School Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Annexes

Each school or school district should have an emergency operations plan (EOP)—commonly referred to as a crisis plan—to help them respond to multiple emergencies that can occur during the school year. The U.S. Department of Education developed a guide in collaboration with other federal agencies (e.g., FEMA, DHS, and Homeland Security) to support schools in updating their EOP. The EOP should provide information to support pandemic illness planning. There are multiple functional annexes (sub-plans) that will support a pandemic illness crisis response including but not limited to:

• Communication and Warning Annex
• Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex
• Continuity of Operations (COOP) Annex
• Recovery Annex

Your school should have a Pandemic Illness threat- and hazard-specific annex that incorporates the functional annexes above. The annex should be developed in collaboration with public health and safety organizations. While this document cannot go in depth into the development of each of these annexes, it will provide some information to help guide the preparedness process.

Preparing for a Pandemic Illness: Guidelines for School Administrators and School Crisis Response Teams. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2020, from https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/preparing-for-a-pandemic-illness-guidelines-for-school-administrators-and-school-crisis-response-teams