There is a guide for schools that will assist them in creating Business Continuity plans that says it will address All-Hazards. The document was created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This agency is a branch of HHS. The document itself can be found at:

http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/schoolprep/school3.htm.

This is an excellent approach for most hazards. It is well thought out and incorporates many best practices that Business Continuity professionals use every day.

However, it is not quite an all hazards approach. It does not take into account the specific problems that will arise if schools are faced with a pandemic.

What if schools are asked to close during a pandemic? In Missouri, schools have a mandate that that need to teach, even though the physical buildings have been closed. This can be accomplished through use of e-mail and internet interactions between students and teachers. That has led to criticism that not all students have access to computers at home, but since an overwhelming majority of students do have home access to the internet, that may unfortunately be the best we can do. There may be a way to identify those that don’t have internet access, and develop a methodology of mailing assignments back and forth. This would be costly to invoke for all students, but might be easier to do if it were limited to those students that request it.

Pandemic preparedness in the schools means being prepared for school closures of 12 weeks at a time, as recommended by the CDC.

HHS published a document on Community Disease Control and Prevention during a pandemic. They identified school closures as one method they would use to curb the spread of a novel influenza virus. http://www.hhs.gov/pandemicflu/plan/sup8.html#_ftn3.