GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

H                                                                                                                                                   D

HOUSE BILL DRH40343-MTa-25   (01/24)

 

 

 

Short Title:      Abuse & Neglect Resources/Anon. Tip Line App.

(Public)

Sponsors:

Representatives White, Hardister, and Meyer (Primary Sponsors).

Referred to:

 

 

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT TO REQUIRE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, INCLUDING SEXUAL ABUSE, TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE ANONYMOUS SAFETY TIP LINE APPLICATION, AND TO MAKE CERTAIN CHANGES TO UPDATE THE GENERAL STATUTES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

PART I. POLICY ON ABUSE AND NEGLECT RESOURCES

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

"(46)    Duty Regarding Abuse and Neglect. – Upon consideration and recommendation by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education shall adopt a policy to be implemented by local boards of education to address student awareness of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse. This policy shall include a requirement that the local boards of education provide students in grades six through 12 with a document at the beginning of each school year that provides (i) the telephone number used for reporting abuse to the department of social services in the county in which the local school administrative unit is located, in accordance with G.S. 7B‑301, and (ii) information about the resources developed pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.51, including the anonymous safety tip line application."

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑218.75(a) reads as rewritten:

"(a)      Health and Safety Standards. – A charter school shall meet the same health and safety requirements required of a local school administrative unit. The Department of Public Instruction shall ensure that the following:

(1)        That charter schools provide parents and guardians with information about meningococcal meningitis and influenza and their vaccines at the beginning of every school year. This information shall include the causes, symptoms, and how meningococcal meningitis and influenza are spread and the places where parents and guardians may obtain additional information and vaccinations for their children.

(2)        The Department of Public Instruction shall also ensure that That charter schools provide parents and guardians with information about cervical cancer, cervical dysplasia, human papillomavirus, and the vaccines available to prevent these diseases. This information shall be provided at the beginning of the school year to parents of children entering grades five through 12. This information shall include the causes and symptoms of these diseases, how they are transmitted, how they may be prevented by vaccination, including the benefits and possible side effects of vaccination, and the places where parents and guardians may obtain additional information and vaccinations for their children.

(3)        The Department of Public Instruction shall also ensure that That charter schools provide students in grades seven through 12 with information annually on the preventable risks for preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies, including induced abortion, smoking, alcohol consumption, the use of illicit drugs, and inadequate prenatal care.

(4)        The Department of Public Instruction shall also ensure that That charter schools provide students in grades nine through 12 with information annually on the manner in which a parent may lawfully abandon a newborn baby with a responsible person, in accordance with G.S. 7B‑500.

(5)        The Department of Public Instruction shall also ensure that That the guidelines for individual diabetes care plans adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(31) are implemented in charter schools in which students with diabetes are enrolled and that charter schools otherwise comply with the provisions of G.S. 115C‑375.3.

(6)        The Department of Public Instruction shall ensure that That charter schools comply with G.S. 115C‑375.2A. The board of directors of a charter school shall provide the school with a supply of emergency epinephrine auto‑injectors necessary to carry out the provisions of G.S. 115C‑375.2A.

(7)        That the policy addressing student awareness of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(46), is implemented in charter schools."

SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑238.66 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑238.66.  Board of directors; powers and duties.

The board of directors shall have the following powers and duties:

...

(7)        Health and safety. – The board of directors shall require that the regional school meet the same health and safety standards required of a local school administrative unit.

The Department of Public Instruction shall ensure that regional schools comply with G.S. 115C‑375.2A. The board of directors of a regional school shall provide the school with a supply of emergency epinephrine auto‑injectors necessary to carry out the provisions of G.S. 115C‑375.2A.

The Department of Public Instruction shall also ensure that the policy addressing student awareness of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(46), is implemented in regional schools.

...."

 

PART II. ANONYMOUS TIP LINE APPLICATION

SECTION 2.1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑105.49(d) reads as rewritten:

"(d)      The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, and the Center for Safer Schools Schools, shall provide guidance and recommendations to local school administrative units on the types of multiple hazards to plan and respond to, including intruders on school grounds."

SECTION 2.1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑105.49A reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑105.49A.  School Risk and Response Management System.

(a)        The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and the Center for Safer Schools in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and the Center for Safer Schools, shall construct and maintain a statewide School Risk and Response Management System (SRRMS). The system shall fully integrate and leverage existing data and applications that support school risk planning, exercises, monitoring, and emergency response via 911 dispatch.

