7:190-AP8 Digital Student Safety Response Procedure

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Student Behavior, Safety Screening, and Digital Monitoring

Purpose

To establish a consistent process for reviewing and responding to digital safety alerts involving student online activity. The District’s monitoring platform may identify digital behavior that indicates distress, self-harm, threats, violence, weapons, exploitation, or other safety concerns.

This procedure aligns with the District’s crisis response, behavioral threat assessment, student support, and student discipline procedures. The District currently uses Lightspeed Alert for this purpose.

A. Definitions

Low or Medium Alerts. Alerts that appear in the dashboard. They may provide helpful context but do not require action.
High Alerts. Human-reviewed items that may be concerning but are not confirmed threats or emergencies. These alerts require timely review and professional judgment.
Imminent Alerts. Verified indicators of immediate danger related to self-harm, violence, weapons, bomb-making, or sexual exploitation, or other urgent safety concerns. Lightspeed Safety Specialists may contact designated staff by phone.

B. Responsibilities

Principals and Building-Level Administrators
1. Serve as the first reviewers of all High Alerts.
2. Determine whether the alert is benign based on school context or requires escalation.
3. Consult with Student Services if appropriate.
4. Close High Alerts determined to be benign.
5. Escalate alerts that indicate emotional, behavioral, or safety concerns.
6. Respond immediately to Imminent Alerts when the student is on campus.
Student Services
1. Provide consultation and support when requested by the Principal or designee.
2. Assist with student support, crisis response, behavioral threat assessment, or related follow-up when appropriate.
3. Support continuity of care and coordination with families, staff, or outside providers when appropriate.
4. Student Services does not replace the Principal’s responsibility for building-level review, response, documentation, and follow-through.
Technology Department
1. Maintain the District’s digital safety alert system, including access, integrations, routing rules, user roles, and system functionality.
2. Support Principals, building-level administrators, and other authorized staff in receiving, accessing, and using digital safety alerts.
3. Provide technical context when needed, including information related to system settings, alert routing, device assignment, account access, logs, or platform functionality.
4. Assist with documentation, preservation, reporting, or investigation of digital activity when requested by the appropriate administrator or required by District procedure.
5. Identify and report technical, access, privacy, routing, or security concerns related to the digital safety alert system.
6. Technology supports the operation and interpretation of the system but does not determine student discipline, student support, crisis response, or behavioral threat assessment outcomes.

C. Review Timeframes

High Alerts
1. When received during school hours, Principal or designee to review the alert by the end of the school day.
2. When received outside school hours, Principal or designee review the alert the next school day.
Imminent Alerts

Immediate action is required in accordance with the District’s crisis response procedures.

D. Response Procedures

High Alerts
1. The Principal or designee reviews the alert and related context.
2. If the alert is benign, the Principal or designee closes it.
3. If the alert indicates potential emotional, behavioral, student support, disciplinary, or safety concerns, the Principal or designee determines whether intervention or follow-up is needed.
4. When appropriate, the Principal or designee follows established crisis, behavioral threat assessment, student support, disciplinary, or other District procedures.
5. The alert is closed when resolved or complete.
Imminent Alerts
1. Lightspeed may contact the Building point of contact by phone.
2. The Principal or designee locates the student immediately if the student is on campus.
3. Student Services activates crisis protocols as required by the situation.
4. The School Resource Officer or law enforcement is engaged only when needed and consistent with District procedures.
5. The alert is documented and closed after the situation is resolved.

E. Integration With Existing District Procedures

This procedure does not replace crisis response or threat-assessment protocols.
Alerts that meet established criteria for self-harm or violence risk enter the District’s existing threat-assessment process.
Lightspeed alerts serve as one source of information within the District’s comprehensive safety framework.

F. Documentation

The staff member who completes the response closes the alert.
Documentation must be factual and concise.
Documentation should identify the review completed, the determination made, and any follow-up action taken or referral made.
Closing alerts ensures accurate delivery of future notifications.

G. Operating Principles

Digital alerts are indicators, not conclusions. Alerts must be reviewed in context and do not, by themselves, establish misconduct, risk, intent, or required discipline.
Building administration owns the response. The Principal or designee reviews alerts, determines next steps, documents the response, and ensures follow-through.
Student Services and Technology support within their roles. Student Services supports student need; Technology supports system access, routing, records, privacy, and technical context.
Response must follow established procedures. Safety, student support, discipline, crisis response, and behavioral threat assessment concerns are handled through applicable District procedures.