ALABAMA'S SAFE SCHOOLS HOTLINE 1-888-SAV-KIDS (888-728-5437)

In late April of 1999, the State of Alabama implemented a statewide school safety hotline,
1-888-SAV-KIDS. This statewide hotline is operated by the Alabama Department of Public Safety's Missing and Exploited Children's Unit. By calling this toll-free hotline, Alabama's students, parents and concerned citizens may report their school safety related information and concerns on a anonymous basis 24-hours a day.

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The Alabama School Incident Report (SIR) was developed in 1997 by a task force composed of local school and selected State Department of Education (SDE) personnel. This program provides the framework for all Alabama public schools and school systems to collect school safety and discipline information in a uniform manner.

The SIR program streamlines the collection of specified data and contributes to paperwork reduction. It also merged the Suspension/Expulsion Report and the Annual safety/discipline reporting needs of various entities within the SDE such as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program, Special Education Services and Prevention and Support Services.

Offenses to be tracked and reported to the SDE through this program are those that are violations of the law or represent a serious breach of local board of education policy. Included are those offenses considered severe enough to be reported to local law enforcement or which resulted in a student being suspended out of school, expelled or placed in an alternative program.

School Safety
Contact: Frank Williamson, fwilliamson@alsde.edu, Jim Toney, jtoney@alsde.edu, Tom Mock, tmock@alsde.edu, or  Marcus Vandiver, mvandiver@alsde.edu
Phone: (334) 242-8165

The Prevention and Support Services section is also responsible for the implementation of the School Safety and Discipline sections of the Code of Alabama (1975), §§ 16-6B-5 through §16-6B-7 of the Alabama Accountability Act of 1995, that includes school safety and discipline as one of the three (3) areas of possible intervention by the State Superintendent of Education.

Attendance
Contact: Jim Toney, jtoney@alsde.edu
Phone: (334) 242-8165

Alabama Student Assistance Plan (ASAP)
Contact: Chidren First, Marcus Vandiver, mvandiver@alsde.edu,
Governor's High Hopes, Kay Atchison Warfield, kwarfield@alsde.edu,
State At-Risk Programs, Fran Stewart, fstewart@alsde.edu,
ASAP Budgets / Amendments, , Marcus Vandiver, mvandiver@alsde.edu,
Phone: (334) 242-8165

The Alabama Student Assistance Plan (ASAP) is a consolidated state plan of the former State-At-Risk, Children First, and the Governor’s High Hopes plan and applications. Each programs’ funding criteria are very precise in what services they are able to provide. All three have the same philosophical basis: providing assistance for students at risk, keeping students safe and healthy, and preventing non-completion of school. Although the planning and funding sources have differences, their primary focus is to provide academic and behavioral services and opportunities for students who persistently perform below average.

State Alternative Education Programs
Contact: Fran Stewart, fstewart@alsde.edu
Phone: (334) 242-8165
State At-Risk Program At a Glance Since 1995

The Best Practices Center's website has added an "At-Risk Programs" section to its website. In addition to featuring highlights from the recent conference, it has the entire At-Risk Coordinators' manual that can be downloaded. Best Practices Center

Safe and Drug Free Schools
Contact: Marilyn Lewis, mlewis@alsde.edu, or
Frank Williamson, fwilliamson@alsde.edu
Phone: (334) 242-8165

Building-Based Student Support Team (BBSST)
Contact: Ceceilia Mills, cmills@alsde.edu or Beth Thompson, bthompson@alsde.edu
Phone: (334) 242-8165

Building-Based Student Support Team is a school-based, problem solving approach to meet the needs of at-risk students in regular education classroom settings. Team members disccuss issues related to specific individual needs of students and teachers and offer teachers assistance in resolving problems. The team is composed of regular program teachers, administrators, counselors and other individuals, as needed (ie. Special education personnel). This team pools their expertise from many areas to help resolve many school and student issues. Using this collaborative approach, educators are given the opportunity to address concerns and find solutions. Through this team effort, referrals to programs outside the regular classroom can be significantly reduced. Educators can receive immediate support when confronting specific academic, social, and/or behavioral concerns regarding students.