For school and district leaders · Free download
Starr TeachForward · Safety Without Barriers™
Would your emergency plan get every student out?
The free Inclusive Emergency Plan Starter Checklist is a two-page spot-check built on the FORWARD Framework™. Open your current plan, mark only what is true today, and every unchecked box becomes an action item with a name and a date attached to it.
- Named students · who needs help before the alarm sounds
- Route walk-through · stairs, thresholds, door widths, turning space
- Drills · practiced with the assigned assistance staff absent
- Reunification · identifying a nonverbal student to a caregiver
01
Written for the plan you already have
You are not starting over. You open your current emergency plan, mark only what is true today, and the unchecked boxes become your list.
02
Concrete, not policy language
Every line describes something a person can verify in a building — a walked route, a named staff member, a practiced reunification.
03
From a teacher who was also an EMT
Built by a special education teacher of 23+ years who spent 12 years as an EMT and is ICS-trained, so it reads both sides of the emergency.
Inside the checklist
Seven steps, each with its own boxes
The checklist follows the FORWARD Framework™ — the seven-step order the work follows, from finding disability-related safety needs before an emergency to documenting what changed afterward.
- FFind the Need
Identify disability-related safety needs before an emergency occurs.
- OObserve Barriers
Examine physical, communication, sensory, and procedural barriers.
- RRespond Inclusively
Develop supports that address individual needs.
- WWork Collaboratively
Partner with families, educators, support staff, and emergency responders.
- AAdapt for Access
Modify plans, drills, communication systems, and environments.
- RReview and Practice
Conduct inclusive drills and continuous improvement reviews.
- DDocument and Improve
Track outcomes, update plans, and strengthen preparedness over time.
Karey Starr has spent 23+ years as a special education teacher in the Rochester City School District and 12 years as an EMT, and is ICS-trained. Safety Without Barriers™ is her review of a school's existing emergency plans, drills, and buildings for the barriers that stop students with disabilities from getting out, being accounted for, and being reunited with family — then rewriting the plan so they can. Read about the school safety work.