In the past few years, weather events and fires in Ohio have resulted in great devastation to homes and businesses, including schools and other education facilities. Luckily, most of the damage was only to property, but those damages were immense in scale. As the process for rebuilding began, it became apparent that board members and administrators had many questions, such as: Which funds can we use to rebuild? What damages are covered? Who do we contact for attendance waivers? Who should we call first?

In an effort to assist schools, the Ohio School Boards Association developed a tool kit aimed at answering those questions, using lessons learned from others who had experienced such calamities and providing valuable information to schools should the unthinkable happen.

Written tool kit
Lessons Learned: Disaster tool kit for schools

Additional resources
American Red Cross: www.redcross.org

Red Cross Ready Rating program: www.readyrating.org

U.S. Department of Education Crisis Planning Guide: www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/crisisplanning.pdf

National School Safety and Security Services: www.schoolsecurity.org/resources/crisis.html

American Academy of Children and Pediatrics: https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Children-and-Disasters/Pages/default.aspx

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities: www.ncef.org

Ohio Emergency Management Agency: www.ema.ohio.gov
2855 W. Dublin-Granville Road
Columbus, OH 43235-2206
Phone: (614) 889-7150
Fax: (614) 889-7183
For address list by Ohio counties, visit www.ema.ohio.gov/county.ema.aspx

Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.fema.gov
PO Box 10055
Hyattsville, MD 20782-7055
Disaster Agency: (800) 621-FEMA
Fax: (800) 462-7585
Technical Assistance: (800) 475-0243