A 'Preparedness Code' for Parents

In February, I published an article for Patch called “Is Your Kid's School Ready for an Emergency?” In the article, I highlighted a number of potential safety concerns and questions that parents should be asking about their child’s school’s preparedness.

Following the recent release of a report by the investigative reporting team California Watch, which revealed lax oversight of seismic safety upgrades and lack of certification on those upgrades to California schools, my hope is that Sherman Oaks residents and all Angelenos took my article seriously.

The California Watch report goes as far as to say that “at least 20,000 projects [at schools throughout the state] from minor fire alarm upgrades...missing wall anchors, dangerous lights poised above children, poor welding, and slipshod emergency exits for disabled students ... were completed without a final certification.” In many cases, the state doesn’t even know if schools have completely complied with these upgrades, required by the Field Act, a law created out of the rubble of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake to ensure sound, seismic engineering practices for schools. Additionally, the report says that “6 out of every 10 public schools in the state have at least one uncertified building project.”

If you recall, in my article I suggested that parents should get involved and confirm for themselves the readiness of their child’s school by asking deep and probing questions; and never assuming that an emergency plan is in place, let alone rehearsed. I mentioned that no school emergency plan is completely “foolproof,” especially when you consider the scale of an epic quake the size of the one that struck Japan a month ago. However, it’s indeed foolhardy to assume that when little Johnny goes off to school every day that he is in capable hands when it comes to a local disaster, if you as a parent haven’t asked the tough questions. 

The California Education Code requires public and private K-12 schools to develop emergency plans, conduct “drop, cover and hold” drills, and basically  protect and care for our children until relieved by outside assistance or a child’s family. While these codes start the process of protecting our children while they’re away from our care, perhaps they don’t go deep enough. Perhaps as parents we should be adopting our own code; a “Preparedness Code” if you will. A code that mandates not only our interest in school disaster planning but requires our participation and observation of the planning process. A code that allows you to know in a crisis that school officials are executing the emergency plans that you and other parents, with school staff, helped to implement; and that those plans have been thoroughly practiced. 

Parental involvement can help ensure the school is finally able to get the necessary Field Act projects certified. It can give you some sense of calm, because you contributed to a fundraising effort to purchase earthquake preparedness supplies for every classroom at your child’s school.

The revelation of the California Watch investigation should be enough to get the attention of any parent who has even a modicum of concern about their child’s welfare at school. Knowing that the state and our schools are in the worst fiscal shape we’ve seen in recent history, exacerbating already strained preparedness efforts, should be all you need to know to rally other parents to become involved in developing your own “Preparedness Code.”

Roland Sprewell is a fire captain and fire-service veteran who has been educating Southern Californians about fire and life safety for 25 years.