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:

1. A new requirement, effective December 1, 2019, that adults report potential violent or sexual offenses against child victims to law enforcement.
2. 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.

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:

1. Trauma Awareness (35 minutes) 
2. Trauma-Informed Practices (42 minutes)
3. 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:

1. PA Act 71: Youth Suicide: Awareness & Prevention
2. PA Act 126: Act 126- Part 1: Child Abuse Recognition & Mandatory Reporting
3. PA Act 126: Act 126- Part 2: Educator Discipline Act & Sexual Misconduct
4. 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.

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:

1. Bullying: Recognition & Response
2. Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting
3. Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting (Spanish)
4. General Ethics in the Workplace
5. 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!

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, we launched the new SafeSchools Training Student Courses with customized course collections for students in grades 9-12 and 6-8. Written by leading K-12 subject matter experts from across the nation, and delivered in a video-based format featuring age-appropriate content and peer presenters, our student courses cover essential safety and wellness topics you need to educate students on so they’re better prepared for the realities of school and life today. The modular courses also include helpful assessments, lesson plans, discussion questions, and activities to support a variety of uses.

Course titles include:

• Alcohol, Marijuana, and Vaping
• Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Digital Citizenship
• Sexual Harassment
• Youth Suicide Risk
• *Student Wellness Collection coming in 2020.

What Customers Are Saying about Student Training

Mid-way through the school year, we surveyed our customers on their use of the new program, and we’ve had a tremendous response from administrators who have implemented the courses in their districts. Here are a few highlights from our December 2019 Customer Survey.

“We chose the SafeSchools Training Student Courses to supplement instruction in areas that often cause concern with our students. We really value the ease of use, the understandability for our students, and the positive, informational content.”

Dr. Gina Wohlford, Superintendent | Norton City Schools, VA

Why do administrators choose the SafeSchools Training Student Courses?

• To provide consistent training in key areas of need for students.
  • The courses cover important topics that have a big impact on both the individual students and the school community.
  • The courses provide supplemental content to support district curriculum and state standards.
• Quality content from a trusted provider.
  • Each student course is written by a K-12 subject matter expert, so administrators can trust the quality of the content presented in the courses.
  • Many of our customers also use our SafeSchools Training Staff Safety and Compliance Training and appreciate the opportunity to utilize a consistent training format, in a convenient training system, for both staff and student training.
• Flexibility to assign courses individually or use in a group setting.
  • The flexibility and modular design of the courses support a variety of uses within a school.
    • Assigning courses to students to complete individually.
    • Using in a facilitated group setting, such as homeroom or advisory period.
    • Facilitating important conversations with students using the course modules as a foundation for discussion.
  • To provide remediation alternatives and enhancements to discipline.
    • Districts are providing training in key areas of concern to help remediate issues within the schools.
    • Administrators are using the courses to provide additional knowledge and understanding for students who would previously have only received discipline for certain behaviors.

What do customers value most about the SafeSchools Training Student Courses?

Here are a few statements our administrators shared about what they value most in the new student courses. Clearly content, student engagement, flexibility, and affordability are key!

• Consistency in curriculum for all students.
• Courses are high quality with good messages and valuable information presented by student peers.
• Allows teachers to be involved in open discussion with students with the videos being the starting point.
• The students can get information on topics they don’t normally talk about by watching the teen presenters in the videos.
• Students like the video lessons and having time to discuss current topics.
• Easy to use, informative.
• Flexibility to use individually or in group setting.
• Affordable, the cost-per-pupil makes it worth it.

“Our administration was looking for innovative ways to educate students on the topics that you offered. We have used the SafeSchools Training Student Courses for students who would have typically just received discipline for a behavior. Now, we are able to require them to use the courses to enhance their knowledge. We value the flexibility of being able to use the courses in the classroom or assign individually to students.”

Angela Watson, Coordinator of Nursing | School District of Pickens County, SC

To preview the student courses or learn more about adding these courses for your school or district, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected].

Can you believe that the school year is nearly halfway through? Now is a great time to do a mid-year training and compliance check to be sure your school is on track to meet your safety goals and manage liability. A safety compliance check now gives you time before the school year ends to check on anyone who might not have completed their training.

