CENTEGIX | EDUCATION
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL SAFETY STANDARDS
FUNDING OVERVIEW AND REQUIREMENTS
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CALIFORNIA SCHOOL SAFETY SOLUTIONS GEARED TO PREVENT VIOLENCE
California school alert systems are proactive acknowledgments that school violence has become a modern-day fact of life across the United States.
The K-12 School Shooting Database tracks active shooters around the country. In 2022, there were 303 shooting incidents at schools. One of those shootings claimed the life of a school employee at East Estates School Complex in Oakland.
By California law, school systems need to develop Comprehensive School Safety Plans that should be adopted by March 1st each year to deal with a variety of emergencies:
- bomb threat
- bioterrorism/hazardous materials
- earthquake
- flood
- power failure/blackout
- intruders/solicitors
- weapons/assault/hostage
- explosion
- gas/fumes
California school safety solutions are required to include specific procedures “to prepare for active shooters or other armed assailants.” Training also should be available for staff and students, so they understand how to react in emergency situations.
In addition, plans should include clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of mental health professionals, school counselors, community intervention professionals, school resource officers, and police officers on campus.
STATEWIDE SCHOOL SAFETY SURVEY
In 2019, the California Department of Education began a survey to see what kind of California school safety solutions were being implemented at elementary, middle, and high schools across the state. The results were released in November 2021:
- Lockdown—93% of schools conduct one or more per school year. Of those, 63% percent conduct one to two drills, 33% conduct three to four drills, and 5% conduct lockdown drills five or more times.
- Multi-option response, Run-Hide-Fight, Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE), or Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE)—42% conduct one or more multi-option drills per school year. Of those, 68% conduct one to two drills, 17% conduct three to four drills; and 15% conduct five or more drills.
- Earthquake drills—88% conduct one or more drop-cover-hold drills. Of those, 63% conduct one to two drills, 31% conduct three to four drills, and 6% conduct five or more drills.
- Shelter-in-place—82% conduct one or more shelter-in-place drills. Of those, 75% conduct one to two drills, 19% conduct three to four drills, and 6% conduct five or more drills.
- Evacuation—79% conduct evacuation drills one or more times. Of those, 30% conduct one to two drills, 21% conduct three to four drills, and 49% conduct five or more.
- Reverse evacuation (moving people into the facility for safety)—32% conduct one or more reverse evacuation drills. Of those, 80% conduct one to two drills, 9% conduct three to four drills, and 11% conduct five or more.
- Reunification—29% conduct one or more reunification drills. Of those, 66% conduct one to two drills per year, 5% conduct three to four drills, and 19% conduct five or more drills.
FOCUSING ON PREVENTION
The California Department of Education’s Project Cal-STOP provides free training to schools based on Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs Programs:
- Start With Hello trains middle and high school students on how to recognize social isolation within their classroom and school. Students learn how to reach out and help.
- Say Something teaches middle and high school students to look for warning signs and threats—especially in social media—and to act immediately. Sandy Hook Promise also operates Say Something Tips, a website where students and staff can anonymously submit their safety concerns
- SAVE Promise Club is a student-led club that allows students to practice lessons from Start With Hello and Say Something. The club organizes activities on campus that promote a safe, respectful, and inclusive climate.
Cal-STOP also includes National Alliance on Mental Illness On Campus High School Club and Youth Mental Health First Aid training as ways to give troubled young people the help they need.
ADAPTING FACILITIES
While acknowledging that schools shouldn’t be like jails, the California School Boards Association encouraged school districts to take steps to secure buildings as part of California school safety solutions.
The association recommended restricting unauthorized access to schools by limiting entrances and providing extra security for ground-level windows. In order to deter violence, 24-hour video cameras should be placed:
- at school entrances
- in hallways
- in lunchrooms
- on buses
California school safety solutions can include metal detectors to prevent weapons from entering schools. In addition, the association recommends that administrators work with law enforcement to provide on-campus resource officers.
GRANTS FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOL SAFETY SOLUTIONS
STOP SCHOOL VIOLENCE ACT & STRONGER CONNECTIONS GRANT PROGRAM
In December 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced $125 million was awarded by the Department of Justice under The STOP School Violence Act.
The grants were designed to help primary and secondary schools prevent school violence by training school staff and students and implementing evidence-based threat assessments. Funds were applied to anti-bullying programs and mental health intervention teams.
In addition, the Stronger Connections Grant Program awarded nearly $1 billion to states to provide students with safer and healthier learning environments. California received $119,828,943 from this program.
ESSER FUNDS
As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were made available to address the pandemic’s impact on student safety and mental well-being. As of June 30, 2022, California has spent 30% of the total awarded funds.
For the first round of ESSER grants, the state was allocated $1,647,306,127. The deadline to obligate those funds was Sept. 30, 2022.
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act was passed in 2020. As part of the act, California’s ESSER II allocation was $6,709,633,866, and it must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2023.
Another round of funding was made available as part of the American Rescue Plan. California’s portion of those ESSER funds is $15,079,696,097, and the obligation deadline is Sept. 30, 2024.
COPS SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM
The U.S. Department of Justice oversees the COPS School Violence Prevention Program. The money is earmarked for evidence-based school safety programs and technology.
Schools can use those funds to purchase school safety technology that helps identify potential dangers. The money can also be used to improve emergency notification and response systems. The deadline to apply is May 17, 2023. To learn more, visit the COPS website.
BJA'S STOP SCHOOL VIOLENCE PROGRAM
The U.S. Department of Justice also has funds available through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. BJA’s STOP School Violence Program funds software that helps K-12 schools maintain a safe environment. It’s geared toward recognizing, responding to, and preventing violence on campus. Applications will be taken until May 15, 2023. Learn more here.
