School Emergency Operations Plans

The below resources can be used to assist in developing, implementing, and/or reviewing a schools emergency operations plan.


NH Specific Resources:


Additional Resources:

  • Sample School Emergency Operations Plan, March 2011 (FEMA): This document presents excerpts from a sample school emergency operations plan (EOP). Common procedures, such as evacuation and parent-student reunification, may differ at the local, tribal, and State level, so they have not been included in the annexes although they are referenced throughout the plan. It is recommended that planners coordinate with local and tribal law enforcement, fire, and emergency managers when developing these procedures. Appendixes are mentioned in the sample EOP for reference purposes only; no appendixes are included in the sample plan. This sample plan is for training purposes only and is based on a fictional school and county. It is important to tailor all emergency operations plans to the specific hazards and needs of your jurisdiction and school district.
  • The Role of Districts in Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans, September 2019 (FEMA)
  • Comprehensive Planning Guide (101), September 2021, Version 3 (FEMA): CPG 101 provides guidelines on developing emergency operations plans and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine threats or hazards and produce integrated, coordinated and synchronized plans.
  • Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools – Technical Assistance Center: EOP Interactive Tools
    • ONLINE COURSE – DEVELOPING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS (EOPS) K-12 101: 30 to 45 minutes. Training Objective: A high-quality school EOP is adequate, feasible, acceptable, complete, and compliant with state and local requirements. To ensure that EOPs meet these criteria, school planning teams must work collaboratively to determine EOP goals and objectives. That is why the planning process is so important. Although processes should be adapted based on the unique characteristics of the school, school district and situation, teams can use this course to learn about all aspects of plan development, assessment, review, implementation, and maintenance.
    • EOP Assess: A Web-based application (app) that helps practitioners assess their understanding of elements critical to the process of creating and maintaining a high-quality EOP. Users are guided through a series of questions relevant to the process of developing a high-quality EOP and receive a downloadable report providing customized information upon completion to enhance the user’s knowledge of the EOP planning process and high-quality plans.
    • EOP Assist: An offline tool that directs the planning team members through a process that will result in the output of an EOP according to the Federal guidelines for developing a high-quality school EOP. Composed of Microsoft Word worksheets and PDF instructions, the EOP ASSIST Interactive Workbook prompts users through the six-step planning process recommended in the School Guide and generates a customizable school EOP.
    • EOP Evaluate: A Web-based app helps planning team members evaluate an existing EOP against Federal guidelines. Using the School Guide and IHE Guide as a foundation, users are prompted through the Federally recommended six-step planning process to determine whether there are areas where an existing EOP can be improved.