- As parents, we send our children to school trusting that the adults caring for them have a plan to keep them safe. For those of us who have children with disabilities, that trust comes with some additional questions.
What happens if my child doesn’t understand an announcement? What if they become frightened and run? What if they cannot stay quiet, move quickly, or follow a direction when it’s given?
These are real concerns, and they need to be part of every school’s safety planning.
A recent study from Texas State University’s ALERRT Center looked at 54 school-based active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2025. One finding that stood out was the vulnerability of glass in and around locked doors. In the successful forced breaches of secured doors examined in the study, attackers got through the glass rather than defeating the lock. Unlocked and propped-open doors were also a significant problem.
That gives us good reason to ask about the building itself. But we also need to ask what happens to our children once an emergency begins.
Start the Conversation Before There Is an Emergency
You don’t have to be a security expert to ask good questions. Start with your child’s principal and ask how the school’s emergency procedures account for students with disabilities.
Some questions to ask:
- Can teachers lock their classroom doors from inside the room?
- Who checks that doors close and lock properly?
- When a lock is broken, how quickly is it repaired?
- Has the district assessed the safety of glass in and around doors?
- How are substitutes and visiting staff taught the emergency procedures?
- What happens if my child is transitioning from speech therapy to the classroom when an emergency is announced and doors are locked?
You may not be given every detail of the school’s security plan. But you can ask how the school will protect and support your child.
“We’ll Help Your Child” Needs Some Details
Most school staff care deeply about their students. Many would do anything they could to protect them. We need to make sure they have the staffing, training, and equipment to do that.
If your child needs help during an emergency, ask who will provide it. Then ask who takes over if that person is absent, on a break, or helping another student.
Think about a classroom where several children need physical assistance. Can the adults assigned to that room safely assist all of them? Has the school practiced with the staffing it actually has?
These are the kinds of questions that help everyone recognize a problem while there is still time to fix it.
Be Honest About What Your Child Can Do Under Stress
An emergency plan needs to reflect how your child is likely to respond when frightened.
A child who follows directions during a calm practice may freeze when an alarm sounds. A child who is overwhelmed may cry, call out, or try to leave. A student who uses a wheelchair may need assistance that takes more than one adult.
Tell the team what you know about your child.
For example: “When my son is frightened, he runs. What will staff do to help him stay with them?”
Or: “My daughter cannot understand instructions over a loudspeaker. How will someone communicate with her?”
Or: “My child cannot reliably remain quiet. How does the plan account for that?”
Our children still need protection when they cannot do what an emergency procedure asks of them.
Think Beyond the Classroom
Your child spends time in more places than their classroom. Ask what happens if an emergency begins while they are in speech therapy, using the bathroom, eating lunch, or outside on the playground.
Who is responsible for them in those settings? Does that person know what assistance they need? How will the school account for their location?
For a child who wanders, discuss how staff will maintain supervision during an evacuation and at any relocation site. A change in routine, unfamiliar surroundings, and frightened adults can make an already difficult situation even harder.
Include Communication and Medical Needs
If your child uses a communication device, ask how they will have access to it and what backup is available.
If your child needs rescue medication, seizure treatment, or medical equipment, include the school nurse in the conversation. Ask how those needs will be addressed during a lockdown or evacuation.
CDC guidance recognizes that students with disabilities may need additional help during emergencies and encourages schools to work with families to identify those needs. Parents have information that belongs in this planning process.
Also discuss what emergency responders may need to understand about your child. A child who does not respond to their name or follow a rapid verbal instruction may need a different way of being approached and assisted.
Ask What the School Learned From the Last Drill
We often hear that a school completed its required drills. Ask what happened during those drills.
Did your child understand what to do? Was someone available to help? Did the communication supports work? Did staff discover that something in the plan was unrealistic?
If your child became overwhelmed, ask what can be changed before the next practice. That may mean preparing them differently, using visual supports, or adjusting how adults provide assistance.
The purpose of practice is to find out where more support is needed.
Know How You Will Be Reunited
Ask how the school will contact you, where official updates will come from, and how students will be released to their families.
If the school has to move students to another location, will accessible transportation be available? Who will stay with your child? Will their communication and medical supports go with them?
Make sure the school has your current contact information and an updated list of people authorized to pick up your child.
Get the Needed Supports in Writing
If your child needs individualized assistance, request a meeting to discuss it. Ask the IEP or Section 504 team to consider the accommodations your child needs and how those supports connect to the school’s emergency procedures.
Follow up in writing so everyone understands what was agreed upon, who is responsible, and what still needs to be addressed.
You can be respectful of the work schools are doing and still ask direct questions. You can appreciate your child’s teacher and still recognize that the teacher needs more help.
Our children deserve a plan that accounts for them as they are. Families need to be part of making sure that plan works.
We encourage parents to begin these conversations now. Bring your concerns, share what you know about your child, and ask for specific answers. The time to discover a gap in a safety plan is before anyone has to depend on it.
By Stacey Hoaglund, Disability Advocacy and Support Specialists, Inc.
Resources
Is Your Child’s School Prepared to Protect Them? Questions Parents of Children with Disabilities Should Ask
