(1) “Accredited nonpublic school” means a nonpublic school that:

(B) is accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency that is recognized by the state board of education.

(2) “Active event warning system” refers to a system that includes services and technology that will notify available law enforcement agencies in the area of a school building of a life threatening emergency.

(3) “ADM” refers to average daily membership determined under IC 20-43-4-2. In the case of a school corporation career and technical education school described in IC 20-37-1-1, “ADM” refers to the count on a full-time equivalency basis of students attending the school on the date ADM is determined under IC 20-43-4-2.

(4) “Board” refers to the secured school safety board established by section 3 of this chapter.

(5) “Bullying prevention program” refers to a program that must contain one (1) or more of the following components:

(A) Offers students and school personnel opportunities to develop the skills and strategies to prevent bullying and potential bullying situations in digital and physical spaces, including the usage of research based models.

(B) Enables school personnel, including school safety specialists, safe school committee members, and school resource officers, to identify and acquire the programs, technology software, resources, and training necessary concerning the:

(i) development and implementation of bullying and cyberbullying prevention programs and school violence, human trafficking, and self-harm mitigation programs;

(ii) establishment of bullying and cyberbullying investigation, intervention, and reporting procedures;

(iii) adoption of discipline rules that comply with IC 20-33-8-13.5; and

(iv) integration of the program into wider school efforts, including a school safety plan, to promote educational progress and the physical safety and well-being of school students, families, faculty, and staff.

(6) “County school safety commission” has the meaning set forth in section 12 of this chapter.

(7) “Critical incidence digital mapping” means the digitized mapping of a school building and school grounds to best assist first responders in an emergency that must:

(A) include accurate floor plans overlaid on or current aerial imagery of a school building or school plan with surrounding school grounds;

(B) include site-specific labeling that matches:

(i) the structure of the school building, including room labels, hallway names, room numbers, external doors, interior doors, stairwell numbers, locations of hazardous materials, key utility locations, key boxes, automated external defibrillators, and trauma kits; and

(ii) the school grounds, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring proprieties;

(C) be compatible with platforms and applications used by local, state, and federal public safety agencies;

(D) be verified for accuracy through a walk through of a school building and school grounds;

(E) not require the purchase of additional software for use;

(F) be accessible in a printable format;

(G) be shared with:

(i) the law enforcement agency and fire department that have jurisdiction over the mapped school building; and

(ii) the statewide 911 system as described in IC 36-8-16.7-22 through the public safety answer point, or “PSAP”, described in IC 36-8-16.7-20 that has jurisdiction over the mapped school building; and

(H) be kept confidential and withheld from public disclosure.

(8) “Fund” refers to the Indiana secured school fund established by section 2 of this chapter.

(9) “Law enforcement agency” refers to a state, local, or federal agency or department that would respond to an emergency event at a school, including both on duty and off duty officers within the agency or department.

(10) “Multi-disciplinary threat assessment team” means a group of individuals with expertise in school physical security, school administration, educational instruction, youth counseling, mental health and behavioral health, and law enforcement established by the leadership of the school corporation or charter school that may serve one (1) or more schools, that must meet the following requirements:

(A) Be comprised of at least:

(i) a school safety specialist or an individual designated by the school safety committee;

(ii) a member of a safe school committee;

(iii) a school building level administrator;

(iv) a school resource officer, if one (1) is either employed by or assigned to the school corporation or charter school;

(v) an individual with expertise in special education; and

(vi) a school counselor or social worker.

(B) Conduct multi-disciplinary threat assessments that shall:

(i) provide guidance to students, faculty, and staff regarding the recognition of threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to the community, school, or self;

(ii) identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported;

(iii) establish procedures to assess, identify, and intervene with individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school students, families, faculty, and staff; and

(iv) inform the adoption, implementation, and updating of policies adopted by the school corporation or charter school, including school safety plans and the policies of a safe school committee for a particular school.

(11) “Safe school committee” means a safe school committee established under section 14 of this chapter.

(12) “School corporation or charter school” refers to an individual school corporation, a school corporation career and technical education school described in IC 20-37-1-1, or a charter school but also includes:

(A) a coalition of school corporations;

(B) a coalition of charter schools; or

(C) a coalition of both school corporations and charter schools;

that intend to jointly employ a school resource officer or to jointly apply for a matching grant under this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(13) “School official” refers to an employee of a school corporation, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school who has access to an active event warning system.

(14) “School resource officer” has the meaning set forth in IC 20-26-18.2-1.

(15) “School safety plan” means the school safety plan described in section 10 of this chapter.

(16) “School safety specialist” means a school safety specialist designated under section 9 of this chapter.

(17) “Site vulnerability assessment” means an examination of the physical safety, security, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of buildings and grounds.

(18) “Student safety management technology” refers to an information technology platform and related services to improve student safety by mitigating cyberbullying, school violence, human trafficking, and self-harm.

As added by P.L.172-2013, SEC.6. Amended by P.L.40-2014, SEC.6; P.L.109-2015, SEC.30; P.L.50-2019, SEC.1; P.L.92-2020, SEC.8; P.L.150-2023, SEC.2.