How Many Emergency Kits Does a School Need? A Planning Guide by Room and Headcount

Short answer: most schools plan emergency kits in three layers. They put one lockdown kit in every occupied classroom and one emergency go bag per teacher for evacuations. They then add enough school-wide kits to cover every student, staff member and regular visitor on campus. The rest of this guide shows how to count each layer, with a worked example.

The three layers of school emergency supplies

Layer	What it is for	Where it goes	How many
Classroom lockdown kit	Sanitation, privacy, lighting and signaling while a class shelters in place	Each classroom	One per occupied classroom or instructional space
Classroom emergency go bag	Supplies a teacher carries during an evacuation, relocation or reunification	With the teacher	One per teacher or class (each serves up to 24 people)
School-wide emergency kit	Food, water, first aid, sanitation and tools for the whole campus	Gym, multipurpose room, office or reunification site	Sized to total headcount
Student emergency kit (optional)	Personal supplies for each student	Classroom or backpack	One per student, if your plan calls for it

Step 1: Count your occupied rooms

List every room where students or staff spend the school day. That includes classrooms, but also the library, labs, the gym, music and art rooms, the front office and any portable classrooms. Each of these rooms gets one classroom lockdown kit, so that whoever is in it during a lockdown has supplies within reach.

There are two versions. The Standard kit covers sanitation, privacy, lighting and signaling, and has no food or water. The Premium kit adds 30 water pouches and 12,000 calories of food bars, which works out to about one pouch and 400 calories per student for a class of 30. It is designed for short lockdowns, not 72-hour emergencies.

Step 2: Count your teachers

Every teacher who might lead a class out of the building needs a classroom emergency go bag. Each go bag holds food and water for up to 24 students and staff, plus first aid, lighting, a radio and sanitation supplies. If a class regularly has more than 24 people, plan a second bag for that room. The backpack and rolling versions have the same contents, so choose based on your students' ages, stairs and evacuation routes.

Step 3: Total your headcount for school-wide kits

Add up everyone the campus has to support if people cannot leave: students, teachers, aides, office staff, custodial and food-service staff, and the typical number of visitors and volunteers on a normal day. Then choose school-wide emergency kits that cover that total. The capacity listed for a kit applies to the complete kit, not to each rolling bin in it, so keep multi-bin kits together.

When your number falls between kit sizes, round up, or combine sizes to match it closely.

Worked example: a 24-classroom elementary school

Imagine a campus with 24 classrooms, a library and a gym, 600 students, 30 teachers and 20 other staff, with about 10 visitors on a typical day.

• Lockdown kits: 24 classrooms + library + gym + front office = 27 kits.
• Go bags: one per teacher who leads a class = 30 go bags, with a second bag for any class larger than 24.
• School-wide kits: 600 + 30 + 20 + 10 = 660 people. A 750-person kit covers it with room to grow. A closer fit is a combination such as 500 + 100 + 60 people.
• Student kits: optional. If you add them, plan one per student (600).

Step 4: Plan for water and replacement

School-wide kits provide a minimum survival ration of food and water for up to 72 hours. Ready.gov recommends storing one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation (Ready.gov: Build a Kit). That is far more than any kit can hold, so if you have the space, add extra stored water, such as long-term water storage, alongside your kits.

Food bars and water pouches usually have a five-year shelf life. Most schools inspect their supplies once a year during safety checks and replace anything used or expired. When the five years are up, school replenishment kits renew only what has expired, so you don't need to buy whole new kits. Districts often put all campuses on the same replacement schedule.

Quick checklist

• Number of occupied rooms (classrooms plus library, gym, labs, office, portables)
• Number of teachers who lead classes, and any classes over 24 people
• Total headcount: students, all staff, typical visitors
• Where school-wide kits will be stored, and who has the keys
• The date each kit was bought, so you know when to replenish it

Frequently asked questions

Do schools need one emergency kit per student?

Not necessarily. Many schools cover students through classroom lockdown kits, teacher go bags and school-wide kits sized to headcount. Individual student kits are an optional extra some schools and parent groups add.

Should staff be counted in the headcount?

Yes. School-wide kits should cover everyone on campus, including teachers, aides, office, custodial and food-service staff, and typical visitors.

Are schools required to have emergency supplies?

Requirements vary by state and district. For California, see our guide Do California schools need emergency kits by law?

Get help sizing your order

Send us your number of campuses, classrooms, and student and staff headcount, and we'll recommend a kit plan and send a quote. We accept purchase orders and tax-exempt orders, and can sell through cooperative and government contracts. See all school emergency kits or request a quote.

Written by Mina Arnao, More Prepared. Last reviewed: October 2026.