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Education commission to equip school systems with tools for hurricane preparedness
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BATON ROUGE - In the last few years, Louisiana has faced several significant weather events. Right now, there isn't a plan for school leaders to follow in the event disaster strikes.
It's why Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says a committee has been formed to develop one.
"We are launching a hurricane commission of various individuals who have dealt with storms before," Brumley said.
The Protect Louisiana Schools: Hurricane Preparedness Commission (PLSHPC) is Louisiana's first statewide commission that will create a playbook for the best practices and resources for school systems before, during, and after a hurricane. It will address education policy, academics, insurance, federal and state emergency management, and utility companies.
"We know that our kids need to be back with their teachers as quickly as possible in safe facilities," Brumley said. "If we can put together a playbook with some of the experts in the field to help minimize kids' time away from school, we want to do that."
Brumley says he found that school leaders typically had the same questions before and after a disaster. Some of those questions surround the challenge of communication. With cell towers down, people can't get in touch with one another. Brumley says that will be addressed as well as organizing supplies and potential needs for rebuilding.
The commission is made up of state leaders and school leaders of various levels.
"These are individuals that educational leaders around the state have called on in the past, relative to hurricane-type events," he said. "We just think they're the right people in the room to help sort through this."
Brumley says this playbook could be a model and a guide for other states across the nation. Each school system in the state will have access to its details, which should be available before the start of the next hurricane season.
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