That’s where the SafeSchools Online Training System comes in! Here are five ways we can help you better manage compliance:

1. Compliance Management System

Every employee training assignment and course completion is automatically documented in your SafeSchools Training System and is made available for compliance reporting in real-time. All reports can be exported to Excel instantly, with just a few clicks. Learn more about how SafeSchools Training can help your district better manage compliance and automate your training to save valuable time.

2. Course Customization

Add school-specific content and/or state-specific customized messaging to the beginning or end of any SafeSchools Training course. Administrators can also link to district-specific resources and policies.

3. Track Off-line Training

Track individual or group face-to-face sessions in your SafeSchools Training System too, by giving credit to employees or students who were in attendance.

4. New Hire Training Plan

New Hires may have different start dates, have different job titles, and be located in different buildings. Your SafeSchools Training System offers an easy way for you to assign and track training specifically for new hires. Once set up, your New Hire Training Plan automatically assigns the courses you’ve identified to employees loaded into the system as new employees. Plus, as you add new employees, the system automatically assigns your training and tracks completions.

5. Compliance Notes

These helpful reminders provide additional actions that are needed to achieve full compliance. Examples of SafeSchools Training courses that have compliance notes are Asbestos Awareness, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Hazard Communications.

To learn more about how SafeSchools Training can help your school or district with compliance, please contact us at [email protected], 1-800-434-0154, or request a free trial.

At Vector Solutions, we rely on thought leaders, professional organizations, and advisory school districts that provide us with ongoing insight into school safety needs. In addition to monitoring the legal environment to ensure we’re providing resources to help school administrators address their staff compliance training needs, we’re also focused on shifting cultural and societal norms, as well as the impact of technology and how all of these factors affect school communities. Whether it’s an increased sensitivity to survivors of sexual assault or recognizing the growing role of social media in sexual harassment or bullying, we’re evolving to meet our clients’ needs. One such area of need that has been growing at an alarmingly rapid rate is the youth vaping crisis.

New Vaping Resources for Students

In response to this urgent student health and safety issue and the valuable feedback we’ve received from our clients, we are releasing a new, powerful vaping prevention online training module available for students in Grades 9-12. This engaging resource, which is included as part of the SafeSchools Training Student Courses, provides information about the damaging health effects of vaping as well as offering tips and strategies to resist these pressures. Click here to preview the Vaping Course Module.

Often marketed as a “safer” alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes, the popularity of vaping among teens has risen dramatically in recent years due to the ease of concealed use and perceived harmlessness, especially in comparison to cigarette smoking. According to data compiled by the National Center for Health Research, the percentage of teens who have tried e-cigarettes has increased from 5% to 19% over the last four years. Additionally, one in four students in 12th grade and one in five students in 10th grade have vaped within the past month. Our new vaping prevention module seeks to dispel the myths about the safety of vaping and explains the risks and potential consequences of using electronic vaping products.

Preview the New Vaping Module

About SafeSchools Training Student Courses

The vaping module is included in the Alcohol, Marijuana & Other Drugs course, one of the five online courses available in the SafeSchools Training Student Courses for students in Grades 9-12. The module will also be available for middle school students when the new collection of student courses launches in early 2020 for students in Grades 6-8. Other course topics in both the Grades 9-12 and Grades 6-8 collections include: Bullying & Cyberbullying; Youth Suicide Awareness; Sexual Harassment; and Digital Citizenship. The Grades 9-12 course collection is available today, and the Grades 6-8 course collection is now available for pre-order. View the Student Course Library.

For more information or to schedule a demo, click here. You can also contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected].

As the leading provider of online compliance training for school employees, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new SafeSchools Training safety courses for students! Our powerful, new, web-based courses cover the essential safety topics you need to educate your students on to keep them safe and to positively impact your school culture, including:

1. Bullying & Cyberbullying
2. Youth Suicide Prevention
3. Alcohol & Drug Prevention
4. Sexual Harassment
5. Digital Citizenship 

And, our courses are perfect for prevention training or remediation with students who have disciplinary issues.

Each short, age-appropriate, modular course features peer presenters, so students can more easily connect with each lesson. Administrators can assign courses to individual students to complete independently, use in a facilitated group setting with a staff presenter, or add our courses to your existing LMS. Each course includes helpful assessments, lesson plans, discussion questions and activities.

