Austin Independent School District remains committed to protecting the people, places, and things comprising our unique community. This unique community provides the background for AISD's Emergency Management Bureau. The Emergency Management Bureau is a component of the AISD Police Department. The Bureau's efforts increase public safety at the campus-level as well as district-wide by working within the emergency management process. Emergency management is comprised of four phases-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Mitigation

Mitigation refers to any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term effects of hazards. These hazards may be natural hazards such as flooding or thunderstorms. They may be man-made such as the hazards posed by campus intruders. Or, they may be technological, such as cyber attacks on campus or district-wide computing systems. The Emergency Management Bureau currently participates on the City of Austin's Mitigation Planning Team. The Emergency Management Bureau mitigates by performing risk analyses of all AISD systems and facilities and suggesting mitigation projects to reduce or eliminate the effects of hazard agents on AISD assets.

Preparedness

Preparedness is a state of readiness to respond to crises. The Emergency Management Bureau oversees three preparedness functions-training programs, drills, and exercises. The Bureau trains District personnel on the use of the Incident Command System (ICS). The ICS is a system of organization tailored for the response environment and its use is encouraged by the Department of Homeland Security. The Bureau ensures schools conduct periodic fire, severe weather, and intruder drills. And, the Bureau ensures that periodic, district-wide, exercises take place. The preceding three functions serve to enhance AISD's state of readiness.

Response

Response refers to actions taken just prior to, during, and immediately following a crisis event. The Emergency Management Bureau works closely with internal partners and external stakeholders to ensure a safe, effective, and efficient response process. This group of stakeholders ranges from external public health experts to the District's own Police Department. In the event an emergency, please listen to announcements on local news mediums or AISD Cable Channel 22.

Recovery

Recovery refers to actions taken to bring the people, places, and things within the District to pre-disaster, or better, conditions. The Emergency Management Bureau currently participates on several external, recovery-related, planning teams.

If you would like more information on the Emergency Management Bureau's programs, please contact us at emergency.management@austinisd.org. Or, you may reach us at (512) 414-0462.