The Safe Schools Toolkit includes new and updated school safety terminology, information about the most current threats to safety, and up-to-date resources for local educational agencies to use when implementing school safety policies and procedures. It also includes strategies to help governing boards make informed decisions when approving budgets, policies and administrative regulations on school safety.
This resource addresses ways governing boards can:
- Create and foster a positive school climate by aligning budgets to safety plans.
- Support students and staff by reviewing and updating policies that make schools safer.
- Communicate safety information and procedures and collaborate with education and community partners in times of crisis.
Each segment of the Safe Schools Toolkit is a standalone section and contains:
- Information, research and data on a school safety topic.
- Applicable questions governance teams should consider about that safety topic.
- Relevant resources about the safety topic to consult for more information.
- Board policies and administrative regulations for each safety topic.
Safe Schools Toolkit
To read more information on a specific topic, click on the linked items below.
- A Note from CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy
- Introduction
- Comprehensive School Safety Plans
- Supporting a Positive School Climate
- Bullying and Cyberbullying
- Impacts of Safety Threats: Reporting and Mitigating the Effects on the School Community
- Behavioral Threat Assessment
- Infrastructure Improvements for School Safety
- Armed Assailant Response for Schools: Concepts and Considerations for Options-based Response
- Sexual Violence, Trafficking, Harassment, and Title IX
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drugs
- Crisis Communications and School Safety
- Policy Recommendations
History
The Safe Schools Toolkit is the latest evolution of a guidebook originally developed for LEAs by CSBA’s School Safety Task Force in 1994. The guide was updated in 1999 and in 2011 with the assistance of CSBA’s School Health Advisory Committee. The 2024 edition has been reformatted into a virtual toolkit for easier access and better usability.
Contributors
CSBA gratefully acknowledges the contributions and support of education, communications and school safety experts from across California in producing this updated toolkit: