The U.S. Department of Education announced a new Title IX enforcement initiative, led by the Department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to fight the rise of sexual assault in K-12 public schools. New regulations were announced in May, and districts now face a compliance deadline of August 14, 2020.
Title IX requires that schools and districts take appropriate steps to address sex discrimination. The requirements of Title IX apply to incidents of sexual misconduct, including incidents that involve both student-on-student misconduct and staff-on-student misconduct.
Title IX Implementation Roadmap
The Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) has published a Title IX Coordinator’s Roadmap for Developing an Implementation Plan for the 2020 Regs by August 14, 2020. Key steps in ATIXA’s recommended roadmap include:
- Learn the regulations. Utilize resources available to district administrators, such as the resources provided by ATIXA, to help understand the new regulations and implementation requirements.
- Brief your supervisors. Inform cabinet/senior officers, and board of trustees/education members on the scale of the compliance task ahead. Set realistic expectations for them in terms of what you can achieve, especially in light of COVID-19, between now and August 14, 2020.
- Develop a stopgap plan. Identify how you will handle cases currently underway and how you will handle cases reported after August 14th where the alleged harassment occurred before August 14th.
- Identify and convene stakeholders. Who will you need to bring together (and how will you do so remotely) to move the policy and procedure revision process forward? Set a timeline for each decision-making step.
- Triage. Take on the key tasks you can in the short term required to get you to compliance.
- Revise/Draft Interim Policy and Procedures. Share drafts with stakeholders for feedback.
- Determine Staffing Needs. Identify if you need to hire staff or promote or assign internal personnel to the Title IX team.
- Get Revised Interim Policies and Procedures Approved. Identify who needs to be on board to streamline the approval process of new policies.
- Implement Interim Policies and Procedures/Communicate New Policies and Procedures to Your Community. Post new policies on your websites and through other communication channels.
- Train your Title IX Team Comprehensively. Ensure that everyone understands new compliance requirements, policies, processes, and responsibilities.
How SafeSchools Can Help Address New Title IX Regulations in K-12 Schools
SafeSchools Training includes a variety of courses to help schools increase the awareness and understanding of issues related to sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault for both staff and students. Our training management system makes it easy to assign and track training to help ensure compliance, and deliver and track your new policies with our built in policy acceptance tool.
Staff Courses
- New Course: Title IX Compliance Overview: Topics covered include the role of legal precedent, regulatory and subregulatory guidance related to Title IX; relevant terminology used in Title IX guidance; and guidelines school districts must follow to remain in compliance with the law.
- Sexual Harassment: Staff-to-Staff
- Sexual Harassment: Student Issues & Response
- Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student
- Dating Violence: Identification and Prevention
Student Courses
Webinar Recording: New Rules on Title IX for K-12 Schools
We recently hosted a webinar with our Title IX Compliance Overview course author, Megan C. Farrell, to provide an overview of the most significant changes in these New Rules for K-12 schools and strategies on how best to incorporate these changes before the school year begins.
Contact us at 800.434.0154 or [email protected] to learn more about how our Staff or Student Training can help you understand the new Title IX regulations and address sexual harassment and assault in your district.
On-Demand Webinar with Megan C. Farrell
The New Rules under Title IX were released by the Department of Education on May 6, 2020, with a requirement implementation date of August 14, 2020. K-12 schools face significant changes to what matters they need to investigate under Title IX, how they must conduct those investigations, and who needs to be trained at the school districts before this fast-approaching implementation date. This on-demand webinar provides an overview of the most significant changes in these New Rules for K-12 schools and strategies on how best to incorporate these changes before the school year begins.
Title IX for K-12 Schools Webinar Topics
- Review of implementation challenges school districts face as they work to implement the New Title IX Rules by the deadline.
- Highlight of 15 significant changes to Title IX that have impact to your policies, procedures, and practices.
- Learn what next steps are recommended for Title IX Coordinators and district administrators to implement the new rules.
Complete the form below to view the webinar recording.
About the Presenter – Megan C. Farrell, JD MBA
Megan is an advisor and consultant to educational institutions with a focus on Title IX compliance. Megan’s background includes working as Title IX Coordinator at Palo Alto School District and Notre Dame of Maryland University. She has also served as in-house counsel, faculty member, and graduate program director. Megan also has provided risk and litigation management counseling to institutions, developed internal policies and procedures for education clients, and designed customized training programs for educational institutions across the country. Megan is also the author of our SafeSchools Staff Training course, Title IX Compliance Overview.
In November 2019, Governor Roy Cooper signed North Carolina Senate Bill 199 – the SAFE Child Act – a bill to modernize sexual abuse laws as well as strengthen enforcement and protection for children who have been abused, into law. The new law will close loopholes in existing sexual assault laws and strengthen penalties against child abusers.
The new Senate Bill 199 has two provisions that directly impact school districts:
- A new requirement, effective December 1, 2019, that adults report potential violent or sexual offenses against child victims to law enforcement.
- A requirement that by January 1, 2020, LEAs adopt a child sexual abuse and sex trafficking training program for school personnel who work directly with students, with implementation of the training in the 2020-2021 school year.
North Carolina Senate Bill 199 Training Requirements
- Adopt and implement a training program for school personnel who work directly with students in grades K-12.
- Provide education and awareness training related to child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
- All school personnel who work with students in grades K-12 shall receive 2 hours of training in even-numbered years beginning in 2020.
How SafeSchools Training Can Help
SafeSchools Training extensive course library provides expert-authored online training specifically designed for schools, including:
- Child Abuse: Identification & Intervention (33 minutes)
- Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting – NC Specific (29 minutes)
- Human Trafficking Awareness (1 hour)
Our Child Sexual Abuse Prevention in Schools Course Library provides twenty-two microlearning courses, specifically designed for K-12 schools, covering key topics that staff need to be trained on in order to be aware of the behaviors that child abusers use to groom their victims.
Written by child sexual abuse prevention consultant Diane Cranley, this microlearning course series is designed to rovide training to everyone, including educators, paraeducators, bus drivers, and more, in one online system. This efficient and affordable training program can help you:
- Prepare school staff to interrupt an attempt at child sexual abuse before it happens.
- Provide a healthy deterrent effect.
- Save students from the lifelong emotional damage of sexual abuse.
- Reduce liability and prevent costly claims, which divert needed funds from educating students.
If you would like to learn more about our courses or solutions, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or request a demo.
We know that staff and student safety is one of your top priorities. We want to be sure you and your staff are well prepared as you start planning ahead for the new school year. The SafeSchools Online Training System is our award-winning Online Training and Compliance Management System that completely automates your staff training, saving you valuable time and money.
Access high quality courses on important school safety topics by leading experts, available in one convenient online system, so your staff can easily complete their required training from any location. Staff receive notifications of assignments and email reminders, and completions are tracked automatically. And best of all, compliance reports are delivered right to your inbox. Other resources and features to help simplify your back-to-school training include:
- New COVID-19 Training Resources:
- Coronavirus Awareness
- Coronavirus: CDC Guidelines for Making and Using Cloth Face Coverings
- Coronavirus: Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Workplace
- Coronavirus: Managing Stress and Anxiety
- Coronavirus: Preparing Your Household
- Coronavirus: Reopening Your Organization
- Coronavirus: Transitioning to a Remote Workforce
- New Hire Training Plan– Create a separate Training Plan for your new employees and the system will automatically make assignments to anyone you load with this designation.
- Repeating Training Plan– Set it and forget it on courses that need to be completed every year, two years, five years, and beyond.
- Customize Courses– Administrators can add customized messages to the beginning or end of any SafeSchools Training course.
- Custom Course Tool– Easily create your own custom courses in our system and assign them to all staff online. Upload your own content, including school policies and procedures, PDFs, PowerPoints, audio, and videos. Recent enhancements to this feature now allow you to bundle SafeSchools Training courses together along with your custom materials to create one unified custom course plan. Every custom course completion is conveniently tracked in our system, alongside regular SafeSchools Training courses. This feature can easily help your school or district distribute new information or policies related to COVID-19 to your staff.
- Policy Administration– Upload your school-specific policies (with the option to include a video and quiz) to our system, and assign them to staff. The system automatically documents users’ review and acceptance. This feature can easily help your school or district distribute new information or policies related to COVID-19 to your staff.
Implementation of SafeSchools Training is fast and easy and your subscription-based system can be set up in just a few hours. Safety training and compliance have never been easier or more efficient!
For more information, to schedule a demo, or to request a free trial account for SafeSchools Training, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected] today. We look forward to helping your district be even safer in the upcoming school year!
Trauma is the psychological, emotional response to a life event or experience that’s deeply disturbing or distressing to an individual. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negative life events witnessed or experienced firsthand by children 18 years old or younger. Trauma is a widespread health concern that has become quite costly for schools around the world. It can affect a student’s cognitive ability – at times limiting rational thought, problem solving and other complex thinking skills often required in school – thereby limiting their academic potential. That’s why training in trauma-informed practices is essential to the everyday educational setting.
We recently published courses that can help comply with Pennsylvania’s SB 144 trauma-informed education requirements.
SB 144 Trauma-Informed Education Requirements
The bill requires each school entity to provide at least one hour of training in trauma-informed approaches to help school staff recognize the signs and impact of trauma in students and provide appropriate supports.
How SafeSchools Training Can Help
Easily manage, deliver, and track training online. Our special education course library includes over 70 expert-authored courses on a wide range of topics, including:
- Trauma Awareness (35 minutes)
- Trauma-Informed Practices (42 minutes)
- Secondary Trauma Awareness – coming soon!
The special education course library can easily be added to the SafeSchools Training System to help you assign, manage, and track all you training in one system.
Our safety and compliance course library can also help you address additional PA training mandates, including:
- PA Act 71: Youth Suicide: Awareness & Prevention
- PA Act 126: Act 126- Part 1: Child Abuse Recognition & Mandatory Reporting
- PA Act 126: Act 126- Part 2: Educator Discipline Act & Sexual Misconduct
- PA Act 195: Medication Administration: Epinephrine Auto-Injectors
View our full course library of state-specific courses.
If you would like to learn more about our courses or solutions, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or request a demo.
A recent survey of 3,300 teenagers (ages 13-19) conducted by America’s Promise Alliance found that teens are more concerned than usual about their health and their family’s health, as well as concerned about the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their families. According to the survey report, “30% of young people say they have more often been feeling unhappy or depressed, and nearly as many say they are much more concerned than usual about having their basic needs met. More than one-quarter of students (29%) say they do not feel connected at all to school adults. A similar percentage do not feel connected to classmates or to their school community.” Survey results indicate that teens are experiencing collective trauma caused by the changes in their immediate circumstances, combined with the uncertainty about the future.
In the report, America’s Promise Alliance recommends that students should be provided support as soon as possible to help address their mental health needs. Recommendations include:
- Understand young people’s evolving concerns. Even during the summer, school administrators, counselors, coaches, health care providers, and others should listen to what young people are saying about their concerns, so that they can provide timely, personalized supports.
- Strive toward equity. The survey indicates that all young people are suffering during this time, but the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating pre-pandemic racial and economic inequities. As a result, supports need to be tailored to meet those unique needs.
- Prioritize social and emotional well-being. The survey findings highlight the need for a renewed focus on ensuring students (and the teachers and families who support them) have resources to address their social, emotional, and cognitive well-being.
How SafeSchools Can Help
SafeSchools Training’s courses for students cover essential safety and wellness topics and help educators facilitate important discussions with their students. The expert-authored, video-based course modules are highly relatable and focus on the impact the topics can have on students personally or the people they care about. Peer presenters, animations, and live-acted scenarios help students visualize and apply what they’re learning. Each module comes with a lesson plan, discussion questions to help you talk with students about these important topics, and facilitated group activity ideas. Courses are customized for grades 6-8 and 9-12 to ensure age-appropriate content.
New Student Wellness Courses for Back-to-School
The new collection of courses for grades 9-12 will be available in time for back to school and includes the following courses focused on student emotional and mental well-being: Stress & Anxiety; Depression; Good Decision Making; Healthy Relationships; and Resolving Disagreements. Similar courses for grades 6-8 will be available in 2021.
Other courses currently available for both grades 6-8 and 9-12 include: Alcohol, Drugs, and Vaping; Bullying & Cyberbullying; Digital Citizenship; Sexual Harassment; and Youth Suicide Awareness.
In addition to student course modules, we also provide staff training on many of these topics to help prepare staff to better address student needs, as well as new Trauma-Informed Practices courses available within our Exceptional Child course library.
To learn more about our student or staff training, please contact us at [email protected], 1-800-434-0154, or request a demo online.
According to CPO Magazine, there is a ransomware attack every 14 seconds in the U.S. But, did you know that cyber attacks on schools tripled in 2019? In fact, since 2016, the education industry “has been the most targeted industry for ransomware attacks.”
With schools becoming increasingly more reliant on technology, how can you help protect your school from a cyber attack? Employees need to understand what the correct process is for communicating data and how to avoid risky behaviors.
We recently published a Texas Cybersecurity Awareness for Employees course that has been approved by the Texas Department of Information Resources (TX DIR) to meet the new HB 3834 cybersecurity training requirements.
HB 3834 Cybersecurity Training Requirements
- All employees who have access to a state or local government computer system or database are required to complete annually a 2-hour certified cybersecurity training course.
- The initial training deadline is June 14, 2020.
If you are a current SafeSchools Staff Training customer, your subscription includes this new course.
Other Texas-specific SafeSchools Training courses include:
- Bullying: Recognition & Response
- Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting
- Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting (Spanish)
- General Ethics in the Workplace
- Health Emergencies: Diabetes Awareness (HB 984)
View our full course library of state-specific courses.
Members of the TASB Risk Management Fund also receive access to a complimentary bundle of SafeSchools Training safety and compliance courses based on lines of coverage. Visit our TASB RMF partner page to learn more.
If you are not yet a SafeSchools Training customer and would like to learn more about the Texas Cybersecurity Awareness for Employees course and the SafeSchools Training System, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected]. Free trials are available!
As states and communities in the U.S. begin to reopen from COVID-19 restrictions, schools are planning for how they can best help protect students, teachers, administrators, and staff and slow the spread of COVID-19 when they reopen in the fall.
According to information published by the CDC, COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection. In response, the CDC is providing schools with a variety of guiding principles to consider to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, including providing adequate supplies of soap and hand sanitizer that includes at least 60% alcohol and an increased routine of cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
Ensuring the Safe Use of Cleaning and Disinfecting Chemicals
Many school staff who were not previously involved in cleaning and disinfecting may now be frequently using cleaning and disinfecting chemicals as they work together to maintain a safe environment for staff and students. As the usage of cleaning and disinfecting chemicals increases, it is critical to follow safe work practices to prevent additional safety risks.
Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) & Hazard Communication
Employers must obtain and maintain safety data sheets (SDSs) for all hazardous cleaning products and chemicals that they use. SDSs must be readily accessible to employees. OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard also requires that information about the hazards and associated protective measures related to working with chemicals is communicated to employees.
When cleaning chemicals are hazardous, employers must train employees on safe work practices for using these chemicals before the employee begins using the cleaners. OSHA recommends the following safe work practices:
- Warning employees not to mix cleaning products that contain bleach and ammonia.
- Making sure that employees know which cleaning chemicals must be diluted and how to correctly dilute the cleaners they are using.
- Thoroughly reviewing and training employees on the use, storage and emergency spill procedures for cleaning chemicals.
- Reviewing the proper protective equipment needed, such as gloves and goggles, and providing the proper protective equipment to the employees using the cleaning product.
- Ensuring that all containers of cleaning products and chemicals are labeled to identify their contents and hazards.
- Operating ventilation systems as needed during cleaning tasks to allow sufficient air flow and prevent buildup of hazardous vapors.
- Providing employees with a place to wash up after using cleaning chemicals.
How SafeSchools SDS Can Help
SafeSchools SDS is our online SDS and chemical management system, accessible from any web-enabled device, and is compliant with GHS:
- Create, update, and store your chemical inventory lists and SDSs into virtual binders.
- Organize your chemical inventory and binders by work area.
- Print out physical binders, secondary container labels, and location posters with QR codes that provide key information on chemicals in a specific location.
- Use our powerful search feature to quickly find a specific SDS in case of an emergency.
Protect your school community with a well-organized and easily accessible SDS system. Learn more about our SDS system or request a free trial.
