Active shooter preparedness for special education classrooms

Linda Suarez; Erica C. Pinket

doi:10.5055/jem.0833

Authors

Linda Suarez, EdD https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2756-8282
Erica C. Pinket, MPS-EDM https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0908-6783

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0833

Keywords:

active shooter preparedness, special education emergency response planning, Americans with Disabilities Act compliant emergency response recommendations, vulnerable populations and emergency planning, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility for school planning, , primary source active shooter guidance, Access and Functional Need

Abstract

Active shooter planning for special education classrooms requires considerations commensurate to the needs of students with mobility, cognitive, auditory, visual, and communicative limitations. The federally established Run, Hide, Fight response methodology has no modified alternative for students who are not able to meet the criteria to run, hide, or fight. School districts that implement Run, Hide, Fight plans without any modified alternatives for special education students expose a compliance lapse of the American Disabilities Act, the Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the National Preparedness Goal. To address this gap in planning, a qualitative analysis of primary source documents determined that there is insufficient active shooter planning guidance requisite to students with Access and Functional Need limitations.

Author Biographies

Linda Suarez, EdD

New York State Education Department Bedrock Credit America, Southbury, Connecticut

Erica C. Pinket, MPS-EDM

Georgetown University, Washington, DC

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