This phase outlines the steps to ensure the safety of students and staff during a prescription drug incident.

1. Crisis management:
Handling prescription drug
incidents in schools
Phase 2

2. Crisis management phases
Crisis management is a six-phase process:
Phase 1: Prepare before a prescription drug incident occurs in your school.
Phase 2: Take immediate action when a prescription drug incident occurs.
Phase 3: Communicate with school community members after a prescription
drug incident.
Phase 4: Follow up after a prescription drug incident.
Phase 5: Implement disciplinary actions for student(s) involved in a
prescription drug incident.
Phase 6: Support and monitor student(s) involved in a prescription drug
incident.
The following presentation describes the action steps you should complete in
Phase 2. If you would like to review a different phase, please click on the
appropriate link above.

3. Phase 2: Take immediate action
when a prescription drug incident occurs
In Phase 2, take steps to ensure the safety of students and staff during a
prescription drug incident.
There are three action steps you should complete:
Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and intervene at the scene of the
incident.
Action step 2.2: Hold a crisis response team meeting.
Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement.

4. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for staff members who witness the incident
At the scene of the incident, the staff member who witnessed the incident
should:
• Call the nearest teacher to the scene to assist with incident management.
• Through observation, attempt to establish basic facts such as what type of
drug, how much, when and how it was taken, and who was involved.
– Learning the basic facts of the drug incident will help staff decide if medical assistance is
warranted.
• Summon or provide emergency care, if necessary.
–Parents should sign a consent form at the beginning of the year addressing what
emergency care may be given to their child in the event of an emergency.
–When in doubt, staff should call 9-1-1.

5. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for staff members who witness the incident
• Identify student(s) involved in the prescription drug incident. Students
involved may include:
–Any student who is in possession of a prescription drug.
–Any student who appears to be under the influence of a prescription drug without the
proper authorization form associated with an medication management plan (MMP) – see
the SecuRx website or complete the Creating a comprehensive diversion-prevention
program in your school: Professional development course for administrators to learn
about symptoms of prescription drug abuse.
–Any student who may have given prescription drugs to another student.
–Any student who may have received prescription drugs from another student.
–Any student who is part of an interaction where a drug exchange occurred.

6. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for staff members who witness the incident
• Send students not involved in the incident to their classrooms to reduce
opportunity for rumors and misinformation, and to protect the privacy of
the student(s) involved.
• Call the school security guard or school resource officer to assist in
escorting student(s) involved in the incident to the main office.

7. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for the security guard or resource officer*
When the school security guard or school resource officer arrives on the
scene of a prescription drug incident, he or she should:
• Ask staff managing the incident for details about the incident.
• Ensure that emergency medical measures have been taken, if needed.
• Confiscate drugs (see Phase 1, Action step 1.2 – Staff training for
confiscating drugs).
• Ask staff members managing the incident to return to their classroom or
office.
*The school resource officer is typically part of the local law enforcement. Therefore, he or she will may have
specific procedures to follow from the police department. If your school does not have a school security
guard or school resource officer, the guidance counselor can take over these responsibilities.

8. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for the school principal
When student(s) and school security guard or school resource officer arrive at
the main office, the principal should:
• Call staff member(s) who witnessed the incident to the main office.
– If staff member is a teacher, appoint another staff member not involved in the incident to
cover the teacher’s classroom.
• If multiple students were involved in the incident, separate students in
different rooms so they cannot develop a false story.
–Request support from staff members who are not on the crisis response team to monitor
student(s).
• Speak to student(s) involved to get their account of the incident.
–You may wish to speak with the student(s) in the company of a teacher who knows the
student(s) personally. Doing so may facilitate discussing the incident with the student. In
addition, a teacher who knows the student well may be able to tell if the student is being
truthful about the incident.

9. Action step 2.1: Assess the situation and
intervene at the scene of the incident
Actions for the school principal
• Escort students involved in the incident to main office.
– Do not speak to student(s). If escorting more than one student, do not allow students to talk
to each other while going to the main office.
–Contact principal to say who is en route to main office.
• At the main office, school security guard or resource officer should wait with
student(s) for principal.
• After completing the student interview(s), the principal should call together
remaining members of the crisis response team through cell phones or two-way
radios.
Contact the school district’s office to determine any specific district regulations
or procedures related to managing prescription drug incidents in school.

