Most school emergency plans mention a reunification kit. Far fewer describe what should actually be in one, why each item matters, or what happens when a team arrives at the reunification site and discovers critical materials were left behind.
This post walks through what belongs in a school reunification kit, organized by function. Use it to evaluate what you have, identify what’s missing, and understand why each item earns its place.
What Is a Reunification Kit?
A reunification kit is a self-contained collection of supplies and equipment that travels with your team to the reunification site or that is permanently stored there. Everything your team needs to run a controlled, organized reunification must be portable and pre-packed, or always on-site, because there will be no time to gather materials once an incident is underway.
Your building may be inaccessible. Your normal systems may be down. Parents will start arriving within minutes of the notification. The kit is the difference between a team that sets up and operates immediately and a team that scrambles while families are already at the door.
Student Accountability and Release Documentation
This is the core of the kit. Without these materials your team cannot safely verify identities, track students, or document releases.
- Reunification cards: The most important item in the kit. These tear-apart cards are completed by parents at the Greeting Area. The top half stays with staff as a record. The bottom half travels with the Reunifier to retrieve the student from the Student Assembly Area.
- Student release log: The running record of every student released: student name, time, releasing staff member, receiving adult, and signature. This is your legal accountability document for the event.
- Class rosters: Pre-printed class lists for every classroom. These are what the Student Assembly Area uses to maintain accountability from the moment students arrive. If your student information system is inaccessible, these are your backups.
- Emergency contact information: Authorized pickup lists for each student. The Check-In Area cannot verify who is authorized to claim a student without this information. Same concept here as the class rosters. Your primary tool is the student information system, but always have a paper backup.
Signage
Signage is consistently the most underestimated item in any reunification kit. Parents arriving in distress navigate poorly without clear, large, simple directional signs.
- Site entrance sign: Large, weatherproof, clearly visible from the road.
- Greeting Area sign: Directs parents where to go first.
- Check-In Area sign: Marks the verification station.
- Parent waiting area sign: Tells families where to wait once verified.
- Exit sign: Marks the designated departure route.
Signs should be pre-printed, laminated, or weatherproof, and stored flat in the kit so they can be posted immediately on arrival. Handwritten signs made on the day are harder to read and create an impression of disorganization that undermines family confidence.
Identification and Role Materials
Your reunification team needs to be identifiable instantly. Parents need to know who to approach. Staff need to know who is in each role.
- Safety vests: One per area supervisor at minimum, color-coded by role where possible. A Greeter in a green vest is visible from across a parking lot.
- Role identification badges or lanyards: Each team member should wear identification showing their role. This matters for your own team as much as for parents.
- Job action sheets: Pre-printed, laminated quick-reference cards for each role. Staff under pressure benefit from a physical reference that confirms what they’re supposed to do.
Communication and Operations Equipment
- Two-way radios: One per area supervisor and one for the Reunification Director. Cell networks degrade under emergency volume. Radios do not.
- Charged laptop or tablet with offline roster access: The Check-In Area needs student records. Don’t assume internet access will be available.
- Clipboards: One per verification station plus several spares. Verification is paperwork. Paper needs a hard surface.
- Pens and markers: More than you think you need. They run out.
- Megaphone or bullhorn: Essential for a large outdoor operation where you need to address multiple families at once.
Comfort and Operational Support
- Water: For staff and for families. Operations run long.
- First aid kit: Basic supplies for minor injuries. Not a substitute for the school nurse, but a gap-filler.
- Caution tape and cones: For establishing area boundaries, queue lines, and entry/exit routing.
The Kit Your District Uses
The Reunification Foundation’s reunification kits are designed around this exact function list, field-tested with districts across the United States. Our kits include the reunification cards, role materials, and documentation forms that most districts discover they need only when they need them.
If your district wants to evaluate our kit before purchasing, we offer free samples. Request yours at reunification-foundation.org/free-samples.