The crisis response teams

  Establishing a chain of command in advance of a crisis or emergency will help everyone know who is in charge and what the roles and responsibilities are when a crisis strikes. When assigning members to the crisis response teams, keep in mind that some staff will be caring for children and will not be able to both care for students and take on other responsibilities.

• A district crisis response team is an organized group of school district personnel and community experts who prepare plans for responding to emergencies and dealing with crises, and provide support to schools during a crisis. It often is led by the safety and security director or the superintendent.
• A school crisis response team is a group of school personnel who have the knowledge and skills to act in any emergency or crisis in a school. It is led by the principal.
• Each team should organize specific roles and responsibilities according to the Incident Command System (ICS). Emergency response agencies nationwide recognize ICS as a way to identify a clear chain of command and roles and responsibilities during emergencies.
• It is imperative that clear lines of succession be established for incident commanders and other key positions on the crisis response teams. There should be one primary and at least one backup incident commander as well as other key crisis response positions.