"The incentive for public-school risk management planning has to come from the state, which provides most of a school's budget," says Mike Liebowitz (pictured), director of risk management and insurance at New York University.

"Hypothetically, property insurers can give building owners safety incentives, such as a premium reduction for implementing flood-proof design in flood zones. However, property protection comes second to protecting a life—you only get one. Ultimately, school safety should be officially mandated, not unlike disaster planning in hospitals."

The report measures school preparedness by four standards:

1. The state requires all regulated child care facilities—K-12 and daycare—to have written evacuation plans for multiple types of disasters.

2. The state mandates a written plan to notify parents of an emergency, and another to reunite them with their children.

3. The state mandates a written plan for evacuating infants, toddlers and special-needs children with behavioral, physical, emotional or mental challenges.

4. The state requires multiple-scenario evacuation plans for at least public schools K through grade 12.  

The report shows that 27 states do not require all regulated child care facilities to have a disaster plan for kids with disabilities, or those with access and functional needs such as infants and toddlers. Dependent infants and toddlers make up 2 million of the children that may be affected by a disaster while in school, along with thousands of disabled children who need additional emotional, cognitive or mobility support from their caregivers.