Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere—and campuses across the country are seeing more and more crises. From gun violence and severe weather to health emergencies like COVID-19, these situations are becoming more common and often more dangerous. But here’s the problem: emergency plans often don’t include the needs of deaf students, leaving them at risk.
The deaf community has been hit hard by many of these crises in recent years. Take the tragic 2023 shooting in Maine—four deaf people lost their lives, for example. Or the shooting at Charles University in Prague, where 14 people were killed and 25 injured, many of them members of the institution’s Deaf Studies program. Natural disasters also bring challenges. The Oklahoma School for the Deaf had to shut down early after severe weather caused major damage. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, many deaf and disabled people couldn’t get reliable health info because interpreters weren’t qualified or resources weren’t available in rural areas. Shockingly, deaf students dropped out three times more often than their hearing peers during the pandemic (Bloom & Palmer, in press). Recent research suggests that the majority of deaf college students report not receiving emergency and disaster training while they were in high school.
It’s clear that deaf students face extra challenges during emergencies. That’s why the National Deaf Center (NDC) wants to shift the focus to being ready before disaster strikes. Research shows that the best way to protect everyone—especially deaf students—is to plan ahead. With that in mind, here’s how you can help make your campus emergency plans more effective for deaf students:
- Get Deaf Students Involved: How can staff and faculty bring deaf students into the planning process? Their input can make emergency plans stronger and more effective.
- Use Deaf-Friendly Resources: Do your emergency materials include ASL videos or plain language guides? Using culturally appropriate resources shows you care about deaf culture and builds trust.
- Apply Universal Design: Are your plans accessible to everyone? Communicating in multiple ways (like text alerts, captions, and visual signals) helps make sure no one gets left out.
- Train Your Team Regularly: How can different departments work together to prepare? Regular training can help everyone—from professors to campus police—understand how to meet deaf students’ needs.
- Use Flexible Technology: What tech tools are you using? Think about apps, video relay services, and other tools that can adapt to individual needs while working for the whole campus.
- Be Prepared for Every Situation: What should you do when there is a fire, or a tornado, or a flood in your area? The best way to ensure the safety of students on your campus is to prepare ahead of time for the strategies and technologies that will be useful in a wide variety of possible scenarios. Best practices or technology to utilize in these scenarios can range from communication alerts to meeting points and more.
When considering other visual safety features in the dorm for deaf students, our resource on visual emergency alerting systems explains how these systems provide equal access and allow deaf people to evacuate safely during emergencies. You can also try reaching out to your state Assistive Technology or Commission of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for more information about locating assistive devices.
To better include deaf and hard of hearing individuals in emergency preparedness, the National Association of the Deaf recommends using an “Emergency Planner Checklist” to guide disaster relief efforts. Allocate at least 15% of your program budget for disability accommodations like sign language interpreters and captioning. Be sure to invite representatives from the deaf community to planning meetings to gather their input and recognize their value as partners. Establish clear protocols for securing qualified ASL interpreters during emergencies and ensure they are always visible during broadcasts. These steps will significantly improve accessibility and communication for the deaf community.
Emergencies are unpredictable, but with the right planning, your campus can be ready to support every student, including those in deaf communities. Let’s work together to make safety preparations inclusive for all! For additional questions, or personalized one-on-one support, please email us at help@nationaldeafcenter.org.
