HB 951 Summary

• Establishes the "Parents Need to Know Act" requiring the Office of Safe Schools to establish and operate a statewide hotline for parents and personnel to report school safety issues and noncompliance with threat assessment reporting requirements.

• Requires threat assessment teams to report all threats and incidents to school principals, who must then report certain threats and incidents to the district superintendent, Office of Safe Schools, all school personnel, and parents within 24 hours.

• Mandates threat assessment teams provide annual training to all school personnel on recognizing and reporting threats, with curriculum approved by district safety specialists and the Office of Safe Schools.

• Creates the Safe Schools Grant Program, a lottery-funded program awarding grants to eligible schools based on enrollment size, with bonus grants available for schools with 3+ consecutive years of compliance.

• Establishes penalties for noncompliance including loss of grant eligibility for specified periods (1-5 years depending on frequency) and reduction of district grant funds by 30 percent if 5 percent or more of schools fail to comply within a 7-year period; takes effect July 1, 2021.