After years of violence aimed toward schools, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed bipartisan legislation to help further establish safety in schools.
The Office of School Ssafety, SB23-241, took effect on July 1, 2023 to provide crisis response, key resources and grants to support schools and make sure that students and children can work in safe environments.
Sens. Jeff Bridges,and Barbara Kirkmeyer and Reps. Shannon Bird and Rod Bockenfeld sponsored the bill, which will manage the Colorado School Safety Resource Center, a grants unit and a crisis response unit.
Christine Harms became the director of the new office on July 15 and will appoint the director of the center and a grants manager to help schools obtain funds that relate to school safety.
"When it comes to school safety, it was way past time for the state legislature to stop talking about it and start getting it done,” Kirkmeyer said. “The state has an obligation to give our schools and school resource officers the tools and training they need to keep our kids and teachers safe in their schools. The creation of this office is just the beginning of the legislature finally delivering real, tangible, and positive impacts on school safety.”
The act also will build a youth violence prevention grant program in the OSS.
Furthermore, OSS will be responsible for consistent communication to the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety to school districts and schools, providing school safety information and resources; school emergency response planning and training.
The School Access for Emergency Response grant program, will move from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to OSS.
"This office dramatically expands the capabilities of our existing school safety programs, and puts them together so they have the collaboration, communication, and coordination they need to more effectively keep Colorado kids safe,” Bridges said.
