Safe to Tell Act of 2019

Safe to Tell Act of 2019

This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to states for establishing anonymous school threat reporting programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2100 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2100

  To promote the creation of State anonymous school threat reporting 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2019

  Mr. Himes (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, and Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To promote the creation of State anonymous school threat reporting 
                   programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe to Tell Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants to States 
that enact a law described in section 3 and otherwise conforms its laws 
to the requirements of section 3.
    (b) Use of Grant Funds.--A grant under this section may be used for 
the establishment of a program described in section 3.
    (c) Application.--A State seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit to the Attorney General an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may 
reasonably require, including a copy of the law described in section 
3(a).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

SEC. 3. STATE LAW DESCRIBED.

    (a) In General.--A law described in this section is a law 
establishing a program described in subsection (b).
    (b) Program Requirements.--A program established under subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) establish and maintain methods (including a telephone 
        hotline, a mobile application, and a website) that provide 
        individuals with the means to relay information anonymously 
        concerning unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or 
        criminal activities, or the threat of these activities, to 
        appropriate law enforcement and public safety agencies and 
        school officials;
            (2) establish methods and procedures to ensure that the 
        identity of the reporting parties remains unknown to all 
        persons and entities, including law enforcement officers and 
        employees operating the program;
            (3) establish methods and procedures so that information 
        obtained from a reporting party who voluntarily discloses his 
        or her identity and verifies that he or she is willing to be 
        identified may be shared with law enforcement officers, 
        employees operating the program, and with school officials;
            (4) establish methods and procedures to ensure that a 
        reporting party's identity that becomes known through any means 
        other than voluntary disclosure is not further disclosed;
            (5) promptly forward information received by the program to 
        the appropriate law enforcement or public safety agency or 
        school officials;
            (6) train law enforcement dispatch centers, school 
        districts, individual schools, and other entities on 
        appropriate awareness and response to information received 
        under the program;
            (7) provide awareness and education materials to 
        participating schools and school district;
            (8) monitor each reporting method under the program 24 
        hours per day, 7 days per week, including providing an 
        answering service staffed with an individual trained in 
        receiving reports under the program;
            (9) provide accountability and quality assurance measures, 
        including disposition reporting, as well as measures to prevent 
        abuse;
            (10) provide that, except as provided under paragraph (11), 
        materials created or obtained through the implementation or 
        operation of the program are confidential, and a person shall 
        not disclose the material; and
            (11) provide that a person administering the program may 
        not be compelled to produce any information received under the 
        program or other materials produced as part of the program 
        except on the motion of a criminal defendant to the court in 
        which the offense is being tried.
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