Assigned to ED & APPROP FOR
COMMITTEE
Assigned to ED & APPROP FOR
COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session
schools; anonymous reporting; dangerous activity
Purpose
Establishes the Safe-to-Tell Program (Program) and related fund within the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to enable anonymous reporting of any dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity. Appropriates $400,000 from the state General Fund (GF) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 to ADE for funding the Program.
Background
Nevada and Colorado currently have statutory Safe-to-Tell programs. Colorado's Safe2Tell Program must establish a method for anonymous reporting of dangerous activities or threats of dangerous activities in a school. Additionally, Colorado's Safe2Tell Program must develop a training curriculum and provide annual trainings for law enforcement dispatch centers, school districts, individual schools, and other entities at no cost to schools (C.R.S. § 24-31-606).
Nevada's Director of the Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment must establish a Program for receiving anonymous reports of dangerous activities in a school or on a school property (N.R.S. § 388.1455). Nevada's Program has an Advisory Committee that must disclose the number of reports to their Program and recommend any improvements to their Program (N.R.S. § 388.1456). Nevada's Program also has a related account for monies to be used for the Program (N.R.S. § 388.1457).
The bill has a fiscal impact of $400,000 to the state GF in FY 2019.
Provisions
Safe-to-Tell Program
1. Requires ADE to establish the Program to enable anonymous reporting of any dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity that is being conducted or threatened to be conducted on school property, at a public school-sponsored activity, or on a public-school bus.
2. Requires ADE to manage the Program in cooperation with a counterterrorism information center that is designed for and used by local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel.
3. Prohibits the disclosure of information to any person relating to a dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity or any threat of a dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity reported to the Program to any person, except otherwise required by law.
4. Requires the Program to ensure that:
a) information reported to the Program is promptly forwarded to appropriate law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and school officials;
b) the identity of the reporter of the information is not disclosed to:
i. an ADE employee;
ii. any contractor, volunteer, or assistant with a person or organization that contracts with ADE; or
iii. any other person unless otherwise required by law.
5. Allows ADE to contract with a qualified third-party organization to operate a hotline or call center to receive initial reports to the Program and forward that information to appropriate LEAs and school officials;
6. Requires ADE to offer training for the Program to law enforcement personnel and employees of school districts and charter schools.
7. Requires ADE to:
a) Post information about the Program on its website;
b) Provide each public school in the state materials about the Program, including the phone number to call to make an anonymous report.
Safe-to-Tell Fund
8. Establishes the Safe-to-Tell Fund (Fund).
9. Appropriates $400,000 from the state GF to ADE for funding the Program.
10. Requires ADE to administer monies in the Fund.
11. Allows ADE to use monies in the Fund to implement and operate the Program.
12. Requires that monies in the Fund be continuously appropriated.
13. Allows ADE to accept and deposit into the Fund federal monies, private grants, gifts, contributions, and devises to assist in carrying out the Program.
Miscellaneous
14. Ends the Program on July 1, 2028.
15. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
ED 2/12/18 DP 9-2-0-0
3rd Read 2/21/18 48-12-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 9, 2018
CS/BR/lat