Terminology
Hazard: An act or phenomenon that has the potential to produce harm or other undesirable consequence s to a person or thing.
Student Release Procedure: A process to ensure accountability of students when releasing to parents/guardians.
Public Information Officer (PIO): The official spokesperson designated by the district to coordinate internal and external communications.
Shelter-In-Place: Students/staff remain inside until outside hazard (weather event/hazardous material) is no longer a threat.
Evacuation: Students/staff sent outside the facility to prevent harm/injury due to a hazard inside the facility.
Lockdown: Procedure in which students/staff located in a specific building are in immediate danger from an armed or dangerous person(s). Doors are locked and people should not enter/exit the building.
All Clear: The immediate danger/hazard is over.
Epidemic: An outbreak of a contagious disease that spread rapidly and widely.
Pandemic: A worldwide epidemic that kills or incapacitates huge numbers of individuals in many countries.
Hazmat: An abbreviation for "hazardous materials" which are capable of posing significant risk to health, safety, environment or property.
Closure: Campus or district is closed.
Delay: Campus or district will either start or end their regularly scheduled hours of operation at a time that is different than normal.
Incident: An occurrence or event, natural or human-caused, that requires an emergency response to protect life or property.
Joint Information Center (JIC): An established unit in accordance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to coordinate all incident-related public information activities. It is the central point of contact for all news media at the scene of the incident.
