AZ HB2597

Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, each school district must adopt a safe schools plan addressing recognition, screening, and responses to student emotional or behavioral distress, substance abuse, violence, and suicide risk.

Safe schools plans must include staff training opportunities, protocols for staff response to distress indicators, partnerships with community health and mental health agencies with at least one memorandum of understanding, parent communication procedures, crisis response procedures, and post-incident support measures.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction must develop and post a model safe schools plan with supporting resources on the department of education website by February 1, 2020.

The Superintendent must establish a safe schools plan task force to identify best practices, model programs, and strategies for school-community partnerships; the task force must submit findings and recommendations to the governor and legislature by December 1, 2022, and the task force is repealed effective December 31, 2022.

The Superintendent must annually post statewide resources on the department website for youth affected by school-based discrimination, harassment, bullying, gangs, gun violence, and psychological trauma from violence.