The School Safety and Resiliency Act affected multiple statutes regarding school safety and student resiliency. These statutes impact education and many agencies that work with districts and schools. The roles of District School Safety Coordinator and State School Security Marshal were established, along with the implementation of various trainings and responsibilities related to these roles. Membership on the Kentucky Center for School Safety (KCSS) board was re-established, along with requiring KCSS to approve a school security risk assessment tool. School Resource Officers (SROs) are to be assigned to each school, funding permitting. Other requirements regarding school building access, suicide prevention training, active shooter training, trauma-informed practices, school counselors, student-involved trauma and terroristic threatening anonymous reporting tool are also described.
School Safety Coordinator
KRS 158.4412 requires the appointment of a School Safety Coordinator (SSC) and designates the requirements of the position. The School Safety Coordinator (SSC) shall:
- complete the SSC training program within six months of appointment,
- designate a school safety and security threat assessment team at each school consisting of two or more staff member to identify and respond to students exhibiting behavior that indicates a potential threat to school safety or security. Members may include school administrators, counselors, SROs, school-based mental health services providers, teachers, and other school personnel,
- provide training to principals within the district on procedures for completion of the school security risk assessment,
- review all school security risk assessments completed within the district and prescribe recommendations as needed in consultation with the state school security marshal,
- advise the superintendent annually of completion of required security risk assessments,
- formulate recommended policies/procedures (excluded from Open Records law) for an all-hazards approach including conducting emergency response drills for hostage, active shooter, and building lockdown situations in consultation and coordination with appropriate public safety agencies for review and adoption as part of school emergency plan required by KRS 158.162. The recommended policies shall encourage the involvement of students, as appropriate, in the development of the school's emergency plan, and,
- ensure each school campus is toured at least once per school year, in consultation and coordination with appropriate public safety agencies, to review policies and procedures and provide recommendations related to school safety and security.
Many of these duties had been previously assigned to the "Safe Schools Coordinator." Moving forward, the duties above will be assigned to the School Safety Coordinator though some districts may assign other duties (e.g. model policies, bullying prevention, school climate, and the behavior or Safe Schools data) to the Safe Schools Administrator.
School Safety Risk Assessment
KRS 158.4410(7) states tha no later than July 15 annually, the local district superintendent shall send verification to the state school security marshal and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) that all schools within the district have completed the school security risk assessment for the previous year. School security risk assessments shall be excluded from the application of KRS 61.870 to KRS 61.884 pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(m). Districts must submit their annual verification to kyschoolsafetymailbox@education.ky.gov by July 15. Please contact the interim State School Security Marshal at amy.hess@ky.gov with any questions.
Terroristic Threatening, 2nd Degree
KRS 158.1559 mandates school principals provide, within ten (10) days of the first instructional day of each school year, written notice of KRS 508.0078, KRS 523.060 and KRS 534.030 to all students, parents, and guardians of students. KDE does not interpret language of KRS 158.1559 to require any specific mode of delivery (e.g., first class mail, by hand, etc.) but can confirm that KRS 446.030 requires the ten (10) day timeline be based on calendar days and the deadline be extended to the next business day if the tenth and final day falls on a weekend, legal holiday, or another day that the district is closed.
Active Shooter Training
KRS 156.095 requires all certified school district employees to complete at least one (1) hour of active shooter situation training prepared by the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DCJT) in collaboration with the department, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, and the Center for School Safety trainings within twelve (12) months of initial hire and at least once every four (4) years thereafter. To facilitate this training, the KDE has collaborated with the DCJT to incorporate the training into the KY Learning Hub. The training can be accessed in the KY Learning Hub - Active Shooter Response Training. Only the 2026-2027 version of this training may be used to fulfil the requirement under KRS 156.095; prior year training modules should not be used to train employees.
Additionally, as part of the Trauma-Informed Toolkit, KDE has made available the Trauma Toolkit - Active Shooter Training Guide & Resource and that provides guidance and resources to support trauma-informed active shooter drills.
Handle With Care Notification System
Handle With Care (HWC) is the notification system described in the School Safety & Resiliency Act where schools and districts are required to collaborate with law enforcement to create procedures for notification of a student who has been trauma-exposed as part of the plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach in schools. The Kentucky State Police (KSP) have implemented a notification system that is now active statewide. The information below has been provided to us by KSP regarding implementation of the HWC program.
HWC is very simple. Any law enforcement
agency that has access to the KYOPs system can initiate a HWC notification. At
the scene of a crime, accident, or any law enforcement assisted traumatic
event; the officer will identify any children present. The officer will then
use HWC to notify the school(s) that the children attend. The notice will be
sent to a confidential email and/or as a text message with only the child’s
name, age, school, and these three words “Handle with Care”.
The premise of HWC is to mitigate the negative
effects of trauma on children when used in in conjunction with trauma-informed
care. In the event the child exhibits problematic behavior
(emotional/behavioral/academic, etc.), the school has an early notification of
possible exposure to trauma and can provide care and understanding, and link
the child with trauma-informed resources such as school counselors or therapists. The Center for Instructional and Behavioral Research in Schools' (CIBRS) Handle with Care video shows how the process works and who should be included in the process at the
school and district levels.
Enrolling in Handle with Care:
Contact the Kentucky State Police Post that serves your county;
Ask to speak the Victim Advocate located at the Post;
The Victim Advocate will then assist you in providing contact information for those staff members that will receive the Handle with Care notification.
Please contact your Victim's Advocate local KSP post if you have any questions. Danielle Perkins in the KSP Office of Operations at (502) 782-1846 or your district's assigned School Marshal Compliance Officer will also be able to assist if you have any questions.
Threat Assessment Resources
KRS 158.4412 requires that districts school safety coordinator to designate a school safety and threat assessment team at each school in the district consisting of two or more staff members, which may include school administrators, school counselors, school resource officers, school-based mental health services providers, teachers, and other school personnel. The National Threat Assessment Center has a number of resources available for enhancing threat assessment in schools.