Posted: | September 13, 2022 03:18 PM |
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From: | Senator Patrick M. Browne and Sen. Vincent J. Hughes, Sen. Scott Martin |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Resolution designating the week of September 26 through 30, 2022, as “Safe2Say Something Week” in Pennsylvania. |
We will be introducing a resolution designating the week of September 26 through 30, 2022, as “Safe2Say Something Week” in Pennsylvania. Act 44 of 2018 established the Safe2Say Something program, which provides for methods of anonymous reporting concerning unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities in schools or to individuals. The Safe2SaySomething program, implemented by the Attorney General in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise, has quickly become a national model for reporting warning signs from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others. This partnership trains students, teachers and school personnel to recognize and report warning signs from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others. The Safe2Say Something program began accepting reports on January 14, 2019, and continues to accept reports 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. In the 2021-2022 school year, approximately 650,000 students received Safe2Say Something training. In August 2022, the Office of Attorney General released the Safe2SaySomething Annual Report which highlighted that since the program began accepting reports in January 2019, more than 82,995 reports had been made, with 26,174 received in the 2021-2022 school year. While the original intent of the program was to prevent threats against a school, the Safe2Say Something program has identified a variety of behavior and mental health issues. From July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the top three categories of tips are bullying/cyber bullying, smoking (tobacco, e-cig, vape) in school and suicide/suicide ideation. Pennsylvania is now considered a national model with this anonymous tip-line, and it has demonstrated in a short time that it serves a vital need in our schools. We hope that you will join us in co-sponsoring this resolution designating the week of September 26 through 30, 2022, as “Safe2Say Something Week” in Pennsylvania. |
Introduced as SR344