CENTEGIX | Education
Missouri School Safety Standards
CENTEGIX | Education
Missouri School Safety Standards
School Safety Grant Program (Missouri HB 14)
In February of 2023, the state of Missouri announced the School Safety Grant Program (HB 14), which approved $20 million in school safety grants. The purpose of this grant is to provide financial support to school districts and charter schools to invest in physical security upgrades and associated technology.
“Improving the safety and security of our schools is an issue we can all support, and these grants help ensure our schools remain safe environments for Missouri children to learn,” Governor Mike Parson said. “While threats of violence are something we never want to see in our classrooms, we must be prepared and have proper resources and response plans in place.” The $20 million grant was part of Governor Parson’s Fiscal Year 2023 early supplemental budget request. Governor Parson’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal includes an additional $50 million for the program, if approved by the General Assembly.
School Safety Grant funds may only be utilized for the following purposes:
- Emergency communication tools
- Visitor management systems
- Access control improvements
- Video surveillance equipment
- Building security systems
- Safety planning, vulnerability assessments, and staff training
- Bleeding control kits
- Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs)
- Fencing to secure playgrounds
- Bollards to protect front entryways
- Safety film for glass in exterior doors and sidelights
View grant award totals on the DESE website here. For more guidance on the School Safety Grant program, view their resource guide here.
Missouri Center for Education Safety
Originally launched in 2001, the Center for Education Safety (CES) is Missouri’s sole statewide school safety organization and is supported and operated solely by the Missouri School Boards’ Association. Originally a partnership of MSBA, the Missouri Department of Public Safety, and the Missouri Office of Homeland Security, the CES works to enhance various aspects of emergency planning, preparedness, and safety and security throughout Missouri public and private schools. CES provides professional expertise through its staff on specific topics and also serves as a clearinghouse for reliable school safety information and resources.
CES Core Principles
- Teaching and learning only occur within a safe and secure environment for learners and those who instruct and support them. In fact, high performing public schools are dependent upon a safe and secure environment.
- Safety at public schools must be a community-focused effort. Collaboration is required between federal, state, and local policymakers, those who govern and manage schools, parents, law enforcement, and other emergency responders and organizations that support children and families.
To learn more about the CES, visit here.
School Safety Academy
MSBA’s School Safety Academy allows students to take classroom instruction-led courses and become certified as a “School Safety Specialist” at no cost. Once certified, School Safety Specialists are required to complete 8 hours of additional training every year (including the year they attend the academy) in order to keep their certification.
Safety Training Topics
Initial and subsequent academy training will focus on safety topics, including:
- Effective Communication/ Information Sharing
- Mental Health/Behavioral Risk
- School Climate and Culture
- Emergency Operations Plan
- Physical Security/Technology
- Safety Assessments/ Audits
- Training/ Drills
- Legal Issues
- Cyber Security
The next School Safety Academy will be July 25-27, 2023, in Jefferson City. To apply, visit the School Safety Academy website.
Courage2Report
Began in October 2001 and ran by MSBA, Courage2Report, Missouri’s statewide school violence tip line program, aims to make schools safer by helping school districts and law enforcement learn about school violence as soon as possible. Courage2Report accepts confidential reports that involve any public or private school in Missouri with students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Reporting
What should be reported?
Any threat to life that happens on school property or the school bus should be reported to C2R. This may include:
- Assault
- Weapons
- School Shooting
- Planned Suicide
Reports are accepted from:
- Students
- Parents
- School personnel
- Concerned citizens
- Confidential reporters
Once received, officials with the school and law enforcement will then determine how to appropriately handle each report.
Additional Grants for Missouri School Safety Solutions
Stronger Connections Grants
In late 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced nearly $1 billion in awards through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). In Missouri, the Stronger Connections grants aim to provide students with safe and supportive learning opportunities and environments critical for academic success. Missouri was awarded $15,082,238 from this program.
Through the BSCA, Congress awarded $1 billion in funding to state educational agencies (SEAs) to develop state grant programs to give students safer and healthier learning environments. The BSCA specifies that SEAs must award these funds competitively to high-need LEAs, as determined by the state.
This grant focuses on helping schools foster sustained learning, engagement, and attachment for students in Missouri schools. The Stronger Connections Grant Program mandates that schools should accomplish this by becoming more resilient, supporting mental health, and improving school climate.
According to the Department of Education, schools should spend Stronger Connections Grant Program funds to:
- Implement evidence-based strategies that meet students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being needs.
- Create positive, inclusive, and supportive school environments.
- Increase access to place-based interventions and services.
- Engage students, families, educators, staff, and community organizations in selecting and implementing strategies to create safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments.
