[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6352901,"mediaKeyId","2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6","parentId",2222190,"title","State agencies brief joint education committee on school safety, data-sharing and behavioral threat teams","audioSeconds",3141,"startMs",1309000,"endMs",4450000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6&start=1309&end=4450","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6/thumbnail_1309000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6352901/Georgia/State-agencies-brief-joint-education-committee-on-school-safety-data-sharing-and-behavioral-threat-teams","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352901-395238fe10c81704158341e1dd9ac5ef/orig.mp4?Expires=1771015850&Signature=VwKkZcHU7wXxRSdly5BU6yarJvg-y9EzEW~ZbFpd1CJj70IF8LzRJEMmCHwAw3-elumqJ2WFIbhSjML3LIHdQLT0vm3P41jziSKAICGL1bzQQWbECHokqE3n~8nEauaAnWvHW~yuKFOD9SXSxZ7s0ZrJWsWSnY6dCwDEX697B2koZNEhbCIi6IG~2I6G7rToFt~3AsDlYdLSrFxZly26eHko6CBy1142v~yvvjR1OuO9TpbJ6OMv9nKoIkg8eQ4pjmKlH3-qmeTfzfdTpsprhCNEq5J0Vbuga8XAcpQi2snOcY04iwRN-jW9jDxxKYk8McRpHs8nCHwLMeMy5Sdwzg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Georgia State Legislature ","date","2025-02-03T00:00:00Z","article","The Joint Senate and House Education Committee heard a multi-agency briefing on school safety, including threat reporting, behavioral threat assessment teams and mental-health supports for students. Linda Kriblay, deputy director of Homeland Security with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA), Justin Hill, deputy superintendent for the office of whole child at the Georgia Department of Education (DOE), and Kevin Tanner, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), described programs, data and gaps the state is trying to close.

GEMA told lawmakers the agency is treating school safety as a statewide priority and has built an intelligence and training capability around school threats. “We have 10 sworn law enforcement officers post certified that are distributed throughout the state that work almost exclusively on school safety,” Kriblay said. She said the agency operates a school safety intelligence unit and has rolled out training, intruder‑alert drill reporting and an endorsement for school safety professionals following the 2023 Safe Schools Act.

Why it matters: agency officials said school threats have risen and can come from many sources — not just active‑shooter plots — and that the state lacks a comprehensive, statewide system that collects and links threat reports across jurisdictions. Kriblay told the committee the state logged 214 validated school safety threats in the first quarter of the 2024–25 academic year, compared with 20 in the same period the prior year, and said those counts likely understate the problem because reporting to GEMA is voluntary.

Officials emphasized two programs they view as central to preventing violence. First, better information sharing among schools, law enforcement and state agencies so “we can collect the dots,” Kriblay said. “Quite simply, we're not collecting the dots, so we can't expect our superintendents and sheriffs to connect the dots.” She said legal work will be required to build systems that comply with FERPA and HIPAA but called the technical problems solvable.

Second, agencies are expanding behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) teams that use multidisciplinary panels to evaluate and intervene with students identified as at risk. Kriblay said GEMA has trained nearly 1,300 school officials and law enforcement officers in BTAM concepts, is running a 6‑hour implementation course, and has active local implementations in about 8 school systems and trainings delivered in about 40 counties. “We have a 1 hour overview course to get people's heads around the concept. We've trained over a thousand, close to 1,300 school officials and law enforcement officers,” she said.

Health and mental‑health services are a third pillar. Commissioner Kevin Tanner described the Apex program, which places licensed clinicians in school systems and can bill Medicaid and private insurance. “Apex is a clinician who is placed in the school system. They're a licensed clinician and they have the ability to bill Medicaid, bill private insurance,” Tanner said. He reported Apex‑funded positions (468 budgeted) and related telehealth and regional collaborations to reach rural areas, but he and other officials said clinician turnover and a limited statewide clinician workforce remain constraints.

