Student Mental Health, Social Media, and the Impact of AI on School Safety
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Welcome back to School Safety Today, a Raptor Technologies newsletter. In this edition, we'll share:?
School Safety in the News?
Key Legislative Developments—Bills related to:?
Student Wellbeing with Dr. Amy?
Trending Topics Among School Safety Leaders??
School Safety and Technology
Upcoming Conferences?
School Safety in the News?
In the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child safety, lawmakers questioned social media CEOs about the safety of young users on their platforms. The hearing focused on the executives' commitments to child safety and their stance on proposed legislation aimed at enhancing online protection for minors. ?
A Michigan jury convicted Jennifer Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter, marking her as the first parent in the U.S. held responsible for a child's mass school attack. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 9, facing up to 15 years in prison.?
Bus safety conversations are trending. Georgia’s House Bill 1284, called “Addy’s Law,” was introduced on February 15, and Ohio's School Bus Safety Working Group issued 17 recommendations to enhance bus safety. Learn more here. ?
Key Legislative Developments?
Evolving technology, the latest research on best practices, social media issues like TikTok challenges, funding deadlines, new legislation. With so many time-sensitive demands on educators’ plates, staying up-to-date with school safety topics can be an overwhelming feat.??
My favorite tool for research right now is the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Pre-K-12 Education Legislation Database. I provide the highlights to a few key legislative developments in this newsletter, but if you’re looking for updates on a specific bill or state, this database will help you stay informed. ~Heather Terry, Content Marketing Manager at Raptor Technologies?
There are two significant trends in legislation across the nation.??
The first: defining the roles and requirements of SROs and school guardians. From funding to training and certification, there are many bills advancing related to this safety measure, such as:?
The second trend is seen in states increasing the training and support related to student mental health needs. This includes bills such as:?
Additional noteworthy legislation includes:?
Periodic safety inspections, a School Security and Fire Safety Fund for grants, and a School Mapping Data Program for emergency response. Mandates state-wide security criteria compliance.?
Amends the Public School Code to enhance school safety and security, including the consideration of implementing a panic alarm system in schools.?
Mandates the inclusion of behavioral threat assessment training in the in-service training programs for school employees.?
Mandates social media policies in public schools, incorporating safe technology use and digital citizenship.??
Mandates social media platforms prevent minors under 16 from creating new accounts without verifying their age using approved methods. Platforms are required to terminate accounts of users under 16 where age cannot be verified and must comply with strict regulations to protect minor's data and privacy. Takes effect on July 1, 2024.?
Funding Opportunities?
Here are funding opportunities with upcoming deadlines. For details about past and upcoming funding for school safety, see Raptor’s grant and federal funding information page.?
Michigan?
Deadline: March 15, 2024??
Through the Section 97j Early Behavior Intervention Tools grant, Michigan has allocated $6 million for Raptor StudentSafe? to help schools identify and manage concerning student behaviors.??
Ohio??
Deadline: May 15, 2024, first-come, first-served?
The Ohio Attorney General's FY24 School Safety Grant, offering $6.7 million to improve safety in schools is open to public and private schools, charter schools, and others. Eligible uses include SRO training, active shooter response, mental health support, and other safety-related expenditures.???
Texas??
Deadline: March 14, 2024??
The Texas Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) provides funding to support safety planning, equipment for physical security enhancements, training, exercises, contracted security personnel, and construction or renovation projects.???
Student Wellbeing with Dr. Amy?
With a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Raptor Technologies Resident Expert Dr. Amy Grosso began her career as a mental health counselor at Wake Forest Baptist Health. Then, as the Director of Behavioral Health at Round Rock ISD, Dr. Amy’s accomplishments include:?
Dr. Amy serves on the National Chapter Leadership Council of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She co-authored the book Schoolwide Collaboration for Transformative Social Emotional Learning, August 2021.?
“The JED Foundation highlighted trends affecting youth mental health in 2024 including things like social media, artificial intelligence and youth financial stress. Compounding the concern is the fact that there is a shortage of mental health professionals in schools. School psychologists are especially in demand according to the American Psychological Association because of their ability to assist families that might not have resources for support outside of the school day.?
How are schools to navigate this landscape other than increasing the number of staff? Most schools have detailed plans of how to handle situations when a student is experiencing a mental health crisis. Unfortunately, most do not have the same level of detailed plans for when a student first starts to show signs of a decline in mental health. While it might seem overwhelming to develop such procedures, by leveraging the right software, these types of plans can save school mental health professionals time, leading to an increase in their capacity.?
