Most states don’t require four basic safety plans to protect children in schools and child care from disasters, according to aid group Save the Children.
The group faulted 28 states and the District of Columbia for failing to require the emergency safety plans that were recommended by a national commission after Hurricane Katrina.
The National Commission on Children and Disaster issued final recommendations in 2010, calling on the states to require K-12 schools to have comprehensive disaster preparedness plans and child care centers to have disaster plans for evacuation, family reunification and special needs students, The Associated Press reports.
The group reports that the number of states meeting all four standards increased from four to 22 since 2008, but 28 states are still lacking.
The states cited by the group as failing to meet the recommendations were: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia.