T4PA School Safety State Initiative
Updates for School Districts—February 2022
A Shout out to our Wonderful School Counselors during School Counselor Week! We appreciate you!
Legal Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is for general information purposes only. You should not rely solely on this information. The contents of this document are subject to change as a result of further potential information and guidance provided by federal and state agencies with regulatory oversight of these programs. Therefore, this document does not constitute legal advice, and entities are advised to seek legal counsel regarding the information and guidance provided in this document before acting on such information and guidance.
TIVA State Initiative Upcoming Meeting Dates
Rhithm Showcase for ESCs and LEAs
- February 22, 2022
- 8:30am - Elementary | 9:30am - Middle School | 10:30am - High School
- If you use the Rhithm App, come hear best practices and success stories!
TEA/TIVA Human Trafficking Webinar Series
- March 4, 2022 @ 10:30 am CT
- Register using the RSVP in the Webinar Flyer.
ACET Conference
- Embassy Suites, San Marcos | April 27-29, 202
Child Abuse - Human Trafficking
TEA/TIVA Human Trafficking Webinar Series
- Next upcoming meeting: March 4, 2022, at 10:30am
- Flyer with Dates. Zoom link
National Advocacy Leadership Center - Sex Trafficking Advanced Victim Assistance Training
- Each Tuesday through February 22, 2022
- 12:00pm-3:00pm (EST) Register Now!
Mental Health / Behavioral Health
BETTER TOGETHER - NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK
Highlight the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career! National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.
- February 7-11, 2022
- For more information and to access additional materials, click HERE!
McLean Webinars: February
Join world-renowned experts in February to learn about mental health and well-being from the comfort of home! All webinars below are free to attend, and registrants will receive a recording, plus all resources mentioned in the session, by email.
- Building Trust in Kids & Adolescents - February 3 @ 3pm ET with Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH
- Encore: Maintaining a Mentally Healthy Relationship - February 9 @ 11am ET with Lisa W. Coyne, PhD
- Navigating Difficult Conversations With Children & Adolescents - February 16 @ 11am ET with Blaise Aguirre, MD
- Encore: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome, Self-Doubt, and Insecurity - February 22 @ 11am ET with Lisa Orbé-Austin, PhD
Beyond Burnout: Exploring the Cost of Caring Lunch & Learn
Utilizing a light-hearted, engaging approach, this presentation explores the ways in which our work impacts us as helping professionals. Participants will be given tools to decrease the risk for compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and burn-out.
Discussion will then focus on enhancing compassion satisfaction and resilience through individualized strategies. This presentation seeks to re-frame the way we think about "self-care” and will include a live Q&A with the Director of School and Community Engagement for The Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health.
- February 25; March 25; April 29; May 13, 2022
- 11:30am - 1:00pm
- Registration Link
The 2022 Child & School Counseling Summit - VIRTUAL
The Summit works to bring together the latest evidence-based practices and strategies to support the children you work with, in and outside of the school context. Attendees will have access to an incredible line-up of world-leading experts and thought leaders - all through a virtual platform.
- February 11-13, 2022
- Register Here!
Training - EMDR: A Rapid, Safe, and Proven Treatment for Trauma
- February 17-18, 2022 @ 9:00am
- 2-day free webinar reveals how to use EMDR to treat trauma
- 14-Day access to recordings included with registration
- For more information and to register, Click Here!
Office of Justice Programs - Mentoring Special Feature
Relationships are everything! To support youth who face challenges in their adolescent development, research has shown that mentoring programs can improve self-esteem, academic achievement, and peer relationships. Mentoring services can be one-on-one, peer-to-peer, in a group, or a combination of those types. Diverse in design and implementation, mentoring programs share a common aim of providing young people with structured support from older or more experienced people, such as adult volunteers or students at higher grade levels.
Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
The MHTTC has released beneficial recordings and informational materials from two of their more recent webinars. The first focuses on the impacts of COVID on school mental health systems and leaders/providers. The second webinar helps to both inform on the negatives behind colonizing self-care and provides resources to aid in decolonizing self-care for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) school mental health providers.
