State SealHBARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

HB 2597: school safety; plans; task force

PRIME SPONSOR: Representative Hernandez D, LD 2

BILL STATUS: Education: DP 9-4-0-0

                                Public Safety

                               

 

Overview

Requires each school district to adopt a safe school plan to provide recognition, initial screening and responses to emotional or behaviorial distress in students and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop a taskforce oriented towards identifying successful strategies for partnerships with qualified health, mental health and social services agencies☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note.

History

Currently, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has established the School Safety Program (SSP) to promote safe learning environments for students by placing school resource officers (SROs) or juvenile probation officers (JPOs) on school campuses. A school district or charter school may participate in this program by submitting a proposal to ADE. This proposal should contain:

·         A detailed description of the school safety needs of the charter school or school district.

·         A plan for implementing a law-related education (LRE) program or a plan that demonstrates the existence of a LRE program as a school safety prevention strategy. The LRE instruction is designed to teach about rules, laws and the legal system.

·         A plan to use trained SROs or JPOs in the school, or both.

·         If the school district or charter school has already participated in the SSP, they are required to provide information on the success (A.R.S. § 15-154).

·         The ADE reviews proposals and select sites that are eligible to receive grant funding based on school safety needs. Subject to review and approval of these plans by the State Board of Education, the ADE distributes grants monies to school districts and charter schools to implement their approved plans (A.R.S. § 15-154).

·         In FY 2019, the ADE awarded 115 schools grants (ADE FY 2019 Awards).

Provisions

1.       Requires all school districts to adopt a safe school plan that recognizes and responds to emotional or behavioral distress in students beginning in the 2022–2023 school year. (Sec. 1)

2.       Mandates that each school district shall annually distribute the safe school plan to all school employees. (Sec. 1)

3.       Establishes minimum requirements for the safe school plan. (Sec. 1)

4.       Requires the SPI to post the safe school plan on the ADE's website along with resources and information for school districts to follow, beginning on or before February 1, 2020. (Sec. 1)

5.       Mandates the SPI to annually post resources and community-based organizations that provide support to youth who have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence and psychological trauma on the ADE's website. (Sec. 1)

6.       Describes the conditions of the SPI taskforce for identifying successful strategies for school districts to form partnerships with qualified mental health and social services agencies. (Sec. 2)

7.       Requires the taskforce to submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to provide a copy to the Secretary of State, on or before December 1, 2022. (Sec. 2)

8.       Repeals this law from and after December 31, 2022. (Sec. 2)

 

 

 

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Fifty-fourth Legislature                               HB 2597

First Regular Session                    Version 2: Public Safety

 

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