Document Type

Capstone Experience

Graduation Date

5-2023

Degree Name

Master of Public Health

Department

Epidemiology

First Committee Member

Rachel Lookadoo

Second Committee Member

Steve Peters

Third Committee Member

Charlotte Evans

Abstract

Approximately 17% of mass shootings which occurred between 2000 and 2013 took place in the public school K-12 setting. The incidence of school shootings is on the rise, with a particularly concerning increase in annual incidents beginning around 2010. A review of legal requirements for public school active shooter preparedness in FEMA Region VII, which includes the states Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, was conducted. While Iowa clearly requires an emergency operations plan including provisions for the active shooter scenario, Nebraska and Kansas do not clearly require such provisions in school emergency operations plans, and Missouri does not appear to require any kind of written emergency operations plan. Each State’s Department of Education website was reviewed to determine what resources, if any, were provided to educators for emergency preparedness planning in general and for the specific scenario of an active shooter, regardless of state legal requirements for preparedness. All State Departments of Education list emergency preparedness planning resources, but not all states list resources specifically for the active shooter scenario, and where there are active shooter specific resources available, these resources are not specific to the school setting. It is concluded that while all states in FEMA Region VII have room for growth surrounding legal active shooter emergency preparedness requirements in public schools, some states have more room for growth than others, and Missouri has the most room for growth.

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