With school safety expectations shattered following local and national gunfire on school grounds, the “Saugus Strong Act” – introduced by Santa Clarita Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares –  aims to reinstill hope in campus safety with a 24/7 crisis center. 

Even with the Wiliam S. Hart Union High School District doubling down on emergency training and introducing bullet-resistant window film at each of their schools following the 2019 Saugus High School shooting, the trauma students and teachers endured that tragic day may never be resolved. However, the “Saugus Strong Act” is working to rebuild hope in safety on school grounds. 

In Brief

While similar unimaginable tragedies continue to occur on campuses across the country, the Saugus Strong Act (AB 312) creates a statewide, 24/7 crisis center staffed by trained counselors who can receive and appropriately respond to incoming reports from any school district in California. 

Under the bill, students, parents and community members may anonymously report any alarming behavior, threats, or potential violence on campus to this crisis center, according to AB 312. 

Counselors would then send credible reports to school administrators and, depending on the severity of the report, law enforcement. In doing so, the bill should help school districts become better informed of the potential threats facing their campuses and provide them with the tools and training necessary to respond appropriately. 

The Hart District has already had a reporting system in place, however the Saugus Strong Act crisis center is expected to speed up response times to combat the increasing violence that students experience on campus, according to proponents of the bill. 

A 2019 study conducted by The U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that of the 41 recent targeted incidents of violence on K-12 school campuses, all of the instigators exhibited some form of noticeably concerning behavior and most communicated a direct intent prior to the attack. This affirms the conclusions of a  previous report conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and The U.S. Department of Education, which found that in 80 percent of school shootings, the perpetrator had previously notified others of their intentions. 

The Issue

Students across the country are experiencing increased rates of mental health issues, higher rates of suicide and increased instances of on-campus violence and bullying. 

The most recent California Healthy Kids Survey notes that there is a “troubling…long-term decline in perceived school safety” and “long-term rise in chronic, debilitating sadness or hopelessness among students in all grades and…continued high rate of  suicide ideation among high school students.” 

This same survey reported that over 10 percent of middle school and high school students had reported seeing someone carrying a gun, knife or another weapon at least once during the school year, according to the survey.

The Center for Disease Control’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey confirms that “the percentage of students who seriously considered suicide or made a suicide  plan…increased significantly in the last decade.” 

Additionally, the impact of pandemic-related shutdowns, distance learning and social isolation have taken their toll on students’ mental health and well-being. The CDC reported that emergency department visits for suicide attempts among adolescents jumped over 30 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. 

The Solution

“The Saugus Strong Act will help California’s school districts combat the rising trend in on-campus violence by implementing a statewide, 24/7 crisis center to receive anonymous reports from any school district in the state,” read a statement from Valladares. 

The bill encourages students, parents and community members to alert any alarming behavior to the crisis center and counselors would in turn send credible reports to school administrators and possibly law enforcement. 

“In doing so, the bill will help school districts become better informed of the potential threats facing their campuses,” Valladares said. “Additionally, the bill will provide school districts with the necessary training to ensure that students, parents and faculty are able to use the anonymous reporting program and better identify concerning behavior and activity on campus.”

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