10. Action step 2.2: Hold a crisis response team meeting
Hold a meeting with the crisis response team and staff member(s) who
witnessed the incident. Keep the meeting brief so you can promptly
implement disciplinary actions, which may include school suspension for
student(s) involved in the incident.
During the meeting:
• Staff member(s) who witnessed the incident should explain to other team
members basic facts of the incident, including:
–Who was involved.
– What alerted staff member’s attention.
–How involved students behaved.
–What drug appeared to be involved including the amount, the form of the drug, and the
method of administration.
• Team member with drug or medical expertise should explain the
implications of the drug, including its potential for abuse and associated
health risks.

11. Action step 2.2: Hold a crisis response team meeting
• Based on this information, the principal should call law enforcement, if
warranted.
– In general, you should call law enforcement if the incident involves possession or
diversion of a controlled substance.
–Refer to the guidelines provided by local law enforcement during your meeting in Phase
1.
• The school nurse or appropriate personnel should verify whether the
student(s) involved in the incidents has an MMP that authorizes use of that
particular prescription drug in school.
• A teacher who has a personal connection with student(s) involved in the
incident should give background on prior behavior, academic record, and
other relevant information of student(s).

12. Action step 2.2: Hold a crisis response team meeting
• The principal should share findings from his or her interview(s) with the
student(s) involved in the incident.
• Based on the evidence, team members should discuss the severity of the
incident and decide on immediate disciplinary actions.
• Implement immediate disciplinary actions.

13. Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement
Police involvement is necessary when the prescription drug incident involves
a controlled substance. You should refer to your notes from your meeting
with law enforcement in Phase 1 to determine other circumstances that
warrant police involvement.
Police officers will likely conduct a criminal investigation. A criminal
investigation does not prevent the principal from implementing disciplinary
actions at the school level.
If your school has a school resource officer rather than a school security
guard, the school resource officer is typically part of local law enforcement.
Therefore, he or she will be responsible for notifying the local police
department if assistance is needed.

14. Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement
When police arrive at the school
The principal should:
• Meet police officers at school entrance.
• Provide basic facts about the incident, including:
–Who was involved.
– What alerted staff member’s attention.
–How involved students behaved.
–What drug appeared to be involved including the amount, the form of the drug, and the
method of administration.
• Give confiscated drugs to police officers.
• If your school policies permit it, allow police officers to speak to student(s)
involved in the incident upon police officers’ request.
• Discuss next steps and how the school can support police efforts.
• Discuss what you may tell parents about the incident and the potential
legal consequences their child could face.

15. Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement
After police leave the school
The principal should:
• Document how police officers managed the incident so you can refer back
to your notes if prescription drug incidents occur in the future. Include the
following information:
–Whether the student was arrested.
–Whether police conducted a criminal investigation.
–Whom the police interviewed.
–Whether police confiscated the drug.

16. Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement
After police leave the school
Having a record of how law enforcement responds to different incidents
creates a reference database with information to determine when to call
police and what to tell parents regarding the next steps in a criminal
investigation or potential legal consequences their child may face.
School principals and other staff members must not investigate beyond
gaining the basic facts about a prescription drug incident, unless advised to
do so by the police.

17. Action step 2.3: Collaborate with local law enforcement
Tips for working with local law enforcement
DO
• Keep communication open and clear.
• Review the facts of the situation; report only what you saw, not what you
suppose.
•Work collaboratively to problem solve.
DO NOT
• Challenge local law enforcement officials’ authority.
• Hide important information.
• Send the student home before notifying law enforcement officials in case
they want to speak with him or her.

18. Go to Phase 3 to learn about the action steps you should complete to ensure
clear communication with school community members, including parents,
staff, and students, and manage the information presented by the media to
the community after a prescription drug incident.
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This project has been funded with federal funds from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services,
under Contract No. HHSN271201200032C.