Committee members asked whether the agencies had actionable findings from the Apalachee High School shooting. Kriblay said GEMA first learned the shooter's name only after the attack and used that example to emphasize the information‑sharing gap: “The first time GEMA Homeland Security heard the name … of the juvenile shooter at Apalachee was after he had conducted his heinous act of violence,” she said.

Lawmakers also asked about detection technology and school hardening. Kriblay said detection tools — metal detectors, thermal systems and other technology — can play a role, but most school threats come from people with access to buildings, so prevention and mental‑health work are vital. Justin Hill and Kriblay described joint programs such as the READY Georgia Seal of Preparedness and a joint webinar series for school officials that pairs GEMA and DOE guidance on grant use and school preparedness.

Next steps described to the committee included continued rollout of BTAM training, expanding the intelligence and tip intake systems that feed schools and law enforcement, and pilot programs to test tele‑mental‑health and facilitator positions in rural schools. Officials repeatedly said further work will require legal review, more provider capacity and ongoing coordination among GEMA, DOE, DBHDD, local school districts and law enforcement.

Ending: Committee leadership moved on to a scheduled literacy briefing after roughly two hours of safety remarks and Q&A; no new legislation was voted on during the school safety discussion.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","02.03.2025 Education","oneSentenceSummary","The Joint Senate and House Education Committee heard a multi-agency briefing on school safety from GEMA, DOE and DBHDD officials who described rising threat counts, expanded behavioral‑threat assessment teams and ongoing gaps in information sharing and clinician capacity.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Georgia , Georgia","taxId",77688,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6352892,"House education committee adopts committee rules by voice vote",25,7553000,7578000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6&start=7553&end=7578","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6/thumbnail_7553000.jpg","/articles/6352892/Georgia/House-education-committee-adopts-committee-rules-by-voice-vote","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352892-501a097784af125ec3f32589439066c1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771015850&Signature=lfLlJXmWOBixoLmXo-Q1V1SGh-rlWA0sCcznP3gqCKIUghS~N-0E7M~8pTBAfI1KGCj4bx6aU9vvORoobcvDcAtLVbjLL4Jqql-NJslPKw3qPYysoC6SeO6wMVO~wJHum8QvgTYwkyPfHwPW1OoPOkxt38MLHLm84VMxljAIJv8kdAZtgzQNhh6xRcCbJz8sF277icimZHYAhO~zakM1-w9wH3su2eJdO9rWY8q7aHSYO5q6NMxof7mN5ldbaxRk-l-soLV39n~FXhINnQg1nh~-qcpnG6Pr-CIS224qyUgRwTyi5m0cugBXajr5qGuHBqO7lQPOByBHCpjgxqRq4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the close of the joint session, the House Education Committee approved its committee rules. Representative Townsend moved to adopt the rules and a second was recorded; the chair called for a voice vote and announced the rules carried.

The committee then adjourned and announced a dinner the following evening.

