Safe Schools

NEW SY 24-25 Safe School Plan Documents

Social Media Threat Guidance and Assessments

In October, the CDC released a series of studies on the national version of the YRRS, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey including several with mental health findings:
- Frequent Social Media Use and Experiences with Bullying Victimization, Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness, and Suicide Risk Among High School Students – “Frequent social media use was associated with a higher prevalence of bullying victimization at school and electronically, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and some suicide risk among students (considering attempting suicide and having made a suicide plan)”
Social Media Threat Guidance and Assessments (PDF)
K-12 Anonymized Threat Response Guidance | CISA
Anonymized Threat Response Guidance: A Reference Guide for K-12 Schools (PDF)

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION MODIFIABLE TEMPLATES

SCHOOL SAFETY DRILL REQUIREMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title06/06.029.0001.html

Emergency drills shall be conducted in each public and private school in the state, as follows:

During the first four weeks of school, schools shall conduct:
- two fire drills; (primary location)
- one evacuation drill (secondary location); and
- one active shooter/shelter in place drill.
During the rest of the school year, each school shall conduct at least 4 additional emergency drills, at least two of which shall be fire drills.

In locations where a fire department is maintained, a member of the fire department shall be requested to be in attendance for the purpose of giving educational instruction and recommendations for all 8 drills.

Fire department attendance is at the discretion of available resources.

Any drill conducted for the purpose of active shooter preparation/response should include parent/guardian notification.

Federal Guidance and Resources

NEW MEXICO PUBLIC SCHOOLS INSURANCE AUTHORITY (FREE SCHOOL TRAININGS)

Updated POMS Child Abuse Prevention Flier

STOPIT – ANONYMOUS REPORTING SYSTEM

Contact information:

Matthew Toth – mtoth@stopitsolutions.com (new districts/charters)
Annie Martinez – amartinez@stopitsolutions.com (existing STOPit school districts / charters)

STOPit Overview Video

Rave Panic Button

What is the Rave Panic Button?

Patricio Ruiloba
Implementation Manager, New Mexico
Rave Mobile Safety
www.ravemobilesafety.com

Active Shooter

Note: The Video below does not replace in-person Required Active Shooter Training for your school

FAMILY REUNIFICATION SITE PLANNING

Anti-Bullying and Cyberbullying Training and Resources

In October, the CDC released a series of studies on the national version of the YRRS, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey including several with mental health findings:
- Frequent Social Media Use and Experiences with Bullying Victimization, Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness, and Suicide Risk Among High School Students – “Frequent social media use was associated with a higher prevalence of bullying victimization at school and electronically, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and some suicide risk among students (considering attempting suicide and having made a suicide plan)”
- Disparities in School Connectedness, Unstable Housing, Experiences of Violence, Mental Health, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Transgender and Cisgender High School Students – “Approximately 26% of transgender and questioning students attempted suicide in the past year compared with 5% of cisgender male and 11% of cisgender female students. Intervention opportunities for schools to create safer and more supportive environments for transgender and questioning students can help address these disparities.”
- Mental Health and Suicide Risk Among High School Students and Protective Factors – “Youth Risk Behavior Survey, CDC analyzed the prevalence of mental health and suicide risk indicators and their associations with individual-, family-, and school- or community-level protective factors. All protective factors were associated with lower prevalence of one or more risk indicators. Findings from this report can serve as a foundation for the advancement of research on protective factors and for the development and implementation of programs, practices, and policies that protect and promote mental health and emotional well-being among youth.”
Stop Bullying
Key Considerations for Bullying Prevention
Bully Assessment Flow Chart
School-based Bullying Prevention I-Guide (OJJDP)
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

CYBER/INTERNET SAFETY-SEXTORTION

Swatting calls and hoaxes – Best Practices

Behavioral/Mental Health

Please see the most recent quarterly report on mental health and suicide attempt emergency department visits in New Mexico. The report is attached and all quarterly reports and methodology are available at: https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ibeb/mhp/. For another year, the number of adolescent mental health and suicide-related visits to the emergency department quickly increased during the month of August, particularly among adolescent girls. For more information about the close association with mental health emergency room visits and times of year when youth are returning to school, please see this article on seasonality of youth mental health.
- 2023 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) – County Level 2023 YRRS High School County Reports are now available. The 2023 survey included responses from 36,000 high school and middle school students from nearly 400 schools. Results indicate statewide decreases in most mental health concerns among high school students after eight years of year over year increases.
- Additional information about the close association with mental health emergency room visits and times of year when youth are returning to school, please see this article on seasonality of youth mental health.
Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Adobe Brochure 2023 – New Mexico UNM
Project Light – Las Cruces (Front Cover) – (Back Cover)
The School Mental Health Action Guide
Sample Survey: School Staff Skills (Word)
Sample Survey: School Staff Skills (PDF)
Guide to K-12 Student Wellbeing: Strategies to Recognize, Document, and Support Students in Distress
Children and Mental Health
Coalition to Support Grieving Students
Appropriate and Inappropriate Activities for School Counselors
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Schools: Developing and Implementing School Protocols, Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery
Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention: Model Language, Commentary, and Resources
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training Program, NM Suicide Prevention Coalition
After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools

INCIDENT COMMAND/COMMUNICATIONS/AND AFTER-ACTION REPORTING

Public Health

Infectious and Communicable Disease

Weather

Access and Functional Needs

Additional Resources

Dr. Dewey Cornell-The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines | UVA School of Education and Human Development (virginia.edu)
Uvalde Texas-Robb Elementary-Critical Incident Review
US Secret Service resource for Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model.
DHS K-12 School Security: A Guide for Preventing and Protecting against Gun Violence provides preventive and protective measures to address the threat of gun violence in schools. The Guide is delivered in two parts: the first portion is a PDF with general security best practices and considerations in narrative format; while the second portion is an Excel-based security survey. Together, these tools outline action-oriented security practices and options for consideration based on the results of the individual school’s responses to the survey.
School Resource Officers, School Law Enforcement Units and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): This FAQ document is follow-up to the Federal Commission Report and consolidates guidance and technical assistance into a single resource to help raise schools’ and districts’ awareness of these provisions (02/12/19).
The Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety (Dec. 2018)
US Department of Homeland Security Guide for Preventing and Protecting Against Gun Violence and School Security Survey for Gun Violence (click on the School Security Survey to access the site assessment Excel workbook)
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center provides additional of training opportunities.

Building Blocks to School Safety: A Toolkit for Schools and Districts for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans

For questions about Safe Schools Plans, please contact:

Kathryn Bolkovac
Safe Schools Program Coordinator
Kathryn.Bolkovac@ped.nm.gov