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

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…