AB 2384: School safety: anonymous reporting programs: threat assessment systems.

Existing law requires school districts to be responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the schoolsite council of a school to write and develop the comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school, in consultation with a representative from a law enforcement agency, a fire department, and other first responder entities. Existing law requires a petition to establish a charter school to include, among other things, a reasonably comprehensive description of the procedures that the charter school will follow to ensure the health and safety of pupils and staff, including requiring the development and annual update of a school safety plan that includes certain safety topics and procedures.

Existing law authorizes moneys transferred into the general fund of any school district pursuant to specified provisions to be made available for specified purposes relating to the training of persons employed and compensated as members of a police department of a school district.

This bill would authorize a school district or charter school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to adopt an anonymous reporting program offered by a nonprofit organization and a threat assessment system offered by a nonprofit organization that meet specified requirements. The bill would require an anonymous reporting program adopted by a school district or charter school to, among other things, support 24/7 anonymous reporting, promptly forward reported information to the appropriate school-based team, and implement an evidence-based pupil violence prevention training for pupils and school personnel, as specified. The bill would require a threat assessment system adopted by a school district or charter school to, among other things, identify the types of threatening behavior that may represent a physical threat to the school community, identify members within the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported and the steps to be taken afterwards, and offer threat assessment trainings, as specified. The bill would authorize the above-described moneys to also be made available for the implementation and continued use of an anonymous reporting program and threat assessment system that meet the above requirements.