This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
By Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat
Colorado lawmakers gave first approval of a bill that would require educators to get notified if one of their students experiences trauma such as domestic violence, serious accidents, or abuse and neglect.
Senate Bill 64 would require the Safe2Tell program to notify teachers, counselors, and administrators that a student who has been involved in an incident has been designated as “handle with care.”
School officials wouldn’t get any other information other than the designation, but it would signal to educators that the student has undergone significant stress and needs extra support.
The Safe2Tell program is a violence intervention and prevention program for students to anonymously report threats. Lawmakers hope the program’s expansion, which has been piloted throughout the state, would help students work through the trauma they face.
State Sen. Janice Marchman, a Loveland Democrat who is a co-sponsor of the bill, said Safe2Tell has been a safe way for students to report concerns.
“What this is doing is just allowing an opportunity for law enforcement to be in touch with the schools as our students are going through trauma,” she said.
State Sen. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican, and state Rep. Chris Clifford, a Centennial Democrat, are also co-sponsors of the bill.
The bill cleared its first hearing in the Senate Education Committee by a 5-2 vote. The bill has the backing of groups such as the American Federation of Teachers Colorado and the Colorado Education Association unions, as well as the County Sheriffs of Colorado.
Sponsors amended the bill to expand the program at a slower pace than originally proposed — the program would be available statewide by 2029. The bill has also been updated so law enforcement officials would be able to report an incident to Safe2Tell or provide information to a child’s parent or guardian about how to inform the school about an incident.
Safe2Tell started in 2004 in response to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and is operated by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. Students can report an incident through a text, phone call, or mobile application.
The program gets about 28,000 reports annually, including child abuse, bullying, and threats, according to Stacey Jenkins, Safe2Tell executive director, who spoke in favor of the program’s expansion.
During the hearing, Frizell added that the program’s expansion would help address the mental health challenges students face.
“Sometimes it’s just that one person who sees that you’re having a bad day,” she said. “That is what we need to be doing with our kids. We cannot keep passing to another generation the issues that we have today.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at [email protected].
