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The REMS TA Center seeks your feedback to ensure that the Website is continually enhanced to meet your needs.

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Public Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1880-0542, expiration 12/31/2023. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual form, application or survey, please contact Cindy Savage, Contracting Officer, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, cindy.savage@ed.gov directly.

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Request Technical Assistance

REMS TA Center staff are available to respond to your requests for technical assistance (TA) on topics pertaining to safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs). TA requests are accepted via email, our toll-free phone line, and our online form. We will respond within 2 business days of receipt.

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Toll-Free Phone or Email

Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET Phone: 1-855-781-REMS [7367] Email: info@remstacenter.org

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to questions most frequently received from stakeholders in the school and higher education safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness field.

1. What is the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center?

The U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Safe and Supportive Schools (OSSS) administers the REMS TA Center, which serves as ED’s national school safety center offering free resources, information, tools, and training for all schools, districts, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) across the country. The TA Center addresses and builds capacity in school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness with their community partners.

2. What are the Guides for developing emergency operations plans?

On June 18, 2013, the White House released guides for developing high-quality emergency operations plans (EOPs) for schools, IHEs, and houses of worship. These Guides align with and build upon years of emergency planning work by the Federal government and are the first joint product of the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and its Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, and its Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as Health and Human Services on this critical topic. The Guides are customized to each type of community, incorporate lessons learned from recent incidents, and respond to the needs and concerns voiced by stakeholders. Schools, IHEs, and houses of worship can use them to create new plans as well as to revise and update existing plans and align their emergency planning practices with those at the national, state, and local levels. We encourage you to download and examine the Guides in their entirety.

To further support the EOP development process for schools and districts, ED’s OSSS, with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Justice created The Role of Districts in Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans: A Companion to the School Guide (the District Guide). The District Guide serves as a complement to the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans (School Guide) and provides information that can assist school districts in fulfilling both their individual and shared emergency planning responsibilities in all-hazards school EOP development. Core planning teams within school districts can use this guide to inform the development of local policies and procedures related to school EOP development.

3. What type of services do you offer?

The REMS TA Center provides a hub of information, resources, training, tools, and services in the field of school and higher ed emergency management planning. We provide the following services:

Comprehensive Website: Our TA Center Website, https://rems.ed.gov, offers several helpful resources, publications, and archived and future training opportunities. It currently highlights important Federal guidance on developing high-quality emergency operations plans (EOPs) for schools and IHEs.
Virtual Trainings: We offer live and archived Webinar trainings and PowerPoint presentations for download, and we will soon have online courses available for self-paced, individual learning.
Live Trainings by Request (TBRs): Our live trainings are available by request for delivery onsite at your school, district, or IHE.
Technical Assistance: REMS TA Center staff is available to respond to your direct requests for TA on a variety of topics pertaining to emergency operations planning for schools, school districts, and IHEs.
Emergency Management Planning Tools: Interactive emergency management planning tools available through the REMS TA Center include online self-assessment and evaluation tools designed to evaluate school and IHE capacity to create a high-quality EOP, as well as a software tool designed to guide users through the process of generating a high-quality EOP as recommended in the School Guide and District Guide.
Tool Box: The REMS TA Center Website houses an online, searchable library of free, downloadable tools developed by school emergency managers in the field.

4. Who can receive these services?

The REMS TA Center serves the following institutions/organization:

Current or former grantees (e.g., Grants to States for School Emergency Management, Emergency Response and Crisis Management/REMS, Emergency Management for Higher Education);
Schools, school districts, and local education agencies (e.g., Pre-K and K-12, public, nonpublic, and private);
IHEs (e.g., community colleges, universities, and technical schools);
State education agencies;
Regional education agencies;
Community partners (e.g., law enforcement, fire department, public safety, emergency medical services, health, and mental/behavioral health); and
Other stakeholders in K-12 or IHE emergency management (e.g., families, nonprofit organizations).

5. What types of technical assistance are available through the REMS TA Center?

REMS TA Center staff is available via email or our toll-free phone line to respond to your direct requests for TA on a variety of topics, from questions about registering for a Webinar or scheduling a training event, to topical inquiries about new issues in emergency management.

6. What are Live Trainings by Request (TBRs) and Virtual Trainings by Request (VTBRs), and on what topics are they offered?

TBRs are available for delivery onsite at schools, school districts, or IHEs. Trainings are provided free of charge and include training materials, one or more expert trainers, and REMS TA Center staff support for the event hosted at your site. For additional information on currently available trainings, as well as to determine your eligibility to host a training, please visit our Live Trainings by Request page.

