Guidance

On January 14, 2019, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania activated the Safe2Say Something anonymous tip line, a key component of Pennsylvania Act 44 of 2018. The tip line is operated and monitored 24/7 by the Office of the Attorney General where tips are reviewed, classified, and forwarded to the appropriate school district. Tips that are found to contain information that may indicate a "life safety" issue are also forwarded to the Cumberland County 911 Center.

Students, parents, and community members can submit tips via three methods:
1) A free mobile application available for Apple and Android devices
2) By visiting www.safe2saypa.org
3) By calling 1-844-SAF2SAY (1-844-723-2729)

As always, we strongly encourage anyone with information relating to the safety of our schools to report these concerns immediately. Tips that are generally reported include, but are not limited to, tips regarding violence against students or facilities, tips regarding self-harm, and tips regarding substance abuse. In addition to the Safe2Say Something program, our community is reminded that any concerns can also be reported directly to a school district official and to our colleagues in local and state law enforcement.

SASD is committed to assertively handling threats to our schools. The District prohibits any district student from communicating threats directed at students, employees, Board members, community members or property owned, leased or being used by the district. Per Act 18 of 2019, and Act 55 of 2022, the District has established a Threat Assessment Team comprised of school administrators, mental health professionals, special education teachers, the SASD Safety & Security Coordinator and the School Resource Officer. This team is designed to assess and intervene with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities and the community. This team coordinates with law enforcement and outside services, like the county teams of the Franklin and/or Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office when necessary, to ensure a safe outcome for all stakeholders. Team members are trained in the utilization of Comprehensive Threat Assessment Guidelines derived from the University of Virginia’s Youth Violence Project.

A threat assessment process has been developed for assessing and intervening with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community and others. Threats are concerning communications or behaviors that suggest a person may intend to harm themselves or someone else. These may be expressed or communicated behaviorally, orally, visually, in writing, electronically or through any other means. Threats can be either direct (directed toward a target) or indirect (communicated through a third party). Threats can also be deduced through an individual’s behavior.

Threats should be reported immediately to the building administrator when school is in session. When school is not in session, we encourage the use of the Safe2Say Platform, accessed online at www.safe2saypa.org, the downloadable app or at 1-844-SAF2SAY. If the threat is perceived to be imminent, call 911.

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