The Emergency Management Unit coordinates the activities for the district’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). When activated, the EOC is a central location where the district’s Incident Management Team officials and, if needed, local government and agency officials convene during disaster situations to make decisions, set priorities, and coordinate resources for response and recovery. Atlanta Public Schools also uses a virtual EOC to communicate with remote officials.

Besides training and testing on the district-level plan, the Emergency Management Unit also assists appointed emergency coordinators to design school and departmental emergency action plans.  The critical goals of each plan are:

• To synchronize efforts.
• To prevent fatalities and injuries.
• To reduce damage to buildings, documentation, stock equipment.
• To accelerate the resumption of normal operations.

Each plan, regardless of hazard or threat category, will address the common duties, responsibilities, authority/chain of command and resources for emergency response. A plan template is provided for each school’s emergency coordinator.

Among the responsibilities that will be addressed and assigned in each emergency plan are:

• Reporting the emergency and activating the emergency plan.
• Assuming overall command and alerting staff; coordinating activities of various groups.
• Establishing communication (for example, advising the media, alerting external agencies or alerting the outside population of possible risk).
• Ordering evacuation and confirming evacuation completed.
• Requesting external aid.
• Providing medical aid or advising relatives of casualties.
• Ensuring emergency shut-offs are closed.
• Sounding the all-clear.
• Completing a comprehensive plan for handling emergencies is a major step toward preventing disasters.

Continuity of Operations planning is the internal effort of the district to assure that the capability exists to continue essential functions and services in response to a comprehensive array of potential emergencies or disasters. A continuity of operations plan (COOP), as defined in the National Continuity Policy Implementation Plan and the National Security Presidential Directive 51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, is an effort to ensure that Primary Mission-Essential Functions continue to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents and technological or attack-related emergencies.

The critical business functions your COOP is planning for are those which must be:

• Operational not later than 12 hours after activation.
• Capable of maintaining sustained operations for up to 30 days.

COOP Planning Objectives

The seven specific objectives of COOP are:

1. Ensure the safety of employees
2. Ensure the continuous performance of a department or agency’s critical functions during an emergency
3. Protect essential equipment, records and other assets
4. Reduce disruptions to operations
5. Minimize damage and losses
6. Achieve an orderly recovery from emergency operations
7. Identify relocation sites and ensure operational and managerial requirements are met before an emergency occurs

 COOP Development: Scope of Work

• Check with other, like sized, agencies about their COOP planning efforts.
• Obtain copies of sample COOP Plans for agency directors and heads to review.
• Identify key players in the agency who would be involved in COOP Planning.
• Define the role of key OSPI players.
• Set dates for the beginning and ending of the project.
• Set meeting dates with directors to begin the process.
• Collect necessary information for the agency plan.
• Begin the process of drafting the initial “draft” plan.
• Send the “draft” plan to agency directors for review.
• Make the necessary changes to the “draft” plan.
• Finalize the plan and prepare for Superintendent Dorn’s signature.
• Print/Post/Share Plan.

Elements of a COOP:

Essential Functions:

The critical activities performed by organizations, especially after a disruption of normal activities.

Orders of Succession:

Provisions for the assumption of senior agency offices during an emergency in the event that any of those officials are unavailable to execute their legal duties.

Delegation of Authority:

Identification by position, of the authorities for making policy determinations and decisions at headquarters, field levels, and all other organizational locations. Generally, pre-determined delegations of authority will take effect when normal channels of direction have been disrupted and will lapse when these channels have been reestablished.

Continuity Facilities:

Locations, other than the primary facility, used to carry out essential functions, particularly in a continuity event. Continuity facilities or alternate facilities refers to not only other locations, but also nontraditional options such as working at home, telecommuting, and mobile-office concepts.

Continuity Communications:

Communications that provide the capability to perform essential functions, in conjunction with other agencies, under all conditions.

Vital Records Management:

The identification, protection and ready availability of electronic and hard copy documents, references, records, information systems, data management software and equipment needed to support essential functions during a continuity situation.

Tests, Training, and Exercises:

Measures to ensure that an agency’s continuity plan is capable of supporting the continued execution of the agency’s essential functions throughout the duration of a continuity event.

Devolution of Control and Direction:

Capability to transfer statutory authority and responsibility for essential functions from an agency’s primary operating staff and facilities to other agency employees and facilities.

Reconstitution:

The process by which surviving and/or replacement agency personnel resume normal agency operations from the original or replacement primary operating facility.

Four Phases of Continuity of Operation Activation

• Phase I: Readiness and Preparedness
• Phase II: Activation and Relocation: Plans, procedures, and schedules to transfer activities, personnel, records, and equipment to alternate facilities are activated.
• Phase III: Continuity Operations: full execution of essential operations at alternate operating facilities is commenced.
• Phase IV: Reconstitution: operations at alternate facility are terminated and normal operations resume.