VTBRs are interactive trainings for virtual delivery to school districts, schools, IHEs, state education agencies, and regional education agencies. Led by the REMS TA Center team and our cadre of highly qualified subject matter experts, they feature interactive polls, breakout rooms, chat-based discussions, and pre- and post-training activities. For additional information on VBTR offerings and eligibility requirements, please visit our Virtual Trainings by Request page.

7. How do I find a resource on the REMS TA Center Website?

The Topic-Specific Resources section is intended to provide supplemental support by offering a variety of resources from the REMS TA Center, ED, and other Federal agency partners on key topics in K-12 and higher ed emergency management. Find more than 20 topics that cover emergency management functions, hazards and threats, and planning basics and principles. Alternatively, you may find resources by their product type. For example, find all publications and guidance documents on their own dedicated page for viewing and download. Additionally, use the Advanced Search feature on the REMS TA Center Website to search for resources by keyword, audience type (K-12/Higher Ed), file format (MS Word, PowerPoint, PDF), resource type (checklists, drills, forms, procedures), and topic (emergency operations planning, engaging youth, mental health, special topics, other). If you need help locating a particular resource, please use the TA Request Form above.

8. What tools does the REMS TA Center offer to assist schools, districts, and institutions of higher education in developing their emergency operations plans (EOPs) with community partners?

In addition to its training and TA services, the REMS TA Center offers a suite of EOP Interactive Tools for use by K-12 and higher ed practitioners with any level of experience in emergency management to develop EOPs, examine buildings and grounds, revise EOPs, enhance their capacity, engage in learning opportunities, and align their emergency planning practices with those at the national, state, and local levels.

9. Does the REMS TA Center offer self-paced online courses?

Yes. The REMS TA Center’s online courses guide users on federally recommended information and processes for high-quality emergency operations plan development and related topics in comprehensive emergency management. Course participants can take notes and download job aids, checklists, and reference guides as they navigate through informative course modules. To view the current offerings, visit the Online Courses page.

10. Does the REMS TA Center offer any trainings for delivery to school staff, teachers, and administrators in a classroom setting?

Yes. The REMS TA Center created the Specialized Training Package so that education agencies have the necessary resources to use to train their teams and supplement their training programs. These downloadable modules contain presentations with speaker’s notes, instructions, resource lists, and, in some cases, tabletop exercises. For practitioners who wish to assemble all the training materials into a binder, the REMS TA Center has created a cover page and table of contents for all modules.

11. What training Webinars does the REMS TA Center offer, and how do I sign up to receive notification of upcoming Webinar events?

REMS TA Center Webinars feature Web conference presentations from experts in the field of emergency management, along with downloadable PowerPoint slides, supplemental resource lists, and other online materials that enhance the presentation’s key learnings. To view archived Webinars on various topics, such as creating high-quality school EOPs, modifying exercises and drills, and accompanying presentation materials and resources, please visit the Webinars page. Sign up for our mailing list to receive notifications on upcoming events via the online form on the Mailing List page.

12. What is the Tool Box, and how do I submit a resource for potential inclusion in the Tool Box?

The Tool Box is a virtual library of tools developed by school safety practitioners and emergency managers in the field containing relevant resources pertinent to the needs of local education agencies and IHEs and their partners as they engage in the process of emergency management planning. If you would like to submit a resource for potential inclusion in the Tool Box, please complete the Tool Box Submission Form.

13. What resources are available to support new guidance?

The REMS TA Center Website offers a variety of additional guidance from the Department of Education and its Federal partners and related resources to assist schools, school districts, and IHEs with their school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness effort. Resources featured on the REMS TA Center Website include publications, Web pages, tools, creative materials, downloadable and virtual trainings, and more from the REMS TA Center, ED, and Federal agency partners. Included in the wide breadth of topics is information on emergency management functions, hazards and threats, and planning basics and principles.

14. I would like to serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for the REMS TA Center. What do I do next?

Please send an email containing your resume and biographical information to info@remstacenter.org with the subject line: Subject Matter Expert. TA Center staff will respond to your message within 2 business days of receipt.

15. I still can’t find the information I need. Can I request electronic or telephone support?

TA Center staff is available via email or our toll-free phone line to respond to your direct requests for TA on a variety of topics. Send us an email at info@remstacenter.org or call us toll-free at 1-855-781-REMS [7367]. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT.