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Safety director reports 206 Safe-to-Say tips, 214 threat assessments and deployment of Triton sensors in secondary schools
Summary
The district's safety director presented the annual safety and security report, detailing Safe to Say tip volumes (206 tips), 214 threat-assessment cases, completed physical-site assessments and a roll-out of Triton Ultra sensors for secondary lavatories and other targeted areas.
The Bethlehem Area School District's lead on safety presented the district's annual report on June 9, reporting 206 total Safe to Say tips for the year and 214 total threat-assessment cases handled by school teams.
The presenter outlined training and compliance activities, including Act 55 training required by 2022 law (three hours per staff member annually, with one hour in-person this year on threat assessment and recognizing behaviors of concern). The district completed coordinated physical security and site assessments for multiple buildings (Freedom High, Liberty High, East Hills Middle, Nitschmann Middle, Northeast Middle, Thomas Jefferson Elementary and William Penn Elementary) through the Center for Safe Schools.
On Safe to Say and threat assessments: the presenter said 32% of tips were handled-with-care notifications (typically submitted by law enforcement partners), 16% were threats against a school and 7% were bullying/cyberbullying. Tips were concentrated in secondary schools; high schools accounted for 56% of tips, middle schools 30% and elementary 14%.
The district reported 214 threat-assessment cases; of those resolved, 4 were classified as very serious, 17 as serious, 124 as transient and 32 as not-a-threat; 37 cases remained open at the time of reporting.
Hardware and technology investments were highlighted: the district purchased 88 Triton Ultra sensors for all secondary buildings and increased the number of digital radios by 37 across campuses. The director explained the Triton sensors detect vaping/THC, gunshot signatures, loitering and other indicators and are integrated with cameras outside restrooms to allow staff to review footage tied to a sensor hit without placing cameras inside restrooms. The presenter said the sensors were chosen after national product comparisons and local testing.
The presenter described continued priorities: ongoing training, completion of physical-site assessments across remaining buildings, continued threat-assessment training using CSTAG (Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines) and Navigate360, and monitoring of Safe to Say tips as they arrive.
Quotes and specifics: "Total tips received were 206," the presenter said, and later: "Out of our threat-assessment cases, 124 were transient, which is what we would expect and hope for." The presenter noted handled-with-care tips are typically submitted by law enforcement and comprised the largest category.
Next steps: finish the remaining physical-site assessments next year, continue training and monitoring, and coordinate threat-assessment and behavioral-health work with district counseling and wellness teams.
