Staff propose updates to 'Safe to Say' procedures, set faster reporting deadlines

Board member Roberts opened the May 7 policy committee meeting and turned the floor over to Mr. Deans, a staff member in the district’s Office of Student Services, who presented proposed updates to Policy 805 related to the Safe to Say program.

The revisions, Deans said, are intended to align district procedures with recent statutory changes referred to in the presentation as Act 47 and to memorialize current practice. "The Safe to Say program is something that has been around," Deans said, adding that the updates specify that "final dispositions needed to be presented within 48 hours of the life event" for life‑threatening incidents and within 30 days for non‑life‑threatening incidents.

Deans said the procedure also "lists and documents the consequences that a school entity may face" if the mandated procedures for reporting and final disposition are not followed, and noted reporting pathways to the attorney general's office. He told the committee that district staff and the Office of Student Services had reviewed the procedures and found no major divergences between the updated text and current district practice.

A committee member emphasized the difference between board policy and administrative procedure and asked that the distinction be placed on the public record; the committee member noted that "we have not typically had board action on procedures," and that policy is normally the board's action item. Deans acknowledged that the presentation was meant to make the public aware of the new mandated procedure elements rather than to change day‑to‑day practice.

No formal vote or adoption occurred during the meeting. The committee moved on to other agenda items after the presentation; any next steps or formal board action were not recorded in the committee transcript.