Wednesday, December 2, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
23
School safety task force issues recommendations for Oregon
PORTLAND (AP) — A
task force formed to improve
school safety says Oregon
should establish a tip line,
develop a database of school
floor plans and fund a state-
wide threat assessment sys-
tem to identify and help stu-
dents who present a potential
risk for violence.
The recommendations
were included in a report
released Wednesday by
the Oregon Task Force on
School Safety. It was estab-
lished by the Legislature last
year following shootings at
the Clackamas Town Center
and the massacre at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in
Connecticut.
The group’s goal was to
come up with strategies to
more effectively respond to
school violence and active-
shooter situations. Its report
addresses safety at grade
school through high school
levels.
Experts say many schools
ramped up safety measures
after the 1999 shootings at
Columbine High School
in Colorado, again after
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, and more recently
after Connecticut’s Sandy
Hook Elementary School in
2012.
Since the Connecticut
massacre, at least another
dozen school shootings
have taken place through-
out the country, including at
Rosemary Anderson High in
Portland, at Reynolds High
in Troutdale and at Umpqua
Community College, where
last month a gunman killed
nine and before turning the
gun on himself.
With the recent
shooting on the uCC
campus in roseburg
and other incidents ...
it is clear we need to do
everything we can to help
make our schools safer.
— Craig roberts
“With the recent shoot-
ing on the UCC campus in
Roseburg and other inci-
dents across our state and
nation, it is clear we need to
do everything we can to help
make our schools safer,” said
Clackamas County Sheriff
Craig Roberts, who chaired
the Oregon task force.
Use of tip lines or hot-
lines, various threat assess-
ment systems, and even shar-
ing of floor plans with law
enforcement is now happen-
ing in at least a dozen states
across the U.S., said Ronald
D. Stephens, executive direc-
tor of the National School
Safety Center.
A government survey
released in May also showed
the uptick in other safety
measures, including safety
drills, parent notification sys-
tems, written plans of how to
respond to an active shooter,
and the use of security cam-
eras or security personnel.
“It’s becoming a more
frequent practice across the
country,” Stephens said.
“I would call it a work in
progress.”
One popular school
safety tip line in Colorado,
Safe2Tell, launched a mobile
app this summer. The tip line,
which has received more than
13,000 tips via web, text or
call since it opened in 2004,
was based on the Columbine
Commission Report’s recom-
mendation that students need
a safe and anonymous way to
keep lines of communication
open.
In December, the state of
Ohio established 24-hour tip
line for students, parents and
other community members
to report threats to school
safety.
Oregon used to have a
school safety tip line, created
after the 1998 Thurston High
School in Springfield, but it
was discontinued due to bud-
get cuts. The report strongly
recommends its reinstate-
ment. It would include voice,
text, and online options.
It’s becoming a more
frequent practice across
the country. I would call
it a work in progress.
— ronald D. Stephens
But tip lines have a vary-
ing level of success, Stephens
said. That’s because they
require funding so that some-
one can manage and review
the hotline 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
The Oregon report also
recommends that the state
fund a threat assessment
system. The task force sug-
gests one similar to Oregon’s
Salem-Keizer model, which
helps identify and evalu-
ate students in crisis and
helps schools in addressing
threats.
Some school districts in
other states have developed
similar protocols for threat
assessment, Stephens said,
and have formed assessment
teams that include school
administrators, mental
health professionals and law
enforcement.
A third recommendation is
an online database of school
floor plans. Officials say it
would assist first respond-
ers in knowing the layout of
a building before entering
it during an emergency, and
allow them to know where
utilities are in case they need
to be shut off.
Lastly, the report suggests
that school districts and first
responders adopt standard-
ized terminology — such as
lockdown, lockout, shelter
in place, evacuate — during
emergencies.
The Legislature still needs
to approve and fund the
recommendations.
It’s time for
Pet Photos with Santa!
Jodi Schneider McNamee
Saturday, December 5
Inside the Maida Bailey building on N. Spruce St.,
located behind the Sisters Chamber offi ce.
Furry Friends Foundation Benefi t Assortment of Hand-painted
Christmas Ornaments
Only $5!
Will
W
i l l be for sale at Pet Photos with Santa. Let us personalize it with your pet’s name!
All proceeds go to Furry Friends Foundation, Inc. 501(c)(3) www.furryfriendsfoundation.org
Photos by Jodi Schneider McNamee
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.