ABSTRACT
Critical incidents can create strong emotional responses in both students and staff. Symptoms of the impact may vary with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this emotionally charged climate following a critical incident, the existence of well-established plans for dealing with the situation can reduce confusion and ensure that decisions are reasoned and thorough. Schools must take steps to ensure that one critical incident does not lead to further crisis reactions in the school community or create harmful conflict among school personnel who are trying to make decisions under stress. The safety of the students and the staff should be the number one consideration in developing emergency procedures. Critical incidents and emergencies involve threats of harm to students, personnel, facilities, or any combination of these and require immediate and effective responses. The school district should enter into agreements with various county government agencies, including mental health, police, and fire departments.
