Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, 2014
Research Library, Information and Archives
Category: Guides and Manuals
Guidelines for School Facilities In Virginia’s Public Schools
Virginia Department of Education, 2010
The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code regulates the general health, safety, and welfare of building occupants of public educational facilities in Virginia. Also, public school sites and buildings, new or renovated, as well as all educational programs, activities, or services offered at school facilities must meet the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the building code addresses life safety design issues, it does not offer any design guidance to school planners and educators as to how to meet their educational program needs. Various requirements contained in the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia and in the Standards of Quality, such as required program offerings, pupil-teacher ratios/maximum class sizes, and administrative staffing, guide school facilities design in the context of minimum standards. The Virginia Public School Facilities Guidelines are intended to provide more detailed guidance for the planning and design of local public school facilities.
Assessing and Managing the Terrorism Threat
U.S. Department of Justice, 2005
The continuous threat of terrorism has thrust domestic preparedness obligations to the very top of the law enforcement agenda. For today’s law enforcement executive, the capacity to assess and manage risk is imperative. In the postSeptember 11 era, this capacity must be considered as much a staple of law enforcement operations as crime analysis, criminal intelligence, and crime prevention. The consequences of failing to assess and manage terrorist threats and risk could be incalculable.
Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide
Homeland Security, 2013
Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 201, Second Edition provides communities additional guidance for conducting a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA). The First Edition of this Guide (April 2012) presented the basic steps of the THIRA process. Specifically, the First Edition described a standard process for identifying community specific threats and hazards and setting capability targets for each core capability identified in the National Preparedness Goal as required in Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8: National Preparedness.
This Second Edition expands the THIRA process to include estimation of resources needed to meet the capability targets. The Second Edition also reflects other changes to the THIRA process based on stakeholder feedback, such as streamlining the number of steps to conduct a THIRA and providing additional examples. Where appropriate, this Guide highlights key changes from the First Edition of CPG 201. This Second Edition supersedes the First Edition of CPG 201.
Florida Safe School Design Guidelines
Florida Department of Education
he Florida Department of Education published a very comprehensive manual for reducing crimes in schools. It uses Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies to enhance security and reduce violence and vandalism on campuses.
Florida School Chemical Cleanout Manual
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2007
Hazardous materials can be found in many programs and areas within a school. These include art classrooms; science stockrooms and laboratories; auto, metal and wood shop classes; photography darkrooms; printing rooms; and grounds maintenance and custodial departments. Mercury thermometers or mercury blood pressure sphygmomanometers may be present in nurses’ offices. Often, these chemicals are not well managed: they are stored in the wrong place, in decrepit containers, and alongside other chemicals with which they are incompatible. Because staff often does not know what to do with old chemicals that are no longer used, the chemicals are kept, sometimes for decades, after which time many chemicals deteriorate, become contaminated or even unstable.
Healthy Children Ready to Learn: Facilities Best Practices
California Department of Education, 2006
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic that is sweeping the nation. The American Heart Association’s report A Nation at Risk discusses the rapidly increasing incidence of obesity in the United States and notes “if childhood obesity continues to increase, it could . . . cause our current generation of children to become the first generation in American history to live shorter lives than their parents.”
Seismic Safety in California’s Schools
State of California, Seismic Safety Commission, 2004
The California Seismic Safety Commission has responded to inquiries from members of the Legislature, the public, and parents about the seismic safety requirements for schools in California. Concerns have been raised about the risks posed by older school buildings, the different seismic standards for public, private and charter schools, and the safety of buildings converted to school use. The public concern was increased when a pre-Field Act California public school, seismically retrofitted in 1959, was damaged in the moderate December 22, 2003 San Simeon earthquake. A common theme in these questions is that parents have a right and a desire to know if their children’s schools, whether public, private or chartered, are safe. A review of policies and standards was conducted and this report was developed to answer these questions.
Greening America’s Schools, Costs and Benefits
American Federation of Teachers, American Institute of Architects, American Lung Association, Federation of American Scientists, and U.S. Green Building Council, 2006
Some 55 million students spend their days in schools that are too often unhealthy and that restrict their ability to learn. A recent and rapidly growing trend is to design schools with the specific intent of providing healthy, comfortable and productive learning environments. These green, high performance schools generally cost more to build, which has been considered a major obstacle at a time of limited school budgets and an expanding student population. A 2005 survey by Turner Construction Company of 665 senior executives found that executives are discouraged from undertaking green construction because of concerns about cost, and a lack of awareness and available information on the financial benefits of green buildings.
Emergency Management Resource Guide: Kentucky Center for School Safety
This Emergency Management Resource Guide template is designed to assist schools and districts in the creation and use of custom-made Emergency Response Plans. This template addresses the four phases of emergency management and is organized around these four distinct planning venues, they are:
- Mitigation/Prevention
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
This planning protocol allows the school district and individual schools to customize their plans to address the unique needs of their specific location.
