Emergency Planning Rubric for Schools

The Emergency Planning Rubric for Schools is a tool to help Kern County school administrators and their teams prepare for and be in the best position possible to respond to critical incidents on local school campuses.

The Rubric was created by a subcommittee of the Safer Schools Coalition of Kern with representation from Bakersfield Police Department, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Bakersfield City Fire Department, Kern County Fire Department, Kern High School District, Bakersfield City School District, and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office. This tool is a fluid document, meaning it will be updated regularly as needed.

It is important to note that the strategies and tactics outlined in this document are not requirements, but rather, best practices that have been developed in partnership with law enforcement/first responders with the following objectives in mind:

• Ensure schools are compliant with Ed Code 32281 (b)(3), which requires Comprehensive School Safety Plans to be developed in consultation with a representative from a law enforcement agency, a fire department, and other first responder entities.
• Ensure schools countywide are as safe and secure as possible.
• Unify response and share best practices among Kern County’s 46 school districts and law enforcement/first responders.
• Adopt a common language for emergency responses
• Assists schools to become compliant with Ed Code 32282 (J) (e.g., AB1747), which requires a school’s comprehensive safe school plan to include procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents (e.g. active assailants).