A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE ANONYMOUS SAFETY TIP LINE APPLICATION AND TO MAKE CERTAIN CHANGES TO UPDATE THE GENERAL STATUTES, as recommended by the house select committee on school safety.
Whereas, in 2013, the General Assembly encouraged local school administrative units to develop and operate anonymous tip lines in coordination with local law enforcement and social services agencies to receive anonymous information on internal or external risks to school buildings and school‑related activities; and
Whereas, in 2015, the General Assembly required the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and the Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, to 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; and
Whereas, the Department of Public Instruction, Center for Safer Schools, has developed a pilot anonymous safety tip line, SPK UP NC, that enables students to send anonymous tips about school safety concerns from an application available on mobile and Web‑based technology that is received by school administration to appropriately respond based on the type of tip; and
Whereas, the SPK UP NC application has been piloted in five North Carolina counties, enabling students to report tips related to bullying, danger, drugs, fighting, underage drinking, and weapons; and
Whereas, results from the pilot have indicated a need for a call center manned 24 hours a day, ongoing marketing and education for students, additional personnel to assist schools with implementation, and training built into the project; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. ANONYMOUS TIP LINE APPLICATION
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑105.51 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑105.51.  Anonymous tip lines and monitoring and response applications.
(a)	The governing body of each public secondary school shall 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 Instruction, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, may develop standards and guidelines for the development, operation, and staffing of tip lines. The governing body of each public secondary school 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 Instruction 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 available statewide for purposes of receiving anonymous student information on internal or external risks to the school population, school buildings, and school‑related activities. Public secondary schools shall inform students about the application and provide opportunities for students to learn about its purpose and function. The governing body of each public secondary school shall work with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, and the Center for Safer Schools to ensure that employees of the public secondary schools receive adequate training in its operation.
(c)	The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, and the North Carolina 911 Board, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, 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 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 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 Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, 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.
(g)	For the purposes of this section, a "public secondary school" is any of the following types of public school serving grades six or higher:
(1)	A school under the control of a local school administrative unit.
(2)	A school under the control of the State Board of Education, including schools operated under Article 7A and Article 9C of the General Statutes.
(3)	A school under the control of The University of North Carolina.
(4)	A charter school.
(5)	A regional school."
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(46)	Duty Regarding Anonymous Tip Lines. – The State Board of Education shall use the anonymous tip line application developed pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.51(b) for all public secondary schools serving students in grades six or higher operated under the control of the Board of Governors."
SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑218.75 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e1)	Anonymous Tip Line. – A charter school shall develop and operate an anonymous tip line in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.51."
SECTION 1.(d)  G.S. 115C‑238.66 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(7e)	Anonymous tip line. – A regional school shall develop and operate an anonymous tip line in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.51."
SECTION 1.(e)  G.S. 116‑11 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(12e)	The Board of Governors shall develop and operate an anonymous tip line in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.51 for all public secondary schools, as defined in that section, operated under the control of the Board of Governors."

PART II. ANONYMOUS TIP LINE APPLICATION
SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑105.49(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	The Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, and the Center for Safer 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.(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, 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 of the Department of Public Safety, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and the Center for Safer Schools, shall leverage the existing enterprise risk management database, the School Risk Management Planning tool managed by the 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 shall collaborate with the Department of Public 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.(c)  G.S. 115C‑105.52 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑105.52.  School crisis kits.
The Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools, in consultation with the Department of Public 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."

PART III. APPROPRIATION
SECTION 3.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) for the 2018‑2019 fiscal year to support the anonymous safety tip line application implemented by the Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, and the Center for Safer Schools pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.51.
SECTION 3.(b)  By July 1, 2019, the Department of Public Instruction shall implement a statewide anonymous safety tip line application available to all schools serving grades six or higher in local school administrative units, charter schools, regional schools, and schools operated by the Department of Public Instruction and The University of North Carolina, as required under G.S. 115C‑105.51.

PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 4.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2019, and applies beginning with the 2019‑2020 school year. The remainder of this act becomes effective July 1, 2018.