- The Mental Health Impacts of Surviving COVID-19
- Anchored in Our Roots: Decolonizing Self-Care for BIPOC School Mental Health Providers
The 2nd MHTTC Grief Sensitive Virtual Learning Institute is Back!
This two-day institute hosted by the MHTTC Network is for those supporting individuals (general mental health and school mental health populations) experiencing grief and loss through COVID 19 and beyond.
- February 23-24, 2022
- 11:00 am-4:45 pm CT
- For more information and to register, click HERE!
Suicide Prevention
Texas Suicide Prevention Collaborative Symposium Registration
- Symposium 2022: March 1-3, 2022
- Registration Link is LIVE via Whova - CLICK HERE!
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the lead federal agency, in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Veterans Affairs, working to make the promise of 988 a reality for America. Moving to a 3-digit dialing code is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strengthen and expand the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (the Lifeline).
Bullying / Cyberbullying
New Requirement from 87th Legislature - Bullying Report
- PEIMS Summer Submission
- Element ID: E1727 - Number of Bullying Incidents at each Campus
- Element ID: E1728 - Number of Cyber Bullying at each Campus
- TEC 48.009 (b-4)
Give Students a Voice in School Safety!
Texas high schools are now invited to participate in Invent2Prevent, a free competitive program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships. Invent2Prevent helps to identify new whole-of-society approaches to preventing targeted violence and hate, and it is a prime example of how the U.S. government can harness the energy, enthusiasm, tech-savvy skills, and genuine voice of our nation’s youth to educate and motivate communities to engage in an honest and authentic dialogue about targeted violence and terrorism. This program also promotes and encourages high school students to consider ways they can pursue careers at the federal, state, local, and community levels, ensuring that motivated and talented minds bring their unique perspectives to the top sectors diligently working to prevent targeted violence and terrorism.
TX School Health Advisory Council (TSHAC) Vacancies - Apply Now!
Join the Texas School Health Advisory Committee to assist the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in its support for and delivery of coordinated school health programs and school health services.
The DSHS commissioner is currently accepting applications for membership on the committee. He seeks to fill the following positions:
- Parent of a school-age child currently enrolled in a Texas school.
- Parent of a school-age child with special health care needs currently enrolled in a Texas school.
- School nutrition services professional* working in a school setting.
- Medical professional (currently practicing physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner) that provides health services to school-age children.
- Representative from an organization or agency** involved with the health of school children.
- School professional* (superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or school district board member).
Applications are due by 11:59pm on March 7th, 2022, and can be accessed HERE!
School Violence/Behavioral Threat Assessment
Texas School Safety Center Trainings
School Behavioral Threat Assessment Virtual Training: With the passage of Senate Bill 11, Texas law requires Safe and Supportive Schools Program (SSSP) teams to conduct behavioral threat assessments. Each campus is required to be served by an SSSP team. In addition, each team is required to complete training provided by the Texas School Safety Center or a Regional Education Service Center. This training will teach participants how to respond to threatening and other disturbing behaviors, gather additional information, make an assessment, and take preventive steps if necessary.
- Click HERE for training dates and registration
Digital Threat Assessment (virtual and in-person)
- Click HERE for training dates and registration
Standard Response Protocol/Standard Reunification Method TOT (virtual and in-person)
- Click HERE for training dates and registration
TxSSC Fidelity of School Behavioral Threat Assessment Implementation Tool
This tool was designed to both assist in the identification of current BTA practices - in relation to the guidelines set forth by the TxSSC - and to provide a self-assessment to aid in the improvement and maintenance of BTA practices.
Other School Safety Topics
The Fight Against Rampant Gun Violence
"A data point will not stop a bullet, but evidence-based research grounded in reliable science is a proven pathway for addressing the gun violence crisis in the United States." - This article by Basia E. Lopez and Paul A. Haskins utilizes data-driven research to highlight the effects of gun-use by adolescents and the effects this has on their development, as well as programs established to try and reduce firearm violence.
- You can read the article through the National Institute of Justice's website HERE!
