UNC Greensboro hosted a collaborative discussion on the state’s school safety initiatives on Monday, August 2. This is the second time the University was chosen by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safer Schools to host the summit.
NC Governor Roy Cooper and Chancellor Frank Gilliam provided remarks, with NCDPS Chief Deputy Secretary Casandra Skinner Hoekstra kicking off the event by thanking UNCG for the University’s hospitality, collegiality, and professionalism. Attorney General Josh Stein and Department of Health and Human Services Chief Deputy Susan Gale Perry, among others, offered their insights and hope for a safe start to the new school year.
During the summit, representatives from the judiciary, legislature, education, and law enforcement communities learned about North Carolina’s new five-year strategic plan for creating safer schools. The State Action Plan on School Safety, developed during the last two years, builds off pre-existing school safety studies by the Governor’s Crime Commission, the Center for Safer Schools, the U.S. Secret Service, and information gained through public forums and meetings with stakeholders. Officials with NCDPS debuted the collaborative, whole-of-community plan during the summit.
Attendees learned about topics that are highlighted in the action plan, including school justice partnerships, school resource officer training, school mental health services, and the overlap of this action plan with the Task Force on Racial Equity in the Criminal Justice System. They received an update on recently passed and potential school safety legislation.
To view the livestream of the event, visit the webpage of the Back-to-School Safety Summit.
Story by Eden Bloss, University Communications
Photography by Martin W. Kane, University Communications