to individualized evacuation plans required by law in workplaces. This means considering each child’s specific needs, whether it’s a buddy system, special equipment, or an alternate evacuation route.
- Use Technology Solutions: Schools should implement technology like visual alerts, apps that send emergency notifications, or GPS tracking for students with mobility impairments. These tools ensure all students receive timely and accurate information in an emergency.
- Inclusive Drills and Scenarios: Schools should practice emergency drills that include scenarios involving students with special needs. These drills help staff and students understand what to expect and ensure that everyone knows their role.
- Accessible Shelter Areas: Safe zones or shelters must be accessible to all students, including those with mobility impairments. Schools should ensure that evacuation routes are clear and that shelters are accessible, equipped with necessary supplies, and able to accommodate all students.
Broader Advocacy Tips: Moving from Awareness to Action
You can take steps beyond your child’s IEP to push for broader change:
- Raise Awareness at the District Level: Write letters, start petitions, or attend school board meetings to highlight the need for inclusive emergency plans for students with special needs. Share your story and those of other families affected by inadequate planning.
- Join or Start a Parent Advocacy Group: Partner with other parents to push for changes. A group of parents can exert more pressure on schools and district administrators than individuals alone.
- Advocate for Policy Changes: Work with local representatives or advocacy organizations to push for changes in state or local policies requiring schools to have comprehensive, inclusive emergency plans for all emergencies.
Checklist: Ensuring Your Child’s Safety During Weather Emergencies
Here’s a quick checklist to make sure your child’s needs are covered:
- ✅ Request a copy of the school’s emergency plan for students with special needs.
- ✅ Ask how the plan specifically addresses the needs of students with disabilities.
- ✅ Ensure accommodations for weather emergencies are added to your child’s IEP.
- ✅ Verify regular staff training on emergency procedures for all students.
- ✅ Advocate for inclusive drills that take all students’ needs into account.
- ✅ Keep all communication in writing and document every conversation with the school.
Every Child Deserves Safety
Your child’s safety shouldn’t depend on chance or whether a school has considered their needs. Weather emergencies are scary enough without the added anxiety of being left behind. By advocating for inclusive plans and ensuring your child’s unique needs are addressed, you’re not just ensuring their safety—you’re standing up for the rights and dignity of all children.
