Extended Tabletop Exercises

A tabletop exercise simulates an emergency situation in a low stress environment. Participants discuss scenarios presented and general problems and procedures in the context of response to a specific incident. The focus is on the roles of individuals and departments, protocols, procedures and responsibilities. Below are tabletop exercises that have either been conducted by local agencies or provided by FEMA. Download and read through the scenarios and work through how the incidents might be handled at your campus. The exercise templates can be modified to reflect your campuses particular context and constituencies. These tabletop exercises are designed to be completed by campus personnel and first responders, and typically take a few hours to work through. For shorter tabletop exercises, visit the ten minute tabletop page. Tabletop exercises are conducted with the following goals:

1. Increase awareness and develop an if-then mindset for school staff, building level and district level administrators.
2. Determine if current district and building policy, procedure and practice is adequate to the incident in the exercise.
3. Facilitate the updating of district and school policy and procedure for the types of incidents that may occur in Idaho schools.

Additional Resources

• Tabletop Exercise Package Created by the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
• Tabletop Exercise Starter Kits from the Department of Homeland Security
• Tabletop Exercise Package Created by REMS TA Center