Many students and staff will return to school in the fall with trauma, which can adversely affect teaching and learning. To help schools and districts develop a trauma-informed plan as they prepare to reopen, we’ve distilled crisis response guidance from federal agencies, national professional associations, and federally funded research collaboratives and technical assistance centers. This guidance suggests that responding to COVID-19-related trauma will require an iterative strategy that schools should initiate before the start of the school year and involves five steps: assessing, planning, building capacity, implementing, and reassessing.