'Life-Saving' School Safety Tip Line Dials MEMA In Maryland

MARYLAND — Anyone concerned about potential violence at schools in Maryland now has a way to alert authorities. Gov. Larry Hogan was joined by community members, including those from Great Mills High School — where two students were fatally shot in March — in announcing the Safe Schools Maryland tip line.

"Incidents of targeted violence at our schools are rarely sudden impulsive acts; instead, in the majority of these incidents, another person was aware of what the student was thinking or planning to do," Hogan said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

"If they see unsafe situations or behavior, including threats made in person or on social media, bullying or a friend who expresses the desire to hurt themselves or others, we need young Marylanders to say something and to do something without fear of retribution for coming forward," Hogan said.

The tip line will be directed to specialists at MEMA, which will accept tips 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Donovan Weekley — a junior at Great Mills High School, where three students were shot on March 20 — said that usually phones are considered a problem by educators.

Noting the "dramatic role" social media can play in the lives of students, he said he hoped the tip line could elevate issues there to authorities. "The great thing about this is that the administration is taking what usually is a problem and instead is making it the very thing that could save lives," Weekley said.

"Kids say things online that they would never say to another person," Great Mills High School Principal Jake Heibel said. "A state tip line will allow educators to attempt to stay ahead of issues before they become major problems and to best find the help that so many of these students need."

Students, family members, parents, teachers, administrators, and other community members can anonymously report information to Safe Schools Maryland through several channels:

• Using the Apple app
• Using Google Play
• Online at www.SafeSchoolsMD.org
• Calling 1-833-MD-B-SAFE (1-833-632-7233)

Trained technicians will respond to reports 24/7, every day of the year. Then the tips will be assigned to local school safety personnel to take action, according to MEMA.

SEE ALSO: Great Mills High School Gunman Shot And Killed Himself: Sheriff

"Prevention is the key to safety," Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon said. "The tip line gives us another way to gather information in a timely manner and act on it quickly. It also gives the community another mechanism to provide us with that potentially life-saving information."

State officials said that several recently awarded grants will also help boost school safety:

• The Maryland State Department of Education was awarded $3.6 million in federal school safety grants; this will supplement more than $40 million in state funding in the state's FY 2019 budget.
• A $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education over five years will fund the Maryland School Emergency Preparedness Program, which is a partnership between the state education department, local school systems, MEMA and local emergency managers.
• A$1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will allow the Maryland State Department of Education over three years to implement a new violence prevention model in schools across the state.

“Learning simply cannot take place in a school where students and teachers don’t feel safe," Salmon said in a statement. "These funds will help Maryland update and modernize emergency operations plans in schools throughout the state, and utilize state-of-the-art techniques to better identify potential threats to student safety."

Image via Maryland Center for School Safety.

School Safety Announcement - October 3, 2018 https://t.co/DWNW6H2YgL
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) October 3, 2018