In July 2023, the Florida Department of Education approved a rule entitled “School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting” (SESIR). The rule requires districts to report specific types of incidents to improve accuracy and bolster insights from data collection. The data will be used in required state and federal reports and to aid in designing and evaluating interventions to provide safe learning environments in Florida schools.
All districts will be held accountable for complying with SESIR reporting requirements. Schools can achieve compliance by implementing effective safety plans and school alert systems that generate robust and accurate data about emergency incidents. The most effective school alert systems both facilitate rapid notification to first responders and help schools accomplish full SESIR compliance.
New Reporting Requirements
New SESIR rules require schools to report various incidents—particularly those that require the intervention of a school resource officer or other law enforcement—to governmental agencies. According to Florida law enforcement personnel, officers “have been and will continue to handle a wide range of issues at schools.” But, said Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Andrew Gant, “The state is just requiring a more consistent reporting standard across all school districts so Florida can collect better data on school safety and security.” The Florida House of Representatives implemented the SESIR rule to counteract a history of underreporting in some Florida districts.
The SESIR rule’s purpose is “to set forth the requirements school districts and charter schools must use to report disruptive or criminal incidents to the Florida Department of Education so that the data can, in turn, be used in required state and federal reports.” These reports are required by the following organizations:
- US Department of Education
- Office for Civil Rights Data Collection
- Gun Free Schools Act
- Every Student Succeeds Act
- state records on bullying and harassment
Schools must report the following types of incidents:
- aggravated and simple battery
- alcohol (possession, use, purchase, sale, or distribution)
- arson
- burglary
- criminal mischief
- drugs (possession, use, purchase, sale or distribution)
- fighting
- grand theft
- hazing
- homicide
- kidnapping
- major disruption on campus
- robbery
- sexual assault, battery, and other sexual offenses
- threats and intimidation
- trespassing
- weapons possession
The SESIR rule also mandates that “other major incidents,” including those related to alcohol, drugs, gangs, hate crimes, hazing, injuries, or weapons, must be reported.
How to Achieve SESIR Compliance
Florida districts can get ahead of these reporting requirements by utilizing innovative school alert systems and implementing comprehensive school safety plans. Ideally, systems gather necessary reporting data in real-time and monitor the incidents specified in the SESIR rule.
The SESIR rule lays out instructions for reporting and consequences for failing to do so. Superintendents are required to appoint a district SESIR contact, and all staff members must be trained in SESIR reporting. The Office of Safe Schools will conduct school site visits to monitor SESIR reporting protocols. If districts fail to report SESIR data by established deadlines, school boards may vote to withhold the superintendent’s salary until schools complete reporting requirements.
Incident reporting systems play a critical role in a multilayered school safety approach. Florida school districts must invest in school alert systems that produce the data required by the SESIR rule. While a school alert system’s most vital function is to facilitate rapid responses to emergencies, productive system also enables schools to keep detailed records of all types of incidents. The CENTEGIX Safety Platform™ provides both immediate incident response and valuable data reporting.
CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint™ Helps Schools Meet Requirements
CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint™ is an intelligent digital mapping tool that aids first responders in locating both people and safety assets. In an emergency, Safety Blueprint shortens response times by enabling first responders to know where safety assets like AEDs, fire extinguishers, and trauma/bleeding kits are physically located. Responders can quickly locate and direct needed assets to the incident.
This tool also allows staff, administrators, and other key personnel to access and update one digital map with every building and asset’s current and precise location. Safety Blueprint technology records pertinent information when incidents—including those named in the SESIR rule—occur. Staff can then access this information for SESIR reporting purposes.
With CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint, districts can meet—and exceed—legal requirements for maintaining critical incident maps. Safety Blueprint also meets the criteria specified in HB301, which provides grant funding for purchasing digital mapping resources by Florida districts. CENTEGIX technology enables schools to comply while providing the fastest possible emergency response.
CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™ Shortens Response Times
The CENTEGIX CrisisAlert mobile panic button empowers all school personnel with the fastest and easiest way to get help from anywhere on campus. An alert from a CrisisAlert wearable emergency button immediately reaches responders. This rapid alert is critical in incidents when every second matters.
A staff member can initiate both staff alerts and campus-wide alerts using CrisisAlert. In the event of a campus-wide alert, 911 personnel immediately receive information about who alerted for help and their precise location on the Safety Blueprint map. During staff alerts, CrisisAlert can request help for any incident, including medical emergencies, student behavior interventions, or incidents of elopment. The wearable badge ensures that staff members can rely on something other than spotty cellular or Wi-Fi service to relay emergency notifications. Instead, CrisisAlert functions on an independent network that reliably transmits critical information to emergency responders.
The CrisisAlert mobile alert button immediately requests help during all incidents, including those specified by SESIR reporting rules in the event of a crisis. CENTEGIX technology ensures that information about these alerts is easily gathered and accessible for reporting purposes.
Many Florida schools have also complied with Alyssa’s Law by utilizing CENTEGIX CrisisAlert. The system fulfills the purpose of Alyssa’s law: to decrease emergency response times, save lives, and create a culture of safety in schools.
CENTEGIX Dashboard: Reliable Data for Actionable Insight
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform dashboard makes it easy for school leaders to access a variety of usage and alert data. Using this data, leaders can analyze school emergency response procedures and make improvements accordingly. The platform’s actionable data enables administrators to understand how best to support their staff in emergencies.
Districts can use CENTEGIX Safety Platform dashboard to:
- Retrieve data on CrisisAlert badge usage across districts and locations.
- Lead with confidence, knowing executive decisions are backed by reliable data.
- Compile school- or district-wide reports on types of safety incidents and occurrence rates
- Keep up-to-date mapping of safety assets with Safety Blueprint
- Review detailed reports showing who visited campus and when.
- View visitor photos at check-in and inspect background checks.
A Multilayered Approach to Safety
The CENTEGIX Enhanced Visitor Management feature adds another layer of safety to the CENTEGIX Safety Platform. Enhanced Visitor Management lets school staff check in, authenticate, and locate visitors in real-time. This enables visitors wearing the smart badge to be locatable anywhere on campus. Visitor data may be critically important to SESIR incident reporting following a crisis event, and Enhanced Visitor Management technology can be relied upon for this vital information. CENTEGIX technology makes schools and visitors safer even as it facilitates data collection for SESIR compliance.
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform provides a technology-driven approach to safe reunification when emergencies require school building evacuations. When these incidents occur, CENTEGIX technology facilitates the following:
- Staff members and those in their care are marked safe by CENTEGIX software.
- An accurate roster of everyone present is produced in real-time.
- Students can be quickly authorized to leave with their guardians via CENTEGIX software.
- Signatures and timestamps are collected in real-time for school records.
Students are reunited with their guardians as quickly as possible, and data is collected at every turn. CENTEGIX technology ensures that all pertinent records are kept throughout any incident; this facilitates accurate and timely reporting. Florida districts that use the CENTEGIX Safety Platform achieve SESIR reporting compliance as they prioritize student and staff safety in their schools.
CENTEGIX is the industry leader in wearable safety technology. The Safety Platform was designed to assist district leaders in making their schools safer and to help meet reporting requirements. Contact CENTEGIX to learn more about how the CENTEGIX Safety Platform can create a culture of safety in your district.