(b)        In constructing the SRRMS, the Division of Emergency Management Management of the Department of Public Safety, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and the Center for Safer Schools Schools, shall leverage the existing enterprise risk management database, the School Risk Management Planning tool managed by the Division.Division of Emergency Management. The Division shall also leverage the local school administrative unit schematic diagrams of school facilities. Where technically feasible, the SRRMS shall integrate any anonymous tip lines established pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.51 and any 911‑initiated panic alarm systems authorized as part of a SRMP pursuant to G.S. 115C‑47(40). The Division and the Center for Safer Schools shall collaborate with the Department of Public Instruction Instruction, the Center for Safer Schools, and the North Carolina 911 Board in the design, implementation, and maintenance of the SRRMS.

(c)        All data and information acquired and stored in the SRRMS as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section are not considered public records as the term "public record" is defined under G.S. 132‑1 and shall not be subject to inspection and examination under G.S. 132‑6."

SECTION 2.1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑105.51 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑105.51.  Anonymous tip lines and monitoring and response applications.

(a)        Each local school administrative unit is encouraged to develop and operate an anonymous tip line, in coordination with local law enforcement and social services agencies, to receive anonymous information on internal or external risks to the school population, school buildings, and school‑related activities. The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction Instruction, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, may develop standards and guidelines for the development, operation, and staffing of tip lines. Local school administrative units may use the anonymous tip line application developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, or another application that meets standards and guidelines developed by the Department of Public Instruction, to achieve the purposes of this subsection.

(b)        The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and the Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with the The Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, and the Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, shall implement and maintain an anonymous safety tip line application for purposes of receiving anonymous student information on internal or external risks to the school population, school buildings, and school‑related activities.activities, and for purposes of receiving student information on suspected abuse and neglect. Local school administrative units shall inform students about the application and provide opportunities for students to learn about its purpose and function. Each local school administrative unit shall work with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, and the Center for Safer Schools to ensure that employees of the local school administrative unit receive adequate training in its operation.

(c)        The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and the Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina 911 Board, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, and the Center for Safer Schools, shall implement and maintain a statewide panic alarm system for the purposes of launching real‑time 911 messaging to public safety answering points of internal and external risks to the school population, school buildings, and school‑related activities. The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina 911 Board, may develop standards and guidelines for the operations and use of the panic alarm tool.

(d)       The Department of Public Safety Instruction and the Department of Public Safety shall ensure that the anonymous safety tip line application is integrated with and supports the statewide School Risk and Response Management System (SRRMS) as provided in G.S. 115C‑105.49A. Where technically feasible and cost efficient, the Department of Public Safety is and the Department of Public Instruction are encouraged to implement a single solution supporting both the anonymous safety tip line application and panic alarm system.

(e)        All data and information acquired and stored by the anonymous safety tip line application are not considered public records as the term "public record" is defined under G.S. 132‑1 and shall not be subject to inspection and examination under G.S. 132‑6.

(f)        Notwithstanding subsection (e) of this section, the Division Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, may collect the annual aggregate number and type of tips sent to the anonymous tip line. The collection of this aggregate data shall not have any identifying information on the reporter of the tip, including, but not limited to, the school where the incident was reported and the date the tip was reported."

SECTION 2.1.(d)  G.S. 115C‑105.52 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑105.52.  School crisis kits.

The Department of Public Instruction, Instruction and the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety through the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools, Safety, may develop and adopt policies on the placement of school crisis kits in schools and on the contents of those kits. The kits should include, at a minimum, basic first‑aid supplies, communications devices, and other items recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The principal of each school, in coordination with the law enforcement agencies that are part of the local board of education's School Risk Management Plan, may place one or more crisis kits at appropriate locations in the school."

SECTION 2.2.  Section 8.26(n) of S.L. 2015‑241 reads as rewritten:

"SECTION 8.26.(n)  By July 1, 2016, the Department of Public Safety shall implement an anonymous safety tip line application and a statewide panic alarm system as required under G.S. 115C‑105.51, as amended by subsection (d) of this section.G.S. 115C‑105.51. By July 1, 2018, the Department of Public Instruction shall implement an anonymous safety tip line application as required under G.S. 115C‑105.51."

 

PART III. APPROPRIATION

SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of seven hundred eight thousand four hundred twenty dollars ($708,420) for the 2017‑2018 fiscal year to support the anonymous safety tip line application implemented by the Department of Public Instruction, Division of Safe and Healthy Schools Support, and the Center for Safer Schools pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.51.

 

PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2017. Section 1 of this act applies beginning with the 2018‑2019 school year.