Safe 2 Say is a reporting system established by Act 44 of
2018. This school safety tool is to be used by students, staff, and the
community to anonymously report unsafe activities. This program provide students with an opportunity to report social media posts or other information that they think could pose a threat to another student or the school.
Tips will be accepted via a mobile app, website, or 24/7 phone line. All information received will be triaged by a central crisis center and then provided to schools and 911 dispatch as necessary.
A tip will be identified by the reporting service as either life safety, non-life safety
criminal, or non-life safety behavioral. Examples of life safety include but
are not limited to: active shooter, dating violence, harm to self, other, or
property, sexual assault or terrorism. Non life safety criminal includes but is
not limited to: alcohol possession/use, animal cruelty, drugs and
paraphernalia, sexting, theft, or vandalism. Non-life safety behavioral may
include but is not limited to: anger issues, violations of the student code of
conduct, cruelty towards others, planned parties, sexual harassment, or verbal
abuse.
Upon receiving the tip, the Safe 2 Say center will
triage. If it is life safety school personnel and local law enforcement will be
notified immediately at any hour and on any day. If the tip is triaged as
non-life safety, the school will be notified between the hours of 6:00 a.m.
through 6:00 p.m.
The triage center keeps track of all reports and the
school must respond on an electronic database. Each school entity
and 911 dispatch must identify a S2SS lead to be the administrative point of
contact for the program. Each lead is asked to coordinate a 3-5 member team to
receive and act upon tips. There is only one team per school entity and one
team per 911 dispatch, however, additional team members may be added based on
individual organization’s needs.
As of January 14th, this program is live. In news reports
across the state, school officials say they aren't entirely prepared for how to
respond.
