In every issue:

• Secretary's Column
• Did You Know...
• Child and Adult Nutrition Services (CANS)

Upcoming Events

Printable Version

Admin Memo Archive

For editorial information,
contact Karon Schaack at karon.schaack@state.sd.us.

It is the policy of the Department of Education to provide services to all persons, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, disability, ancestry, or national origin, in accordance with federal and state laws.

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) unveiled an online, independent study course that will help educators and first responders develop effective emergency operations plans for the wide array of potential emergencies that schools face.

"Our Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools course has long been successful in helping educators protect their students," said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. "Now this course is available online, increasing its reach across the nation and greatly enhancing the nation's school emergency planning."

Specialists at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute developed the online course, IS 362: Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools, which is based on a traditional classroom course that FEMA has been offering for nine years. The online course describes emergency management operations, roles and responsibilities, explains how to assess potential hazards schools face, and explains how to develop and test an emergency operations plan. While the course takes an all-hazards approach to emergency planning, it does include a lesson on planning for terrorism.

The course takes between six to eight hours to complete; those successfully finishing it receive a certification of completion. The course is located at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is362.asp

FEMA is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident.

FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

School officials may submit comments or request additional information by contacting USFA through the FEMA website at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/feedback/ .