SIGNED! Pair of Bills to Improve School Safety Become Law
DENVER, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed a pair of bills into law today as part of Democrats’ ongoing effort to improve safety in public schools.
SB23-070, sponsored by Senator Chris Kolker, D-Centennial, would require school resource officers (SROs) to complete ongoing training from the Attorney General’s office on Safe2Tell, improving school safety and ensuring that tips received through the program are responded to promptly and appropriately.
“As a parent, keeping our students and our schools safe is one of my top priorities, and the Safe2Tell program is a critical avenue for kids to report issues and concerns they are having in school or at home,” Kolker said. “But in order for the program to work best, the adults receiving this information must have the best training possible. This new law will ensure that school resource officers are well-equipped to handle these tough situations, and will make our schools and our communities safer as a result.”
Trainings would include discussions on best practices in responding to Safe2Tell reports, improved communication regarding reports, and ongoing training resources to improve SRO support for students and staff.
Safe2Tell is a critical safety reporting program that provides students, parents, and community members a safe and anonymous way to report information about any issues that concern their safety or the safety of others.
Polis also signed SB23-241, sponsored by Senator Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, which creates the Office of School Safety, helping schools prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and crisis situations by offering training and other supportive services.
"Kids can’t learn when they don’t feel safe," said Bridges. "I had a friend who hid in the choir room at Columbine for hours. A few years after I graduated from Arapahoe High School, Claire Davis was killed there, and Kendrick Castillo died protecting his classmates at the STEM school just steps outside of my district. School safety is deeply personal to me and my constituents. This bill dramatically expands the capabilities of our existing school safety programs, and puts them together so they have the collaboration, communication, and coordination they need to more effectively keep Colorado kids safe."
SB23-241 also tasks the Office of School Safety with overseeing the School Safety Resource Center, implementing a newly created crisis response unit to help schools in responding to a crisis or emergency event, overseeing the School Access for Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program, and administering a new Youth Violence Prevention Grant Program to provide grants of up to $100,000 to schools, community organizations and local governments to address youth violence.