Board of Education Lan Quoc Nguyen, President lo31S Tanford Avenue George West, Vice President*

preparation, over half of the schools and almost three quarters of districts identified limited time or funds. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. The district and its schools identified "limited time" as the single biggest constraint impacting emergency- planning needs.

Six (of 17) schools districts have managed to apply for and receive relatively large grants from governmental agencies to greatly enhance the emergency planning efforts. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. As noted in the district's response to the Grand Jury survey, "The Garden Grove Unified School District Garden Grove Unified School District was an award recipient of the Readiness Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) 2008 program grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, for the award performance period of June 1, 2008, through December 1, 2009. The grant enabled the school district to strengthen crisis and emergency response plans in our schools and community to better ensure the safety of our schools and students. Funds were also used to coordinate with local emergency responders, purchase emergency supplies and equipment, and provide enhanced training in emergency response procedures."

Some schools anticipate responding to only a few emergency situations (e.g., earthquake and fire), while others have developed plans to respond to over a dozen different threatening situations. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. The district can only provide comment on the contents of its emergency planning and response document, the GGUSD Emergency/Disaster Preparedness and Operation Plan. The binder containing the Plan is organized in two volumes. Volume 1 governs district- level emergency organization, preparedness, and response activities. Volume 2 is the site- level emergency planning and response model plan for use by all schools in the district. Volume 2 details responses to 16 specific emergency situations.

School districts develop plans with respect to a number of different but overlapping regulations and standards, including those required by the county, state, and federal government. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. A myriad of laws and regulations govern school and school district emergency preparedness and response. These statutes are identified in the GGUSD Emergency/Disaster Preparedness and Operation Plan.

Some schools reported they have not adequately anticipated the needs of students taking prescriptions medications, or with specialized medical needs, in the event of some emergencies, such as an extended lockdown. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. The needs of medically fragile students as well as those requiring prescription medications are addressed in the GGUSD Emergency/Disaster Preparedness and Operation Plan. Principals are required to maintain a list of students and staff with medical conditions or who need prescription medications (i.e. diabetes, epilepsy, asthma) or require specialized Garden Grove Unified School District medical treatments in the event of an extended stay at the school. Such needs are also delineated through employee Incident Command System (ISC) emergency assignments for the site First Aid-Medical and Student Care teams.

School districts are in communications with a variety of local and county departments, agencies, and systems to help prepare them for and respond to disasters or emergences; not all districts have the same resources. Response: 4 Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. As noted in the district's response to the Grand Jury survey, the district coordinates emergency planning and response with agencies at several other levels. Note that the district's boundaries include most of Garden Grove and parts of six surrounding cities - Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster. The other major agencies include: Garden Grove Police and Fire departments, Santa Ana Police and Fire departments, Westminster Police Department, Orange County Fire Authority, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Fountain Valley Police and Fire departments, Orange County Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education, and Orange County Emergency Management Organization (OCEMO). The GGUSD is part of the OCEMO schools' subcommittee, which meets regularly at the Orange County Department of Education.

Few schools have plans or emergency preparation information available in languages other than English. Response: Based on the data in the report, the district agrees with the finding. As noted in the Grand Jury's report, the wholesale translation of comprehensive disaster plans "would be of doubtful utility." Printed information on school emergency planning, particularly state- mandated Earthquake Safety Procedures, are annually provided to all district parents in four languages. For the 2011-12 school year, this information is printed in the district Parent-Student Handbook, which is prepared in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean. Electronic versions of the Handbook are posted in downloadable format in the Parent Resources section of the district website. To support the district's emergency planning and response efforts, the district also invested in the TeleParent communications system which is capable of quickly delivering automated telephone parental notifications for routine and emergency messages in the four languages.