Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Logo
Student and Family Support (SFS)

Medical and Behavioral Health Emergency Response Plans

State law requires each school committee and Commonwealth charter school board of trustees to adopt an emergency medical and behavioral response plan (MERP), update it as needed, and submit it to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) every three years. The law, M.G.L. c. 69, § 8A, was enacted in 2012. The statute was amended in 2022 to specify that emergency response plans must address behavioral health medical emergencies as well as medical emergencies and must include protocols for informing parents/guardians and reporting to DESE when schools contact police, EMTs, or other non-behavioral health personnel to respond to a behavioral health crisis.

Updated plans are to be submitted to the Department on or before September 1, 2024.

Superintendents should submit plans on behalf of their districts' schools and are encouraged to use the MERP DropBox in the Security Portal to do so. For the superintendent or designee to submit information through the MERP DropBox, a district-level directory administrator must assign that person the MERP DropBox role in that person's profile. If districts have any difficulty using the DropBox, they may email the plan(s) to DESE at MERP@doe.mass.edu . Before submitting their schools' plans, DESE is asking districts to name the file(s) according to the following convention: 8DigitSchoolCode_School Name_ DistrictName_Date. For example: 01650003_Beebe_MaldenPS_08-28-24. School and district names can be abbreviated. To confirm a school code, search for the school under "public schools" on Profiles. For assistance, please contact the Office of Student and Family Support via MERP@doe.mass.edu or (781) 338-3010.

Last Updated: September 14, 2023

 
Contact Us

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149

Voice: (781) 338-3000
TTY: (800) 439-2370

Directions

Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.