OJP Stalking Special Feature
Each year, January is recognized as National Stalking Awareness Month, an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the crime of stalking. It is unpredictable and dangerous, and no two situations are alike. Stalkers use a variety of actions to frighten, harass, and control their victims. Examples include following a person, persistently sending unwanted messages or gifts, and tracking an individual’s whereabouts using GPS technology. Furthermore, in 2016, an estimated 3.8 million people age 16 or older in the United States were victims of stalking, according to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
You can read the double feature HERE, as well as the 2016 Stalking Victimization Report HERE!
Substance Abuse
Say What! Texas Tobacco-Free Conference 2022
The Say What! Conference offers a variety of opportunities for all youth groups working on tobacco-free policies, tobacco prevention related issues, and other projects that may be occurring in the school or community.
- July 26-29, 2022
- DoubleTree by Hilton Austin (Austin, TX)
- Registration Form
- Click Here for Information on Available Conference Scholarships
Say What! Texas Tobacco-Free Action Summits are Back and In Person!
Say What! Summits are free, one day trainings designed for youth groups in 6th – 12th grade who are passionate about helping to create healthy, tobacco, nicotine, and vape-free lives and communities. Summits are led by the Say What! Teen Ambassadors and provide youth groups an opportunity to network and connect with other likeminded youth, develop teen leadership skills, and perfect their youth advocacy skills.
This summit season will focus on youth vaping prevention and feature expert guest speakers discussing the dangers of tobacco and vape litter on the environment, why tobacco is a social justice issue and how youth and adults can help create equality, the tobacco industry’s dirty strategies when targeting youth and various communities, and how youth groups can become advocates for youth tobacco prevention.
- For dates, more information, and to register, CLICK HERE!
Interactive Programs for Preventing Marijuana Use in Middle School Students
Interactive programs for preventing marijuana use in middle school students consist of skill-building and interaction-based activities (as opposed to lecture-style curricula) integrated into middle school-based programming. This practice consists of skill-building and interaction-based activities integrated into school-based programs for grades 6–8 that are aimed at preventing marijuana use among adolescents ages 12–14. This practice is rated Effective for preventing marijuana use.
- To read the report, visit the Crime Solutions webpage
Upcoming Deadlines & Due Dates
*Bullying Report (New - 87th Legislature)
- PEIMS Summer Submission
- Element ID: E1727 - Number of Bullying Incidents at each Campus
- Element ID: E1728 - Number of Cyber Bullying at each Campus
- TEC 48.009 (b-4)
District Audit Reports
- At the end of the Safety Audit process, schools will be required to submit a District Audit Report to Texas School Safety Center.
- August 2023 - Public schools expected deadline.
- August 2022 - Charter schools expected deadline.
Emergency Operation Plans and Annexes can be requested at any time by Texas School Safety Center.
- HB 3597 now allows Texas School Safety Centers to request that schools submit safety-related MOUs and Mutual Aid Agreements.
Safety Audits
- September 2020 - August 2023: Public schools should conduct a safety audit of facilities
- September 2019 - August 2022: Charter schools should conduct a safety audit of facilities
TEA & Title IV, Part A Federal Programs Updates/Resources
Texas Education Agency Newsletter (December 2021)
Updated Title IV, Part A FAQ Document
New TEA Parent Resources Page
- Features information on accelerated learning and related tutoring supports being provided to all students working to overcome the learning disruptions caused by COVID-19
- Webpage Link
LaNetra Guess, Program Director, Title IV, Part A & TEA
- ESC Title IV, Part A Capacity Building Initiative, September 21 Presentation
- Title IV, Part A Program Guide
- Title IV, Part A Use of Funds One-Pager
- Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Website
- Title IV Frequently Asked Questions Document
- Title IV, Part A ESC School Safety State Initiative
ESC Resources
Previous ESC newsletters
District Resources
Previous LEA Newsletters
Contacts
Nancy Galle, Title IV Part A School Safety Consultant
Amber Guthrie, Intern
Email: rpruitt@esc14.net
Website: https://www.esc14.net/page/t4si
Location: 1850 State Highway 351, Abilene, TX, USA
Phone: 325-675-8600
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