FEDERAL GRANTS
The list of federal grants awarded to California for the 2022-23 school year includes:
- IDEA ARP, $267,360,513
- IDEA, $1,672,263,265
- Title I, $4,305,989,945
- Title IV-A, $139,925,103
A number of other federal grants are available to help school districts prevent, mitigate, respond, and recover:
- Strategies to Support Children Exposed to Violence—provides funding to assist children and their families exposed to violence. Deadline to Apply: April 24, 2023.
- Project AWARE—funds school-based mental health programs and services. Deadline to apply: April 28, 2023.
- Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative—supports evidence-based intervention and prevention programs to address gun violence. Deadline to apply: May 18, 2023.
CENTEGIX | EBOOK
Demonstrating Success in Education
CENTEGIX believes that school should be a place where students can learn and grow safely and with a sense of well-being. As the leader in discreet, wearable panic buttons, CENTEGIX contributes to school safety by providing instantaneous communication with first responders in the event of any threat to the health and safety of students and educators.
Learn how CrisisAlert has made a difference across the country in our ebook. Download your copy today →
HOW ARE YOUR RESOURCES BEING SPENT?
CENTEGIX protects over 4,000 schools across the country.
We can protect your school, too. CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert™ platform is an incident response solution that protects students and staff members by empowering teachers and staff to call for help with a simple push of a button. The solution provides first responders with the most accurate location information, enabling them to respond faster in any situation.
Discover resources to fund new safety and security initiatives in your district with our funding guide.
PARTNER of AEPA and CALSAVE
CalSave uses national leverage to seek best pricing on its purchasing contracts. As a participating member of the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA), a multi-state non-profit organization made up of Educational Service Agencies / political subdivisions organized through a Memorandum of Understanding between all participating states, CalSave works with educational purchasing cooperatives in 26 other states. In California, awards are made by MCOE based on the application of California law.
CENTEGIX is a proud AEPA-awarded member in the state of California through CalSave as a Security Solution. We look forward to the opportunity to explore and solve your school safety needs. Learn more here.
OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS
HEAR FROM OUR EDUCATORS
CrisisAlert™ Provides Grant-Funded Safety Measures
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert is an emergency incident response system that features wearable panic buttons which generate accurate, usable data. The CrisisAlert school safety solution uses visual strobes, digital messages, and automated intercom announcements to inform everyone of a campus-wide incident and to instruct them on actions they should take. CrisisAlert meets the security infrastructure needs the California school safety grants aim to address.
CrisisAlert features an analytics dashboard that assists administrators as they make safety and security decisions. A data set is generated when a staff member uses their wearable badge to call for assistance. Administrators can better understand where and why, and under what conditions. These administrative decisions, enabled by CrisisAlert data, contribute to the “positive and safe climate” that the safety grants aim to foster.
The CrisisAlert school safety solution provides robust and uninterrupted communication between staff members, administrators, first responders, and students. Unlike other emergency incident response systems, CrisisAlert’s technology precludes adoption and connectivity challenges. CrisisAlert runs on a dedicated IoT network; it’s not susceptible to wi-fi or cellular connectivity interruptions. And because the CrisisAlert mobile panic button is worn along with an ID badge, 100% of staff members use it. This high adoption rate means that every staff member at every location on campus can call for help when they need it. CrisisAlert generates accurate location data for every alert, no matter where on campus. Therefore first responders know exactly where to go during an emergency. In many instances, this kind of rapid response can prevent tragedy.
These critical features of the CrisisAlert badge from CENTEGIX ensure an immediate response:
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- Desktop takeover notifications for staff mean campus-wide alerts are never missed.
- Location accuracy enables rapid response.
- The system immediately connects the parties best prepared to handle the situation.
- Wi-fi and phone outages have no effect on the system.
- Wearable security badges are easily accessible, lightweight, and wearable.
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert can help school districts and LEAs enact these measures, making students and staff safer. The CrisisAlert school safety solution helps create a climate of safety by enabling staff members to call for help instantly, from anywhere on campus, in any type of emergency. Under these conditions, teachers can focus on student needs, and students can focus on learning.
CENTEGIX is the leader in incident response solutions. Our CrisisAlert platform is the fastest and easiest way for staff to call for help in any emergency, from the everyday to the extreme. CENTEGIX creates safer spaces by innovating technology to empower and protect people, and leaders nationwide trust our safety solutions to provide peace of mind. To learn more about CENTEGIX, visit www.centegix.com.
THE CRISISALERT ADVANTAGE: WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
ONE BUTTON ACTIVATION
Wearable badge with a single button enables confident human action.
IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION
With the simple push of a button, alerts instantly reach administrators and responders.
TOTAL FACILITY COVERAGE
Our network secures every square foot of your property – there are no dead zones. Badges function everywhere.
AUDIO & VISUAL NOTIFICATION
Facility-wide alerts communicate emergency information using colored strobe lights, desktop alerts and intercom integration.
LOCATION ACCURACY
Our innovative technology determines the location of the alert, down to an individual room.
EASE OF INSTALLATION
Solutions installed with no alterations to physical structures or electrical wiring are required.
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert vs Mobile Apps
CrisisAlert eliminates vulnerabilities related to app-only solutions and enables rapid incident response to every scenario.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
CrisisAlert In Action
Our badge-based panic alarm is making headlines for the simplicity and reliability of the incident response solution.
Effective Strategies for Retaining Qualified Teachers
Districts can improve teacher retention rates by ensuring teacher autonomy and safety with mobile panic buttons like CrisisAlert.
Examining Emergency Response Solutions Post-Uvalde
CrisisAlert eliminates communication vulnerabilities and enables rapid incident response, improving outcomes and saving lives.
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