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Bill

SB 782

Safe Schools Transparency Act.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Woodson Bradley and 3 co-sponsors

SB 782 requires immediate parental notification of credible school threats, annual safety reporting, and creates a $25M School Safety Fund to fund crisis services and safety upgrad

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · SB 782

Summary of SB 782 (Safe Schools Transparency Act) – North Carolina – Session 2025

Purpose and intent

SB 782 seeks to enhance school safety through increased transparency and parental involvement. The bill builds on prior efforts by mandating immediate parental notification of credible school threats, reinstating a statewide Task Force for Safer Schools, and creating a dedicated School Safety Fund to support safety-related services and equipment. It also requires annual safety reporting by each school and ongoing reporting to state authorities.

Key provisions

Part I — Mandatory parental notification of threats and safety plans

  • Mandatory notices to parents/guardians: Public school parents must be immediately notified of any credible threat meeting at least one of these criteria:
    • Threats targeting a specific student (including bullying) or threats to the student body, faculty, campus, planned attacks, or bomb threats.
    • A threat involving a student bringing a weapon or creating other security risks.
    • Situations requiring law enforcement intervention (lockdowns, evacuations).
  • Notice policy requirements: Each public school unit must adopt a formal policy identifying who will provide notices and defining a “high-level emergency.”
  • Methods of notice: Notifications must be sent via at least two channels (text, email, phone, or school website posting); for high-level emergencies, one of the two must be a phone call.
  • Content of notices: Reports must include details of the threat, actions taken, and school response, with updates as new information becomes available.

  • Timing: Initial notification must occur within one hour of law enforcement confirming a credible threat, unless it would interfere with an active investigation (in which case notice follows within one hour after arrest/resolution as determined by law enforcement).

  • Section on enforcement and penalties for failure to notify:

    • Parents may file a complaint with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) if a school fails to notify.
    • The Center for Safer Schools investigates; findings are reported to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education (SBE) within 60 days.
    • If the SBE finds noncompliance, up to $5,000 may be deducted from the public school unit’s central office administration allotment and transferred to the School Safety Fund.
    • Repeated noncompliance may trigger corrective action plans, mandatory training, or withholding additional funds.
    • Administrators involved in repeated violations may face discipline, including reprimand, training, or termination.
    • Knowingly concealing a credible threat by a school administrator could constitute a Class A1 misdemeanor if the threat results in injury.
    • The SBE must report action taken to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee within 60 days; the General Assembly will consider governance implications for the affected unit.

§ 115C-105.72 & § 115C-105.73 — Annual safety transparency reporting

  • Annual school safety report: Each school unit must publish on its website an annual school safety report and notify parents of its availability. Required contents include:
    • Number of threats, lockdowns, and evacuations in the prior year.
    • Status of safety enhancements/equipment (e.g., cameras, Student Resource Officers).
    • Summary of safety policies and response procedures.
  • Policies and access: Schools must publish safety policies on their websites, including emergency response plans (excluding sensitive details), student safety policies, and available mental health resources.
  • Department reporting: DPI must receive a copy of each annual safety report by December 1; DPI will summarize compliance data and notify the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by February 1.

Part II — Reinstatement of the Task Force for Safer Schools

  • Reinstates prior statutes governing the Task Force for Safer Schools, including its duties to advise the Center for Safer Schools, provide guidance to state leaders, promote interagency collaboration, assist in data collection for best practices, and monitor compliance with threat-notification requirements.
  • Provisions for reappointment: members dissolved in the prior version may be offered return to the Task Force with time equivalent to remaining terms; vacancies filled by the original appointing authority.

Part III — Establishment of the School Safety Fund

  • Creation of the School Safety Fund as a nonreverting special revenue fund under the State Board of Education.
  • Funding sources: General Assembly appropriations and any funds recovered under failure-to-comply provisions.
  • Use of funds: Local school units may use funds for:
    • Services for students in crisis (e.g., crisis respite for families, training for therapeutic foster care, evidence-based therapies such as parent-child interaction therapy, trauma-focused CBT, DBT, child-parent psychotherapy).
    • Purchase of safety equipment and related training.
  • Initial appropriation: $25 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to DPI for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to be allocated to the School Safety Fund.

Affected parties

  • Public school students and families (through increased notification and safety transparency).
  • Public school units (districts/charter schools) required to implement notification policies and publish safety reports.
  • Parents and guardians (explicit right to timely threat information).
  • School administrators and staff (subject to training, penalties, and potential disciplinary actions for noncompliance).
  • The Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education (oversight, investigations, and penalties).
  • The Center for Safer Schools (investigations and reporting).
  • The Task Force for Safer Schools (advisory role and data monitoring).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective date: The School Safety Fund provisions become effective July 1, 2026, with other sections applying to the 2026-2027 school year and beyond.
  • Annual reporting cycle: Safety reports due to DPI by December 1; DPI reporting to legislature by February 1 each year.
  • Compliance and enforcement: Noncompliance triggers financial penalties, corrective actions, and possible disciplinary measures; actions reported to legislative oversight committees within defined timeframes.

Overall impact

SB 782 aims to:
- Increase parental awareness of school threats and safety planning.
- Create enforceable standards and penalties to ensure timely threat notifications.
- Reestablish governance and expert input via the Task Force for Safer Schools.
- Establish a dedicated funding stream to support crisis services, mental health resources, and safety infrastructure for schools, with a funding baseline of $25 million (nonrecurring) for 2026-27.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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