School tip lines, or anonymous tip reporting systems, are designed to help school leaders receive information about potential school safety threats, bullying, or concerns related to student well-being. Tip lines provide students, who are often reluctant to report information, with an opportunity to submit information anonymously to their school leaders about potential threats of violence, bullying, drug and substance abuse, self-harm, and other safety concerns.
RTI International, a non-profit research institution, recently published a report, Tip Lines for School Safety: A National Portrait of Tip Line Use which summarized findings from their 2019 research that set out to understand the implementation and use of school tip lines around the country. Here are several important highlights from the study.
Prevalence of School Tip Lines
- As of fall 2019, 20 states have passed legislation requiring school tip lines, and two additional states had pending legislation.
- 51% of public middle and high schools in the U.S. currently have a tip line in operation.
- 60% of schools with tip lines report that the tip lines have been in use for less than three years, while 15% have had tip lines in place for 10 or more years.
Most Common Problems Reported through School Tip Lines
School tip lines are used by students and others in school communities to report a wide range of problems, beyond just threats of violence. According to data in the report, the most frequently reported tips involve:
- Bullying or harassment
- Posses, use, or distribute drugs (including vaping)
- Suicidal ideation (reported by another person)
- School complaint
- Threat of planned school attack
- Sexual assault/harassment
- Non-safety concern
- Self-harm
- Threat of assault
- Threat to safety
- Cyberbullying
- Depression
- Possess, consume, or distribute alcohol
- Child abuse
- Fighting
Benefits School Administrators See from their Tip Lines
Principals and school safety personnel that are using tip lines reported several perceived benefits. The issues they reported their school tip lines are helping them to address can have a significant impact on school safety and student well-being. Key benefits administrators see from their tip lines include:
- 77% – More aware of potential safety issues
- 73% – Helped prevent incidents of self-harm/suicide
- 67% – Respond more effectively to bullying
- 56% – Helped prevent violent incidents
- 52% – Respond more effectively to drug use
While some challenges exist with the use of school tip lines, such as raising awareness about tip lines with students, educating students about the types of issues to submit through tip lines, and training students on how to submit tips with sufficient information for their schools to act on, according to the study, tip lines are largely seen as an effective component of an overall school safety plan by principals and other administrators.
SafeSchools Alert Helping Districts Prevent Incidents
With the SafeSchools Alert Online Tip Reporting System, students, staff, and parents can choose from five convenient options to submit tips: mobile app, phone, text, email, or website. Administrators are immediately notified of every tip, and can easily track and manage incidents in our web-based system. Districts around the country are using our tip reporting system to help identify and address potentially dangerous safety threats and concerns.
- Cherokee County School District
- Fannin County School System
- Monroe Public Schools
- Mason City Schools
To learn more about SafeSchools Alert, please contact us [email protected] or request a demo.
On-Demand Webinar with Dr. Scott Poland
It is essential that that school and community personnel know the incidence of school violence and be up to date on the best safety and prevention practices. This webinar will review recommendations from numerous state and national initiatives and foundations that have focused on school safety. The important role that students play in school safety and prevention will also be emphasized. The presenter has a wealth of practical experience responding to school shootings, and participants will learn lessons from school tragedies and practical strategies to prevent future school violence.
School Violence Prevention Webinar Topics
- Learn the actual incidence of school shootings and what is known about school shooters and their motivation.
- Analyze school shootings and identify the lessons for prevention and response to future school violence.
- Learn how to evaluate a threat of school violence and determine the actions to take to increase the safety of all concerned.
Complete the form below to view the webinar recording.
About the Presenter – Dr. Scott Poland
Dr. Poland is a Professor at CPS and the Co-Director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at Nova Southeastern University. He is an internationally recognized expert on school crisis and youth suicide and has authored five books on the subject. He previously directed psychological services for a large Texas district for 24 years and is a past President of the National Association of School Psychologists and a past Prevention Division Director for the American Association of Suicidology. He recently authored the Suicide Safer School Plan for Texas and the Crisis Action School Toolkit on Suicide for Montana. He was a founding member of the National Emergency Assistance Team and has assisted schools/communities after tragedies such as school shootings, suicides, and acts of terrorism. He has received the Houston Wage Peace Award and the Parkland Helping the Community Heal Award. Dr. Poland is the author of SafeSchools Training Staff and Student Courses on bullying, suicide, threat assessment, and managing the aftermath of tragedy.