Another opportunity to impact student wellbeing is ensuring policies are made actionable. Districts often have great policies around student wellbeing, but they lack protocols and guidelines, such as assigning roles responsibility for specific tasks. Lacking these, campus administrators can struggle to fully implement the policies on a daily basis.”?
Dr. Amy Grosso, Director and Resident Expert at Raptor Technologies?
Watch Raptor’s School Safety Today webinar, “Student Wellbeing: Turning Policy into Action,” to learn more from Dr. Amy.?
Trending Topics Among School Safety Leaders??
Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: An Action Guide for School and District Leaders (December 2023), developed by the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, offers comprehensive strategies for enhancing student mental health. It advocates for evidence-based approaches tailored to diverse student needs and equitable implementation.??
"Technology must go hand in hand with relationships. Building strong connections with emergency communication centers is key. Establishing and nurturing relationships with local emergency management agencies, law enforcement, and 9-1-1 centers is crucial for effective collaboration and coordinated responses." Jamison Peevyhouse, Vice President of Public Safety at RapidSOS?
"If we're not training our classroom teachers, how do we expect them to recognize that there is an emergency? It's crucial that every staff member, from the janitor to the principal, has the training to identify a threat. This isn't just about responding to a crisis; it's about recognizing one before it escalates, ensuring the safety of every child in their care." Sean Burke, President of the School Safety Advocacy Council?
The Latest in Technology: Artificial Intelligence and School Safety?
The AI rush that OpenAI kicked off by releasing ChatGPT in 2022 is far from slowing down, and its full impact on most industries is largely yet to be seen—school safety included. In Raptor’s recent survey of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), there was an overwhelming degree of uncertainty when it came to the impact of AI on school safety.?
There are, however, safety concerns related to generative AI, as shown by the FBI’s recent warnings about sexploitation. The legal framework surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is developing to address both the potential benefits and challenges posed by this technology.??
Education-focused AI legislation reflects an effort to integrate AI into learning environments while also working to address ethical considerations:?
The Latest in Integrated Technology?
The power of AI is not limited to impacting academia alone—school safety technology companies are also offering innovative uses of AI to provide schools with better security.?
Here are a few examples of integrated school safety technology that are powered by AI:?
ZeroEyes?
Founded by Navy SEALs and Special Operations veterans, ZeroEyes focuses on proactive, human-verified A.I. gun detection software.?
Gabriel?
Using AI and machine learning, Gabriel replaces legacy security systems dependent on human interaction with automated systems that reduce response time, chaos, and cost.???
Kognition AI?
Leveraging real-time alerts generated by Kognition's enterprise machine vision AI, the system provides situational awareness, detecting events like boundary violations, loitering, and falls. It also excels in threat detection, identifying activities such as crowds forming, after-hours movements, and weapon presence. Additionally, Kognition AI assists in recognizing persons of interest, including those prohibited from the property, ensuring the safety of physical assets, and building occupants.?
Omnilert?
Utilizing AI technology for gun detection, Omnilert is designed to quickly identify potential threats by recognizing firearms in real-time, enabling prompt alerting and response mechanisms to mitigate risks and protect individuals.?
Guardian School Security Systems ?
Guardian employs patented Artificial Intelligence and millimeter wave signal processing to detect threats, including concealed weapons, and implement pre-designed security responses. When the system identifies a threat, instant communication, and live streaming provide real-time updates to school authorities and first responders.?
Upcoming Conferences?
Mar 7-8?WSSCA Annual Conference in Wisconsin Dells, WI? More Info?
Apr 1-2?4th Annual School Safety and Security Summit in Glendale, AZ?More Info?
Apr 7-10?ATLIS Annual Conference in Reno, NV?More Info?
April 17?Region 10 ESC 2024 School Safety Summit in Richardson, TX?More Info
Apr 16-17?ILUG Regional Briefings in Duluth, MN? More Info?
April 21-24?Texas Public Safety Conference 2024 in Denton, TX?More Info?
April 24-26?2024 CASCWA 87th Annual State Conference in Monterey, CA?More Info ?
Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date on the latest school safety topics!?
Thrilled to see such a focus on school safety! ?? Aristotle once hinted - the roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Enhancing safety with tech and support is key. ???? #SchoolSafetyToday