Yahoo Movies ‘Say Something’: How to report threats to school districts in North Carolina
After the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, we looked into how students and parents in North Carolina can report threats and other kinds of suspicious behavior to public safety officials.
The News & Observer talked with Blair Rhoades, communications director for the NC Department of Public Instruction, to learn more about submitting tips to school districts.
“Never feel like your concerns will not matter,” Rhoades said. “Schools and their local law enforcement work tirelessly every day to make sure students have a safe place to learn and that staff have a safe work environment. School safety, as a whole, is a community effort.”
The N&O also compiled resources from websites of public schools in Triangle counties to learn how each school district lets students and parents provide tips.
How can students, parents report safety concerns to NC public schools?
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction uses the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.
There are three ways to submit an anonymous tip about a safety concern with your school, according to the website:
Submit a tip through the website: sandyhookpromise.org/say-something-tips.
Call the 24/7 Crisis Hotline Counselors at 1-844-5-SayNow.
Download the mobile app and submit your tip through it.
For more information, visit dpi.nc.gov.
The Say Something system is a part of Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit working to end school shootings.
What should you include in a tip?
There are dozens of categories to choose from when reporting a tip to the Say Something system, Rhoades said. Here are a few:
Active shooter - in progress
Anger issues
Bodily injury
Concern about an adult
Depression / Anxiety
Eating disorder
Missing person
Physical abuse
Suicide
Terrorism
Verbal abuse
Weapons
There is also an option for “Other.”
What does the investigation process look like?
Here’s what Rhoades said:
“When users submit a tip into SSARS, it goes directly to a manned crisis center. This crisis center is staffed with highly trained personnel that is made up of former educators, law enforcement, child development professionals and Ph.D.’s in juvenile psychology. The crisis center is manned by a full staff 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year.
“They then send the tip to the school teams for the affected school and works closely with them on gathering information that helps the school investigate and corroborate the contents of the tip. If it is a life safety tip, the crisis counselors send the tip to the school team, the district team and also calls the respective 911 center to get local law enforcement involved. While all this is going on, they are still keeping in contact with the tipster to gather information that may help further clarify the tip or get additional resources involved.
“Tips are categorized in two ways: life safety and non-life safety. Life safety tips are tips where imminent harm to a person or others may be happening then or are imminent. The crisis counselors ... will apply the following questions:
A threat of substantial bodily harm or death?
Imminent / in-progress / just happened?
Credible information (clear, convincing and evidence provided)?
Suspect has the means / intent to carry out threat?
Actionable (enough information available for an intervention to occur right now)?
“If the answer is yes to those, the tip becomes life safety and the school teams, district teams and law enforcement are notified. If not, the tip becomes non-life safety and the tip is only delivered to the school team or district team or both that is affected.”
Can students, parents inquire about the status of an investigation?
“Parents can inquire and as much information as possible should be given,” Rhoades said.
“However, please note that certain information will not be able to be discussed due to [the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] and other school related policy when it concerns another student.”
If you don’t think the school addressed your safety concerns, what should you do?
Schedule a meeting with the school’s administration staff or contact district personnel to express your concerns, Rhoades said.
Wake County Public Schools: Report a tip
The Wake County Public Schools system offers the Safe Schools Tip Line. Here, you can report concerns about threats of violence, weapons on campus, aggressive behavior and more.
The number for this tip line is (919) 856-1911.
For more, visit wcpss.net/tipline.
Durham County Public Schools: Report a tip
Durham Public Schools uses Text-A-Tip, which you can use to anonymously report suspicious behavior.
To text your tip, send a message to 274637, and start your message with the keyword “DPSTIP.”
To file a tip online, visit new.tipsubmit.com.
For more, go to dpsnc.net.
Orange County Public Schools: Report a tip
The Orange County School District uses the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.
For more, visit orangecountyfirst.com.
Chatham County Public Schools: Report a tip
The Chatham County School District uses a Google Form, which is available in English and Spanish, to track tips from students and parents. The form can be found at bit.ly/3Gjc0qd.
For more information, visit chatham.k12.nc.us.
Johnston County Public Schools: Report a tip
The Johnston County School District uses the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.
For more, visit johnston.k12.nc.us.
There is also an online tip form that appears to be powered by BlackBoard on the Johnston school district’s website, which can be found at johnston.k12.nc.us/domain/7631.
