Huntington UFSD board approves Handle With Care MOU with Suffolk County Sheriff to pilot trauma‑sensitivity alerts

The Huntington Union Free School District Board of Education on May 12 approved a memorandum of understanding with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office to pilot the Handle With Care program during the 2025–26 school year.

The MOU establishes a narrow, one‑way alert system: when sheriff’s deputies respond to a qualifying incident and children are present, the office will send the district a single email that includes only the street address, a criminal‑complaint (CC) number and the notation “Handle with Care.” The district will not receive names, ages or school assignments, and staff will not add the alert to a student’s permanent record, district officials said.

“Research shows that having safe, stable and nurturing relationships can prevent or even reverse the damaging effects of childhood trauma,” the superintendent said while explaining the program and its goals. District staff described the intended school response as modest and supportive rather than investigatory: teachers and building staff would be advised to be alert to possible signs — fatigue, anxiety, missed homework or meals — and to offer basic supports (encouragement, a breakfast, or referral to building mental‑health staff) rather than seek details from students.

How it will work: district staff said deputies would select the district from a dropdown or scan a QR code to populate a simple form, enter the address and CC number and submit the report. The district will route the notification to a central contact, who will notify the building principal to make staff aware that a child from that address may be affected. The district said it plans to purge the notification list regularly; the superintendent said one option under consideration is monthly purging so the district would not keep a long‑term record of past alerts.

Privacy and recordkeeping questions surfaced during discussion. A board member asked whether the CC number is protected under FERPA; the superintendent replied: “The criminal complaint numbers, the CC numbers are always…that’s a public record, but we would not be maintaining that data.” She added the district would not associate alerts with student names or put anything into students’ permanent records. The district said staff training and a rollout of procedures are planned for superintendent’s conference day and that Director of Safety and Security Jared Stein will work with the Sheriff’s Office over the summer to finalize the form (QR code or email).

Scope and pilot limits: because the pilot is limited to the Sheriff’s Office initially, staff said the incident list is narrower than a county police list and focuses on more severe events (the presentation listed eviction, a death in the family, or an arrest as examples rather than everyday calls). The district said early pilots in other Long Island communities have shown limited volumes of notifications; Hampton Bays reported just a few alerts in its initial rollout.

Board action: a motion to approve the MOU was made, seconded and carried unanimously. District staff said the goal is to start the pilot in September and to coordinate training for building staff so alerts lead to increased teacher sensitivity and prompt referrals to support staff when appropriate.