Potential disasters encompass a wide range of threats, including natural events such as wildfires and floods, as well as technological hazards like terrorist attacks and chemical incidents. Regardless of the emergency's nature, our core priorities remain unwavering: saving lives, safeguarding property, minimizing economic repercussions, and addressing psychological impacts. Emergencies have the potential to rapidly escalate into disasters, necessitating resources beyond what individual sites, buildings, or departments typically possess.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) serves as our blueprint for implementing life-saving and property-protecting measures when a significant disaster or emergency unfolds within one or more of our educational institutions, sites, or facilities. This comprehensive plan delineates our policies, operational concepts, response and recovery strategies, and the responsibilities of TVUSD departments and sections that guide our actions in the aftermath of a major crisis or emergency.

The EOP's primary purpose is to provide a structured framework for responding to disasters and other incidents that strain our ordinary resources. It is firmly rooted in the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and structured around the Incident Command System (ICS).

The Basic Plan within the EOP offers an in-depth depiction of organizational structures and the allocation of responsibilities, providing direction, control, and coordination elements. It outlines the collaborative efforts of all departments, sections, and sites, ensuring a unified response to any emergency situation.

To effectively address the multifaceted challenges posed by incidents and emergencies, Temecula Valley Unified School District has established an Incident Management Team (IMT). This dedicated team is responsible for coordinating logistical, fiscal, planning, operational, safety, and community-related aspects of such occurrences. 

The IMT is meticulously structured, with experts assigned to specific roles and positions to ensure optimal efficiency. District leadership will select individuals to fill these roles, with each member carrying out their designated responsibilities.

When activated, the IMT will be stationed at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). From this central command hub, they will exercise command and control over the incident or emergency, orchestrating a coordinated and effective response.

In order to assist site administrators effectively, the Temecula Valley Unified School District has implemented a system known as the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). This system serves as a comprehensive guide for administrators, staff, classrooms, and individual students, offering standardized responses that remain consistent regardless of the nature of the threat.

The SRP adopts an all-hazards approach, emphasizing the required response by those involved rather than focusing solely on the incident itself. It streamlines the response process by providing four straightforward and concise actions that apply universally, whether the situation involves an earthquake, criminal activity, or the looming threat of a wildfire.

Instead of necessitating distinct actions for each potential scenario, the SRP employs these four responses as a common framework for all types of threats. These four responses are shown to the right.

Anytime the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is activated at a school, the TVUSD Communications team will quickly send parents an alert via phone, text, and email messages, letting them know of the Lockout, Lockdown, Shelter in Place, or Evacuation.

This initial message will be short, providing only the basics of the situation, and will likely look like this:

(INSERT SCHOOL NAME): SECURE – Students brought indoors. Learning and other activities continue as normal. More info to come. 

The TVUSD Communications team will provide additional updates about the situation, as needed, until it is resolved. They will then partner with the affected school to provide parents and guardians with final information about the incident.

These messages will be sent using the District’s emergency notification system. Phone calls will come from (951) 676-2661 and text messages will be sent from XXX. Please consider adding both numbers to your phone’s contacts as “TVUSD  Emergency.”

What Should Parents/Guardians Do During an Emergency?

As you know, TVUSD’s number one priority during an emergency is keeping our students safe. For this reason, we ask for our family’s assistance in the following three ways:

• Stay Home

• Stay Informed

• Be Ready

Stay Home

We know the natural instinct as a parent or guardian during an emergency is to come to school to protect your child. By doing so, you may endanger yourself and your child. The most important contribution you can make is to stay home and await further instructions.

Stay Informed

TVUSD is committed to providing timely information. In some situations, accurate information may take some time to verify and share, so we ask for your patience.

During an emergency, TVUSD will provide information via the appropriate communication avenues, which may include:

• District Website

• Voice, Text & Email Messages

• Social Media – including Facebook & Twitter

• Local News Media

Be Ready

Depending on the nature of the emergency, specific actions may be required of parents. For instance, during a reunification event, you may need to come to the school to pick up your child. Please follow the directions sent by the District or your child’s school.

Sign Up for Emergency Messaging or Change Preferences

You are always welcome to add new emergency contacts or change your messaging preferences:

• Parents: Log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and click on “Contact Preferences” in the left-hand column. If you see an incorrect phone number or email, please contact the registrar at your child’s school to request an update.

Action: Locks, Lights, Out of Sight

Lockdown is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep students quiet and in place. Teachers will lock classroom doors and turn lights out. In addition, teachers and students will move away from the corridor line of sight and maintain silence. The teacher will take roll and account for all students. Occupants of rooms will not unlock their rooms for anything or anyone. When the incident is over, a responsible person capable of unlocking the room from out in the hall (administrator, custodian, Law Enforcement, etc) will unlock the door and brief the occupants.

Action: Get inside. Lock outside doors.

If there is a threat outside the building, bring everyone in and lock the outside doors. Lockout is called by the district or site administrator. A Lockout can be called when staff or students notice something weird or strange. Lockout could be the response to a violent person or incident in the community near your school. Teachers, staff, or administration will get students back into the building. Teachers will take roll and notify the office of missing or extra students. Lockout means increased situational awareness, but class will be conducted as usual.

Action: Follow the Directions

This action is similar to “shelter in place”, however, the SRP gives specific instructions within the action. The command will be to shelter, what we are sheltering from, and the specific self-protection action to do. Some examples of announcements could include:

Shelter for Earthquake: Drop, Cover and Hold

Shelter for Hazmat: Seal the Room

Shelter in Silence: Maintain Silence

Action: Follow the Directions

Evacuating means moving students in an orderly fashion from point A to point B. A fire drill is really: “Evacuate out of the building.” With the SRP, evacuation is always followed by a location. For instance, "Evacuate to the Gym." The order to evacuate will always be followed by a location. Administrators, teachers, and building staff all need to work together to quickly, quietly, and safely evacuate students to the evacuation point. Students and staff will leave stuff (backpacks, books, etc) behind. Instructions detailing specific actions during the evacuation may take place, such as holding hands, covering heads, and/or crawling. Teachers will ensure they bring a roll sheet. Immediately upon reaching the evacuation point, teachers should take roll.