Click on the video below to watch an overview of our student courses.

Equip your students with the knowledge and skills they need, so they’re better prepared for the realities of school today with SafeSchools Training’s new student courses!

Our new student courses will be available in June in perfect time for the new school year. To preorder or to learn more, please call 1-800-434-0154 or email [email protected]. 

Students often know what’s happening in your district before you do. The SafeSchools Alert Mobile App makes it easy to stay connected to your school community so you can prevent serious safety incidents before they occur.

Using the app, free to download on iOS and Android with a SafeSchools Alert System subscription, students and adults can submit safety tips 24/7 to alert school officials about bullying, harassment, mental health concerns, and threats of violence. The convenient app makes it easy to keep track of all tips submitted, and push notifications let tipsters know when a reply has been sent to their tip and tracks all communication.

The SafeSchools Alert System automates many of the steps involved in tip resolution and allows administrators to easily delegate tips to colleagues who can investigate and manage tips to resolution. Administrative reports make it simple to monitor safety trends by victim, offender, building, and incident type.

Complimentary promotional materials such as fliers, posters, parent letters, and student handbook copy make it easy to communicate this potentially life-saving tool to your entire school community.

Watch an Overview of the SafeSchools Alert System

Together, using SafeSchools Alert, we can help to make your school community an even safer place to work and learn. For more information or a free trial of SafeSchools Alert, please contact us at 1-800-434-0154, [email protected], or www.SafeSchools.com.

Helping districts improve school safety is one of our top priorities. But we’re also focused on providing busy school leaders with solutions that streamline cumbersome administrative processes and save valuable time. The TeachPoint Educator Evaluation and Professional Development Tracking solutions, now part of the Vector Solutions family, can help you manage growth and performance and improve educator effectiveness in your district.

Here are a few ways the TeachPoint PD Tracking Solution can help you increase efficiency and eliminate the paperwork:

• The central office can utilize a dashboard to create and manage all PD events and attendee registration, as well as approve credits from one central location.
• School principals can easily launch and communicate new in-school PD events, then auto-generate and distribute certificates of attendance.
• Educators and staff can easily view and sign up for available PD events and request to attend events outside of their district/school.
• The central office can gather attendee feedback using pre-built templates or by creating tailored questionnaires.
• Educators and staff can utilize a dashboard to track all their PD credits required for recertification.

You can also easily integrate your SafeSchools Training online safety and compliance training with the TeachPoint Online PD Tracking Solution. Here’s how this new integration will help you streamline PD tracking for all staff:

• Single Sign-On – Employees can easily launch SafeSchools Training courses directly from TeachPoint with a single login.
• Access Hundreds of Online Courses – Access your full library of SafeSchools Training courses from TeachPoint.
• View Training Assignments – Employees can view their list of SafeSchools Training assignments from within TeachPoint.
• Manage PD Transcripts in One Central Location – Course completion data from SafeSchools Training is now accessible within TeachPoint and can be tracked for recertification credits along with other PD activities.
• Built-In Tutorial Courses – The SafeSchools Training system will also include new TeachPoint Tutorial courses which can be assigned to staff to support implementation.

TeachPoint also provides an integrated Educator Evaluation Solution, recently adopted by Boston Public Schools, to help manage the educator and staff evaluation process from start to finish!

Please contact us at [email protected] or 1.800.434.0154 today to schedule a short demo or to request a free trial.

We heard your valuable feedback: while all accidents are incidents, not all incidents are accidents, and so we’re thrilled to announce that our SafeSchools Accident Tracking System is getting a new name: SafeSchools Incident. We’re thankful for your input and are excited that this change reflects the versatility of the system. Rest assured if you’re a current SafeSchools Accident Tracking customer, the update will be seamless and your system will not experience any down time.

New! OSHA Reports

We’re also excited to share that the system now allows you to generate OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 reports.

• The system now makes sure all incidents at each location contain the required information for OSHA.
• Incidents added to the system that do not have all of the required information will be flagged in order to populate missing fields quickly and easily.

For more information on our SafeSchools Incident System, please give us a call at 1-800-434-0154 or email us at [email protected].