2014 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 14-031 BY SENATOR(S) King, Aguilar, Balmer, Baumgardner, Brophy, Cadman, Crowder, Grantham, Guzman, Harvey, Heath, Herpin, Hill, Hodge, Jahn, Johnston, Jones, Kefalas, Kerr, Lambert, Lundberg, Marble, Newell, Nicholson, Renfroe, Rivera, Roberts, Scheffel, Schwartz, Steadman, Tochtrop, Todd, Ulibarri, Zenzinger, Carroll; also REPRESENTATIVE(S) McCann, Becker, Buck, Buckner, Conti, Coram, Court, DelGrosso, Dore, Duran, Everett, Exum, Fields, Fischer, Foote, Garcia, Gerou, Ginal, Hamner, Holbert, Hullinghorst, Humphrey, Joshi, Kagan, Kraft-Tharp, Labuda, Landgraf, Lawrence, Lebsock, Lee, McLachlan, McNulty, Melton, Mitsch Bush, Moreno, Murray, Navarro, Nordberg, Pabon, Peniston, Pettersen, Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Rosenthal, Ryden, Saine, Salazar, Schafer, Scott, Sonnenberg, Stephens, Swalm, Szabo, Tyler, Vigil, Waller, Williams, Wilson, Wright, Young, Ferrandino. CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COLORADO SAFE SCHOOLS MONTH. WHEREAS, Colorado is committed to ensuring safe schools for all students, from early learning to higher education; and WHEREAS, Safe schools provide an environment where effective teaching and learning can take place so that all education goals can be achieved; and WHEREAS, Safe schools interface with the larger community by providing safe havens and distribution centers in the event of greater community crisis; and WHEREAS, Each school day, Colorado school personnel are accountable for the safety of over 875,000 students, or about one-sixth of the total population of the state; and WHEREAS, Educators and school personnel are the first responders in the schools, on the routes to and from school, on field trips, and at school-related events; and WHEREAS, Schools face a broad range of safety-related threats, including human-caused hazards, technological hazards, and natural hazards; and WHEREAS, Schools must adopt guiding principles of readiness and all-hazards emergency management, including prevention, mitigation, protection, preparedness, response, and recovery, in addressing these threats; and WHEREAS, Educators and school personnel must communicate, coordinate, and collaborate with professional responders and other community partners in applying these guiding principles; and WHEREAS, Schools must keep pace with improvements and changes in safe schools design, crime prevention through environmental design, security systems, communications, information management, training programs, and other resources related to school safety; and WHEREAS, Schools must continually evaluate and update policies, standard operating procedures, memoranda of understanding, best practices, lessons learned, and fundraising activities related to school safety; and WHEREAS, Schools can improve safety by making sure that climates are welcoming and that responses to misbehavior are fair, non-discriminatory and effective through training staff, engaging families and community partners, and deploying resources to help students develop the social, emotional, and conflict resolution skills needed to avoid and de-escalate problems; and WHEREAS, The mission of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center is to assist educators, emergency responders, community organizations, school mental health professionals, parents, and students in creating safe, positive, and successful school environments for Colorado students in all K-12 and higher education schools; and WHEREAS, In 2013, the Colorado School Safety Resource Center published nearly 800 announcements in its monthly newsletters on school safety-related topics such as training, grant information, prevention and protection resources, current research and statistical resources, and youth-specific information; and WHEREAS, The members of the General Assembly believe that a yearly commemorative month devoted to school safety and a safe school climate can encourage activities that provide awareness about school safety topics; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein: That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly: (1) Believe that establishing a commemorative month devoted to school safety and school climate can foster awareness about these important topics affecting our state's children and educators; (2) Designate October as "Safe Schools Month" in Colorado; and (3) Encourage all educators, community partners, first responders, subject matter experts, members of the private sector, the media, and other stakeholders to coordinate their activities with the Colorado School Safety Resource Center and to help promote a culture of school safety and positive school climate. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States; Vice President Joe Biden; United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; United States Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson; United States Attorney General Eric Holder; the office of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack; United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx; Gina McCarthy, Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency; the Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado; Executive Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education, Lt. Gov. Joseph A Garcia; Kristin D. Russell, Colorado Secretary of Technology and State Chief Information Officer, Governor's Office of Information Technology; Robert Hammond, Commissioner of Education, Colorado Department of Education; Scott Newell, Director, Division of Capital Construction, Colorado Department of Education; Sarah Mathew, Director, Office of Health and Wellness, Colorado Department of Education; Richard Kaufman, Chair, Colorado Commission on Higher Education; Nancy McCallin, President, Colorado Community College System; John W. Suthers, Attorney General, Colorado Department of Law; Susan Payne, Director, Safe2Tell; Kathy E. Sasak, Interim Executive Director, Colorado Department of Public Safety; Paul Cooke, Director, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control; Kevin R. Klein, Director, Division of Homeland Security Emergency Management; Colonel Scott Hernandez, Chief, Colorado State Patrol; Christine R. Harms, Director, Colorado School Safety Resource Center; Reggie Bicha, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Human Services; Dr. Larry Wolk, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; John Salazar, Commissioner of Agriculture, Colorado Department of Agriculture; Donald E. Hunt, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Transportation; and to each member of Colorado's Congressional delegation. ____________________________ ____________________________ Morgan Carroll Mark Ferrandino PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES ____________________________ ____________________________ Cindi Markwell Marilyn Eddins SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES APPROVED________________________________________ _________________________________________ John W. Hickenlooper GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO