ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES
MANUAL
SECTION C
BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
CK 4.7.2 Notification of Urgent
Situations/Early Dismissal
NOTIFICATION OF URGENT SITUATIONS/EARLY DISMISSAL
On occasion it may be necessary to deviate from the Center’s established work schedule. Such
situations may include weather conditions creating hazardous travel conditions or emergency
situations deemed appropriate by the Executive Director/designee.
In the event that inclement weather makes travel unsafe, the Executive Director/designee may adjust
the established work schedule until travel conditions improve.
Operational

The Executive Director/designee is responsible for declaring the urgency of the situation and
timeframe.

Each Associate Director is responsible for identifying essential staff in the division
appropriate to the situation.

Only essential staff will be required to work. Non-exempt essential staff will be paid one and
one-half time for work during the emergency timeframe.

Hourly paid staff regularly scheduled to work during the release time will be paid for those
hours.

Staff members who record their time in the Time Accounting System (TAS) shall record the
time off as leave.
Methods of Announcements. Depending on the situation, the following methods of announcements
are available.
Internal Communication. ESC-20 may use internal communications such as fire alarms, internal
public announcement systems, word of mouth by means of chain of command, e-mail and/or the
website to notify employees about situations at the Center.
Examples:
 Bomb threats
 Dangerous travel conditions
 Fire
 Hostage situations
 Medical events
 Natural and/or manmade disasters
 Workplace happenings
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ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES
MANUAL
SECTION C
BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
CK 4.7.2 Notification of Urgent
Situations/Early Dismissal
Television/Radio. Announcements will be placed on WOAI radio station and WOAI, KENS, and
KSAT television stations.
Notification System (NS). Used to alert employees and clients via phone, text, and e-mail messages.

Immediate Notification. The Executive Director (or designee) will determine when mass
notification through the NS is appropriate. Examples of instances when the NS may be used
include but are not limited to:





A crisis requiring urgent action.
Any situation that significantly disrupts normal business operations.
A widespread threat to the health and safety of more than a few employees or clients.
Internal operational or other system failures that significantly affect working conditions.
Workplace information to keep employees/clients from entering into dangerous situations
or reporting to the Center when a closure is experienced.

Subscription to the NS Service. Employees will be automatically subscribed to the NS based
on their employee profile phone numbers and e–mail. It is important that employees keep
contact information current. Changes can be made via the Region 20 Employee Self-Service
online system.

Text Messaging, Opt-In Process. As part of the NS, staff may receive text messages to their
personal cell phone. Employees wanting to receive a text, must respond to an initial
message, sent by NS, inviting them to opt-in to the text messaging feature. Failure to
respond will result in employees receiving messages only by phone and e-mail, and not by
text. An employee may opt-in or opt-out of text alerts at any time.

Charges for Phone and/or Text Messages. Phone calls and text messages are subject to the
conditions and rates of the employee’s calling plan. The employee is responsible for any
expenses incurred.

Workshop Participants. ESC-20 will use iLearning enrollment details concerning the e-mail
and contact telephone number for sending notifications to workshop participants scheduled to
be at the Center. This will be used when it is necessary to notify participants of situations
prior to coming to ESC-20.

Severe Weather Alert Alternatives. The NS may be used if a weather situation poses
imminent danger. Typically, NS will be used when we are aware that employees and clients
may not be able to travel safely to or from the ESC-20 campus. The NS may also be used to
notify employees and clients of unexpected changes in operational hours.
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ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES
MANUAL
SECTION C
BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
CK 4.7.2 Notification of Urgent
Situations/Early Dismissal

The NS will not be used to alert ESC-20 employees about severe weather watches, warnings
or tornadoes. During normal business hours, ESC-20 Facilities Services staff may notify
employees/visitors of threatening weather situations.

Popular free alert systems include:
The Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com/mobile/customtextmessaging.html
EmergencyEmail.org
http://www.emergencyemail.org

NS Message Delivery Work Instructions. Authorized personnel will use one of the
predefined scripts below. As deemed appropriate, the initiator will send the message as
voice, text and/or e-mail.
Script Examples for Phone Announcements and Website
The script should include a very brief statement of what has happened, the immediate actions that
should be taken and where to get additional information.
All Day Closure: The Center is CLOSED for business and all workshops are cancelled. In case of
an emergency and you need to contact the security guard, between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., dial 210-2546273. Between 4:00 p.m. and 8 a.m., dial 210-254-6130.
Delayed Opening: All morning-only workshops are cancelled. However, <full-day and/or
afternoon> workshops will be held as scheduled. <Staff are expected to report to work at
xxxx.>We regret the inconvenience.
Advance Notice of Closing but Specific Schedule Unknown: All workshops scheduled for
DATE are cancelled. Due to the impending inclement weather conditions, you will be notified
of any further changes. You may stay tuned to your local television and local radio news station
and the Center’s Notification System and website for updates on any Center closure or delayed
openings.
Return to Work: The Center will be OPEN for business on DAY/MONTH/DATE from TIME (a.m.
or p.m.) to TIME (a.m. or p.m.). ALL workshops during this time frame will be held as scheduled.
Imminent Danger: <Describe the situation>. <Give instructions of any actions required>. <Give a
location to receive more information>.
Outage: ESC-20 has experienced an outage to <description of outage> on <Day>, <Date> at
<Time>. <Indicate outage status> i.e. We are working to resolve the issue. Check the ESC-20
website or call the main number at (210)370-5200 if these are both working) for more information.
Workshop Cancellation: This is ESC-20 <Central Registration> with an important message. The
workshop that you registered to attend on <Day>, <Date> has been cancelled. Check the ESC-20
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ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES
MANUAL
SECTION C
BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
CK 4.7.2 Notification of Urgent
Situations/Early Dismissal
website for information regarding how to reschedule or call the main number at (210)370-5671 for
more information.

Administrative Reports. Automated reports of notifications that were answered by phone,
who received voice messages and which calls did not go through will be available to
designated administrators.

Security. Information that is uploaded is transmitted via SSL encryption provided by
VeriSign.
Website and Phone. A message will be placed on the Center’s website and main phone number
(210)370-5200, to keep staff and clients updated of the situation, following example scripts.
APPROVED: TWS
IMPLEMENTED: March 9, 2010
Historical: March 1, 2001
September 1, 2004
May 16, 2006
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