A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to codify the North Carolina center for safer schools; TO require the establishment of threat assessment teams in public schools; and to establish peer‑to‑peer student support programs.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑105.46, 115C‑105.47A, and 115C‑105.48, are codified into Part 1 of Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, Local Plans for Alternative Schools/Alternative Learning Programs and Maintaining Safe and Orderly Schools. Part 1 shall be entitled "Local Plans for Alternative Schools/Alternative Leaning Programs." The remaining sections of Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes shall be codified into Part 2, which shall be entitled "Maintaining Safe and Orderly Schools."
SECTION 1.(b)  Part 2 of Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, as enacted by this section, is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.48A.  School safety definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in this Part unless the context requires otherwise:
(1)	Local school administrative unit. – Any of the following:
a.	The local board of education of a local school administrative unit, as defined by G.S. 115C‑5(6).
b.	The board of directors of a charter school.
c.	The board of directors of a regional school.
d.	The governing entity of a school providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by one of the following:
1.	The State Board of Education, including schools operated under Article 7A and Article 9C of this Chapter.
2.	The University of North Carolina, including schools operated under Articles 4, 29, and 29A of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.
(2)	Public secondary school. – Any of the following types of public school serving grades six or higher:
a.	A school under the control of a local board of education.
b.	A school under the control of the State Board of Education, including schools operated under Article 7A and Article 9C of this Chapter.
c.	A school under the control of The University of North Carolina.
d.	A charter school.
e.	A regional school."
SECTION 1.(c)  If Senate Bill 99, 2017 Regular Session, becomes law, G.S. 115C‑105.51(g) is repealed.
SECTION 2.  Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.57.  North Carolina Center for Safer Schools.
(a)	There is established the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools located within the Department of Public Instruction, referred to as the Center in this Article.
(b)	The Center shall be responsible for the following:
(1)	Serve as a resource and referral center for the State by conducting research, sponsoring workshops, and providing information regarding current school safety concerns.
(2)	Provide training and professional development for public school personnel in the development and implementation of initiatives promoting school safety.
(3)	Maintain and disseminate information to public schools on effective school safety initiatives in North Carolina and across the nation.
(4)	Collect, analyze, and disseminate various North Carolina school safety data.
(5)	Provide technical and instructional assistance to facilitate the development of partnerships between the public and private sectors to promote school safety in North Carolina.
(6)	Recommend a system of accountability to the General Assembly to document school safety exercises, including practice school lockdowns, required by G.S. 115C‑105.49.
(7)	Develop model policies for threat assessment teams for local school administrative units, including procedures for the assessment of and intervention with students whose behavior poses a threat to the safety of school staff or students. The Center shall consult with and involve the Task Force for Safer Schools and relevant State government agencies in development of the model policies.
(8)	Assist law enforcement officers assigned to schools and their agencies in active shooter response drills and other pertinent school safety related training.
(9)	Collaborate with the North Carolina Justice Academy, North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, and the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission to establish and maintain updated training curriculum for school resource officers.
(10)	Coordinate grants for school resource officers in elementary and middle schools established in Section 8.36 of S.L. 2013‑360 and ensure that training requirements for school resource officers funded by those grants are met.
(11)	Provide technical assistance to local school administrative units in the development and implementation of initiatives promoting school safety.
(c)	The Center shall receive guidance and advice from the Task Force for Safer Schools.
(d)	The Center shall coordinate, collaborate, and seek information as necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities from State and local government agencies, who shall provide information upon request to the Center. These agencies include the following:
(1)	Department of Public Safety.
(2)	Department of Health and Human Services.
(3)	Department of Public Instruction.
(4)	North Carolina Justice Academy.
(5)	Governor's Crime Commission.
(6)	NC SBI Fusion Center, Information Sharing, & Analysis Center.
(7)	Local boards of education.
(8)	Local law enforcement agencies."
SECTION 3.(a)  Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.60.  Threat assessment teams.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Local board of education. – The governing body of a local school administrative unit, as defined in G.S. 115C‑105.48A(1).
(2)	Superintendent. – The superintendent or, if there is no superintendent, the staff member with the highest decision making authority.
(3)	Threat. – A concerning communication or behavior that indicates that an individual poses a danger to the safety of school staff or students through acts of violence or other behavior that would cause harm to self or others. The threat may be expressed or communicated behaviorally, orally, visually, in writing, electronically, or through any other means, and is considered a threat regardless of whether it is observed by or communicated directly to the target of the threat or observed by or communicated to a third party, and regardless of whether the target of the threat is aware of the threat.
(4)	Threat assessment. – A fact‑based process emphasizing an appraisal of observed, or reasonably observable, behaviors to identify potentially dangerous or violent situations, to assess them, and to manage or address them.
(5)	Threat assessment team. – A team that includes persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and law enforcement that conducts threat assessments in a local school administrative unit. When practicable, at least one member of a threat assessment team shall be a psychologist or psychiatrist. Members of a threat assessment team who are not employees of the local school administrative unit may review student records as provided in 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B) pursuant to a written agreement with the local school administrative unit of the requirements and responsibilities for use of student records under the federal Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act.
(b)	The local board of education shall adopt policies for the establishment of threat assessment teams, including the conduct of threat assessments and intervention with individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students, consistent with the model policies developed by the Center for Safer Schools in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.75. Such policies shall include procedures for referrals to health care providers for evaluation or treatment, when appropriate.
(c)	The superintendent may establish a committee charged with coordination and monitoring of the threat assessment teams operating within the unit, which may be an existing committee established by the unit. The committee shall include individuals with expertise in human resources, education, school administration, mental health, and law enforcement.
(d)	Each school in the local school administrative unit shall have a threat assessment team established by the superintendent. In the discretion of the superintendent, an established threat assessment team may serve more than one school in the unit. Each team shall do the following:
(1)	Provide guidance to students, faculty, and staff regarding recognition of threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to the community, school, or self.
(2)	Conduct threat assessments to determine appropriate actions and intervention based on the level of threat determined by the assessment. A threat assessment team shall determine the level of threat posed by an individual or situation as follows:
a.	Low risk. – A threat in which the individual or situation does not appear to pose a threat of violence or serious harm to self or others and any exhibited issues or concerns can be resolved easily.
b.	Moderate risk. – A threat in which the person or situation does not appear to pose a threat of violence or serious harm to self or others, at this time, but exhibits behaviors that indicate a continuing intent and potential for future violence or serious harm to self or others or exhibits other concerning behavior that requires intervention.
c.	High risk. – A threat in which the person or situation appears to pose a threat of violence or serious harm to self or others, exhibiting behaviors that indicate both a continuing intent to harm and efforts to acquire the capacity to carry out the plan, and may also exhibit other concerning behavior that require intervention. 
d.	Imminent risk. – A threat in which the person or situation appears to pose a clear and immediate threat of serious violence toward others that requires containment and action to protect identified or identifiable target or targets and may also exhibit other concerning behavior that require intervention.
(3)	Identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported.
(4)	Implement policies adopted by the local board of education pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(5)	Utilize anonymous reporting applications for students to receive information about school safety concerns requiring investigation.
(e)	Upon a preliminary determination that an individual poses a high risk or imminent risk threat of violence or physical harm to self or others, a threat assessment team shall immediately report its determination to the superintendent or the superintendent's designee, who shall respond as follows:
(1)	The superintendent or designee shall immediately attempt to notify the student's parent or legal guardian. The superintendent may delegate the responsibility for notification to the principal of the school and may require notice be made to the principal directly.
(2)	In the case of an imminent risk threat, the superintendent or designee shall immediately notify the appropriate local law enforcement agency. In the case of a high risk threat, the superintendent or designee shall notify the appropriate local law enforcement agency when recommended by the threat assessment team.
(3)	The superintendent or designee shall refer the matter to the appropriate mental health resources when recommended by the threat assessment team.
(4)	The superintendent or designee shall comply with the requirements of Article 27 of this Chapter for any student discipline actions.
Nothing in this subsection shall preclude public school personnel from acting immediately to address an imminent risk threat.
(f)	Each threat assessment team established pursuant to this section shall report quantitative data on its activities to the Center for Safer Schools according to guidance developed by the Center. Such data shall include, as a minimum, the following:
(1)	Number of threat assessments conducted annually and demographic information on subjects of those assessments.
(2)	Number of threat assessments that resulted in a determination that the individual being assessed was a high risk or imminent risk threat and demographic information on those individuals.
(3)	Types of actions taken in response to a determination that the individual being assessed was a high risk or imminent risk threat.
(4)	Results of actions taken in response to determination that the individual being assessed was a high risk or imminent risk threat.
(g)	Upon a preliminary determination by the threat assessment team that an individual poses an imminent risk threat, a threat assessment team may obtain the following:
(1)	Health records. – Notwithstanding G.S. 8‑53 or any other provision of law, a health care provider may disclose to a member of a threat assessment team protected health information related to an imminent risk threat to the health or safety of school staff or students.
(2)	Criminal records. – A threat assessment team may obtain criminal history as provided in G.S. 143B‑931A. For a threat assessment of a student with juvenile records, the threat assessment team shall have access to written notifications received pursuant to G.S. 7B‑3101 and information gained from examination of juvenile records in accordance with G.S. 7B‑3100, held pursuant to G.S. 115C‑404. Records held pursuant to G.S. 115C‑404 shall be returned to the principal following review by the threat assessment team.
Any information shared among members of the threat assessment team pursuant to this subsection shall remain confidential, shall not be a public record subject to Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, and shall only be released in connection with an emergency under the standards established by the Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act in 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1)(I)."
SECTION 3.(b)  Article 13 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143B‑931A.  Criminal records checks for threat assessment teams.
The Department of Public Safety may provide a criminal record check to the members of a threat assessment team established by a local board of education, as defined in G.S. 115C‑105.60(a)(1), pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.76 for the purpose of administering criminal justice in assessing or intervening when a preliminary determination has been made that an individual poses an imminent risk threat to school safety. No member of a threat assessment team shall redisclose any criminal history record information obtained pursuant to this section or otherwise use any record of an individual beyond the purpose that such disclosure was made to the threat assessment team."
SECTION 4.(a)  G.S. 115C‑47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(64)	Peer‑to‑peer student support programs. – Local boards of education shall require peer‑to‑peer student support programs be established at all schools with grades six and higher, and are encouraged to implement peer‑to‑peer student support programs as appropriate in other grades."
SECTION 4.(b)  G.S. 115C‑316.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(c)	School counselors, as part of the direct services provided in subsection (a) of this section, shall coordinate and provide training for students in peer‑to‑peer student support programs that address areas such as conflict resolution, general health and wellness, and mentoring. The Center for Safer Schools will support school counselors in the administration and delivery of peer‑to‑peer student support programs."
SECTION 5.  If House Bill 938, 2017 Regular Session, becomes law, Sections 1 and Section 4 of this act are repealed.
SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law. Guidelines for threat assessment teams required by Section 2 of this act shall be developed by the Center for Safer Schools no later than December 31, 2018. All local school administrative units, as defined in G.S. 115C‑105.48A(1), as enacted by Section 1(b) of this act, shall establish threat assessment teams as required by Section 3 of this act no later than March 1, 2019. The remainder of this act applies beginning with the 2018‑2019 school year.