the backpack issue is kind of a two edged sword thing....for fire evacuation, moving 1800 high school kids with backpacks is much slower than without them... on the other hand, if the evacuation is for a bomb threat, then most EOD people I've talked to would rather have to check just the lone "suspicious" backpack than 1800...leaving the backpack adds to a time management issue if the evacuation is extended.. there are times when you want the student to have a CD player or iPod to listen to tunes...also many of our kids had a water bottle and hat along with any emergency personal meds in the pack...

check with the emergency plan of your kid's school...a 3hour bomb evacuation will point out a lot problems a 15min drill will not...been there done that

is there adequate drinking water available for each assembly area?... is there an air conditioned outlying facility for kids with allergies or health problems?...does the staff have adequate communications equipment? (the answer to this is no) is a health care professional on site (our campus covered a city block)...are there Sting kits, EpiPens and Benedryl available? is there protection from the Sun?

your school will have an Emergency Management Plan, and should have a committee that meets at regular intervals to discuss safety concerns...

as soon as the local TV helecopter circled overhead, our school switchboard and 911 center was flooded with calls, making communication difficult

if you serve on your school Parent Teacher Student committee, see if there are FRS/GMRS hand helds that can be purchased (before budget cuts we were given a small stipend to replace out of pocket consumables we bought for class use), or even that the teachers classroom phone is a portable, and has "all call" communication...phone tree between teachers private cell phones