Emergency Response Plan

Maricopa Unified School District is updating the district emergency response plan with specifics for each campus within the district. The plan focuses on potential emergencies in our area and how we as a district, with the cooperation of first responders, will respond. District staff will be trained on responsibilities, and drills will take place with the support and buy in of the school board, law enforcement, fire departments, and school staff. Parents and the community can help by keeping informed and having current emergency contact information on hand in your child’s file.

Potential Emergency Situations for MUSD

• Fire 
• Bomb   
• Weapons 
• Animals 
• Assaults/Fights 
• Bus Incident
• Gas/Water      
• Hazardous Materials 
• Intruder/Hostage  
• Radiological Event 
• Serious Injury/Death Student Unrest 
• Suicide
• Terrorist Event 
• Weather 
• Pandemic Event 
• Train Incident 
• Gang Behavior

Types of Emergency Responses

• Fire Drills– Evacuation on campus– routes designated in every classroom 
• Lockdown– Students and staff locked inside classrooms until threat is eliminated
• Evacuation– Off campus– Relocation sites to remain confidential– District hotline will have parent/community information
• Reverse Evacuation / Shelter in Place– Utilizing safe places on campus for shelter; including multipurpose rooms, cafeterias, and libraries as examples

MUSD Basic Plan for Emergency Response

ALL schools within the district will respond to emergencies consistently according to the plan. Response scenarios depend on the specific emergency at hand. Evacuation, staging, and relocation areas are specifically assigned to campuses and may not be released to the public.

Training, practice, and drills will be regularly conducted so staff, students, and the community are prepared and confident in case of an emergency.

Incident Command System (ICS)

The district and state departments of education are committed to using the incident command system when in an emergency situation. The incident command system is a universal system of response organization used by law enforcement and fire departments across the nation. The structure includes an incident commander– for our school purposes, this in most cases will be the school principal– along with other school staff trained specifically to handle safety, operations, media, planning, logistics, and finance with regard to emergency response. Our staff works together with the community responders in using and understanding the ICS.

Student Release Procedure in an Emergency

In the event of an emergency situation on campus, your child will either be held on campus or evacuated off campus. In either scenario, it is imperative that you follow the directions on the district hotline. The hotline will be updated with student release information as soon as it is available. 

When picking up your child, be prepared to show identification as you will be asked for ID. We will verify the identity of anyone picking up your child with information in our system with regard to approved contacts. Our goal for either keeping students on campus or evacuating to another site is to keep students safe. Parents or guardians should be patient with the student release process. It can be time-consuming and at times stressful, but our staff will work as quickly and positively as possible to get children returned to their families.

How Parents & Guardians Can Help

Please make sure that contact information for you and your emergency contacts is accurate! Please take a few minutes to verify with your school office that your contact information and that of your emergency contacts is correct. We find many incorrect phone numbers when trying to contact parents/guardians. It is imperative for the process and protection of your child that those numbers be correct. The more numbers we have to contact you the better our chances are of actually getting through.