Governor Lee launches School Safety Toolkit for parents

Thursday, Governor Bill Lee launched a new resource to help families become more involved in their child’s school safety plan.The School Safety Toolkit provides several tools for parents, including information about the SafeTN app, warning signs for violence among students or community members, mental health resources, quick tips, and questions to ask your school district about preparedness. The new resource is the result of a joint effort between the Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, and Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse ServicesThis launch follows the June passage of Executive Order 97, which increased transparency among state agencies, parents, and school officials regarding school safety and procedures. Executive Order 97 also ensured evaluation of training for Tennessee law enforcement and implemented accountability measures for schools.“As we continue our work to protect Tennessee children, the new School Safety Toolkit will provide parents with helpful resources and greater transparency to feel confident their child is safe at school,” said Governor Lee. “I encourage every Tennessee family to prepare and engage in school safety by utilizing this toolkit and downloading the SafeTN app.”The SafeTN app launched at the beginning of August to allow parents to anonymously and confidentially report suspicious activity or safety concerns at their child’s school. So far, the app has engaged more than 11,000 Tennesseans, proving to be a valuable resource to families across the state.The toolkit places an emphasis on student mental health, providing parents with over ten different links and phone numbers to mental health resources and hotlines.“Families, particularly parents, are often the first to notice changes in their students’ behavior,” notes the toolkit. “Whether the changes are in the classroom or at home, families play a key part in building safe learning environments. Proactively promoting safety starts with understanding your child’s physical, mental, and emotional health needs.”The toolkit additionally recommends parents to become proactive about school safety by asking questions about their child’s school such as “who is allowed to enter the building during the school day” and “does the school have a safety plan for after-school and extracurricular activities?”The toolkit also recommends that parents engage with school districts, specifically parent-teacher organizations and school resource officers to provide additional resources to the school district or host forums and family nights topical to school safety.Parent and family preparedness was the key goal of the School Safety Toolkit, highlighting several ways in which parents can engage with their students and their school to prevent any form of violence on school grounds. The push towards safer schools is not yet over, as noted by Lee, and this toolkit is just one step towards student well-being and violence-free schools.“Parents need to have confidence that their children are safe at school, and thankfully, Tennessee has built a firm foundation with our practical approach to securing schools, recognizing crisis, and providing confidential reporting of any suspicious activity,” said Governor Lee. “This order strengthens accountability and transparency around existing school safety planning and assures Tennessee parents that our efforts to protect students and teachers will continue.”