- Design and implement policies and practices responsive to underserved students, protecting student rights, and demonstrating respect for student dignity and potential.
Examples of spending that qualifies for funding include hiring counselors and nurses, expanding mental and behavioral health services, providing teacher training on inclusion and behavioral interventions, and other related efforts to create a positive and supportive climate in Missouri schools.
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 July 31, 2022, Missouri has spent 22% of the total awarded funds.
For the first round of ESSER grants, the state was allocated $208,443,300. 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, Missouri’s ESSER II allocation was $871,172,291, and it must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2023.
Another round of funding was made available as part of the American Rescue Plan. Missouri’s portion of those ESSER funds is $1,957,916,288, 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.
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.
Learn more here.
Federal Grants
The list of federal grants awarded to Missouri for the 2022-23 school year includes:
- IDEA ARP: $49,733,879
- IDEA: $309,108,762
- Title I: $533,774,493
- Title IV-A: $17,942,712
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Olathe Public Schools
Olathe, KS
Hear Dr. Jim McMullen speak about the impact the CrisisAlert badge had at Olathe Public Schools during the Fall 2022 semester at their January Board of Education meeting.
Blue Valley School District
Overland Park, KS
Blue Valley School District implemented the CrisisAlert system, allowing teachers and administrators to call for help at the touch of a button. Learn more in our video.
How Are Your Resources Being Spent?
CENTEGIX protects over 11,500 schools across the country. We can protect your school, too.
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform™, featuring CrisisAlert™, accelerates your response to emergencies. We’ve built the CENTEGIX Safety Platform to support you in the single most critical factor of incident response: time. Because in an emergency, every second matters.
Discover federal resources to fund new safety and security initiatives in your district by exploring federal funding resources for school safety.
CENTEGIX | White Paper
The Impact of Safety on the Mental Health and Well-being of Staff and Students in K12 Schools
When safety leads, success follows.
Hear from Our Educators
We engage with teachers and staff every day to understand how CrisisAlert supports them, and here’s what they’ve shared:
A student was having trouble breathing and her vision was beginning to black out. We don’t have service in our building and it can be difficult to get ahold of the office staff, so having something to immediately alert them of emergency was incredibly helpful in a very scary situation.
I had a student who was refusing to follow directions and became very defiant. This student was beginning to get aggressive. I used my badge to alert our campus security monitor to remove the student from the situation. It is a very useful tool when the response was as immediate as it was.
A student was having a severe panic attack, trouble speaking, crying, not able to answer my questions as to what was wrong with her. I used the device to call for administrative help and it worked like it was designed to. Help arrived in a matter of seconds. I saw firsthand how well it works.
The Safety Platform™ Meets Grant-Funded Safety Measures
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform is an emergency incident response safety system that features wearable panic buttons, digital mapping software, and reunification and visitor management capabilities and generates accurate, usable data. The Safety Platform 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. The Safety Platform meets the security infrastructure needs the Missouri school safety grants aim to address.
The Safety Platform 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 request assistance. Administrators can better understand where and why and under what conditions. These administrative decisions, enabled by Platform data, contribute to the “positive and safe climate” that the safety grants aim to foster.
The CENTEGIX school safety platform provides robust and uninterrupted communication between staff members, administrators, first responders, and students. Unlike other emergency incident response systems, the Safety Platform’s technology precludes adoption and connectivity challenges. It 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 request 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 and Safety Blueprint from CENTEGIX ensure an immediate response:
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 Safety Platform can help school districts and LEAs enact these measures, making students and staff safer. The Safety platform school safety solution helps create a climate of safety by enabling staff members to request help immediately, 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 Safety Platform is the fastest and easiest way for staff to request help in an emergency, from the everyday to the extreme. CENTEGIX innovates technology to empower and protect people, and leaders nationwide trust our safety solutions to provide peace of mind.
Championing Safe Schools with Educators and Educator Associations
Discover the Safety Platform
Safety solutions that prioritize speed for the best outcome.
Mapping and locating capabilities provide the precise location—of emergencies, visitors, and safety assets.
A visitor management system screens and locates visitors on your campus.
Protocol development to plan for rapid incident response.
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert vs. Mobile Apps
CrisisAlert eliminates vulnerabilities related to app-only solutions and enables rapid incident response to all emergencies.
In an Emergency, You Need CrisisAlert™
Adverse situations can happen at any moment—from everyday crises such as medical emergencies, severe weather, and physical altercations to extreme situations that threaten your entire campus. The faster you get help to the right location, the better the outcome.
See how our CrisisAlert wearable mobile panic button empowers staff to get help instantly in an emergency.
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IN A CRISIS, EVERY SECOND MATTERS™.