Note: the transcript records a voice vote; no roll‑call tally or explicit recorded nay votes were included in the meeting record.","The House Education Committee approved its committee rules by voice vote at the conclusion of the joint session; Representative Townsend moved the motion and a second was made, and the chair announced the motion carried.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6352896,"Officials outline coordinated literacy plan, coaching tiers and dyslexia screening rollout",3030,4446000,7476000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6&start=4446&end=7476","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2222190-8f9e6803c7e616409c1431a45ce1b0e6/thumbnail_4446000.jpg","/articles/6352896/Georgia/Officials-outline-coordinated-literacy-plan-coaching-tiers-and-dyslexia-screening-rollout","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6352896-883d78501f3981ab87f0f6dd6a0ed362/orig.mp4?Expires=1771015850&Signature=o7hwxWJQcIhJVqJuAt2EWYX6eyVQsTmSZz8K95ottkM9XI3R39B7hA5XEVeT-m~qWvvZxOWuE5r-BZls-BbIbV2YBTWqic1F72fz-SxIl6MANGMqp0pWWxS4RlJ4SUTDO~y2Fg9V1DC8Jv0qHpKRX0l7l0JolzTxl3Xp5GKQn9auDUvSTHEpMSOHWOgWcKvWLzoYkCmnpxX0WsKVU1FNn1kXZi4cUgiXSSZTGlL9KAE8E-gUzf3i4r7-FC5GEVAXxgvEkZ2Z1HS5SQmHOcdYsTAA-bF-jeB7infuwmOCr18yUFoUY2LS-5pRligBCO5BIl36K0XKRvdviw-DX0ZFVQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives from the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), the Georgia Department of Education (DOE), the Regional Educational Service Agencies (RESA) network and literacy partners presented a coordinated plan to improve reading outcomes from birth through grade 12. Speakers described a statewide strategy, new K–12 English language arts standards, a multi‑tiered coaching system and implementation steps for dyslexia screening.

Sarah Richards, Georgia literacy coach with GOSA, summarized the state literacy plan framework adopted by the Georgia Council on Literacy and told the committee, “we have made an overarching goal that Georgia will lead the nation in literacy.” The council’s framework sets three goals: every child a reader, every educator prepared and every community supported, and the council includes state agencies, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System and early‑childhood partners.

Why it matters: officials told lawmakers that improved early literacy correlates with later academic success and economic outcomes and that the new coordinated approach is intended to align state agencies and resources to reduce duplication and accelerate progress.

Department of Education staff described work to implement state laws requiring early‑literacy supports. Amy Danté, the DOE director of literacy, said House Bill 538 (the Georgia Early Literacy Act) and other statutes have five major components and that four components live primarily in the K–3 space. DOE said it has narrowed the list of approved universal screeners to up to five instruments for the coming year and emphasized required tiered reading support plans for students who do not respond to instruction.

Coaching and professional development: Stacy Lutz (GOSA contractor) and Richard Smith (First District RESA) described a three‑tiered coaching model. Officials said the state now supports: (1) a Let’s Read Georgia/RESA delivered tier with 63 coaches for district readiness and systems support; (2) 60 DOE‑based coaches assigned to Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools (the state’s bottom 5% by performance) to work onsite at high‑need schools; and (3) a Growing Readers program with 32 coaches providing in‑classroom, strategy‑level coaching tied to professional development. “All of these systems have a common vision based in our state literacy plan,” Stacy Lutz said.

Dyslexia and metrics: DOE staff noted Senate Bill 48 (dyslexia legislation) and the dyslexia screening pilot; officials said the current year is an implementation year for universal dyslexia screening and that the council is working to establish a broader set of literacy metrics (birth‑to‑12 and beyond). Amy Danté said Georgia’s new K–12 ELA standards will be implemented next year and that Georgia Milestones remains highly correlated to NAEP scores.

Capacity and equity concerns: witnesses repeatedly raised workforce and funding constraints. Commissioner Tanner (speaking earlier on behavioral health) and literacy speakers described clinician and coach shortages and turnover. Committee members pressed for data on subgroup and special‑education results; officials said those data are available in public dashboards (Georgia Insights) and are part of the council’s ongoing work to set metrics and differentiated supports.

Ending: the panel asked lawmakers for continued alignment of funding and policy, including potential incentives to increase district participation in state programs and consideration of supports (for example, facilitator positions or telehealth) to extend services in rural districts.","State education and literacy officials told the joint committee they have aligned agencies around a state literacy plan, narrowed approved universal screeners and are expanding differentiated coaching supports; they said dyslexia screening and metrics work are underway but workforce and funding remain constraints.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

State agencies brief joint education committee on school safety, data-sharing and behavioral threat teams

House education committee adopts committee rules by voice vote

Officials outline coordinated literacy plan, coaching tiers and dyslexia screening rollout