Penn Tactical Solutions
School Ready Kit
Schools face emergency medical threats that arrive without warning. Active threat incidents, cardiac events, severe allergic reactions, traumatic injuries on athletic fields, and medical emergencies in classrooms, hallways, and buses demand an immediate response - long before EMS can arrive. Most school buildings have AEDs but little else in place. Staff are rarely trained beyond basic CPR, and no written plan exists for the first two minutes.
The School Ready Kit was developed by Penn Tactical Solutions to close that gap. It is written for the people who are actually present: teachers, aides, administrators, coaches, school nurses, and front office staff. It assumes no prior emergency medical training. It gives schools the protocols, tools, and documentation needed to act effectively in the critical minutes before professional responders arrive.
The kit covers bleeding control and tourniquet deployment, cardiac arrest and AED response, anaphylaxis and epinephrine protocols, active threat response and lockdown medical care, student accounting and reunification, building access and EMS navigation, athletic field and bus medical response, and the liability and documentation considerations that fall on school administrators and districts.
Included documents span a leadership self-assessment, emergency role assignment templates, equipment location logs, a building access and EMS navigation guide, an ICS framework adapted for a school setting, reunification planning documentation, laminated quick reference cards, and a justification template for STOP School Violence Act grants and Pennsylvania Act 44 compliance reporting. These are the primary funding and compliance frameworks available to Pennsylvania schools for safety infrastructure.
The School Ready Kit is available at no cost to any school, district, or educational organization.
How Prepared Is Your School?
Answer yes or no for each item. Your readiness score and rating appear at the end.
Six Core Components of a Prepared School
From initial program design to day-to-day operational accountability.
Program Framework
Define roles, responsibilities, and realistic expectations for your team during an emergency.
Equipment Planning
What to have on-site, where to place it, and how to ensure it is accessible when needed.
Response Roles
Guidance for teachers, aides, coaches, school nurses, front office staff, and security personnel.
Inspection & Maintenance
Simple systems to ensure equipment is present, functional, and ready.
Training Recommendations
Practical training levels appropriate for volunteers and staff.
Special Considerations
Athletic events, bus response, student medical information management, and EMS access challenges.
Build Your School Medical Response
Start with the core equipment categories recommended in this kit.
Built for the people who care about your students and staff
Whether you're building from scratch or auditing an existing program, this toolkit has something for you.
Principals & Administrators
School Nurses
Teachers & Aides
Coaches & Athletic Staff
Front Office Staff
Facility Managers
Security Personnel
Medically Trained Staff Members
Unique Challenges in Schools
Understanding these challenges is the first step toward building a response plan that works in your building, with your staff, when it matters most.
- High student density with limited on-site medical personnel
- Multiple buildings, wings, and exterior athletic facilities
- Student medical records management and allergy protocols
- Athletic field and bus medical response gaps
- EMS access, lockdown protocols, and building navigation
- Staff-based response systems with high annual turnover
- Wide age and developmental range across the student population
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about the toolkit.
Is this really free?
Yes. This resource is provided at no cost to support preparedness in our communities.
What format is it delivered in?
PDF, delivered immediately to your email. Formatted for on-screen use and print.
Can this help with funding or grants?
Yes. It can support justification for equipment and training.
Do we need medical experience?
No. This is designed for volunteers and staff without medical backgrounds.
We already have an AED. Is this still useful?
Yes. This expands beyond AEDs to include bleeding control, active threat response, reunification planning, and staff roles.
Ready to Strengthen Your Medical Response?
Preparedness is not about fear. It is about care, responsibility, and being ready to help others.