Hello School Safety Leaders,
Happy September, I hope you've had a strong start to the school year. As we get settled into the school year I want to bring something to your attention.
September and October: A Recurring Pattern for Swatting and Bomb Threats
School safety experts have long flagged the start of the school year as a period of heightened swatting and bomb threat activity, and national data backs this up. David Riedman's K-12 School Shooting Database, the leading national tracker, recorded 728 swatting incidents at K-12 schools during the 2023-24 school year. The good news: Riedman's more recent tracking shows the national count has leveled off since its 2023 peak, following the arrest of several serial callers. The takeaway isn't alarm, it's preparation: districts that refresh their protocols before the fall window arrives are simply staying ready for a known pattern.
What can you do?
Prepare
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Build your bomb threat and swatting response into your site-based Safe Schools Plan, not as an afterthought
- Handle every threat case by case with local law enforcement; there should be no automatic evacuation unless a bomb is obvious, staying in place may be the safer option
- Pre-arrange law enforcement access to your building, keys or fobs in a Knox box, so responders aren't forcing entry during a hoax
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Train staff on their assigned areas: check for anything out of place or suspicious, and never move or handle it
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Draft your family notification messages before an incident happens, including a ready answer to "why didn't you evacuate?"
- Give families specific instructions in advance: what to do and where to go, if...
- After any incident, connect with your local FBI Field Office and regional Fusion Center to support national tracking and information sharing
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Encourage early reporting: hoax threats are federal crimes, and students and staff speaking up early is the best deterrent
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You must practice. None of this matters if it stays on paper. Protocols need to be run with staff well before an actual event, not read for the first time in the middle of one. You don't want to be searching for a document or figuring out a procedure while a call is coming in; that's exactly the moment these steps need to already be second nature.
Protecting Boys from Youth Gambling and Prediction apps
Gambling has quietly become one of the fastest growing risks facing adolescent boys. With sports betting now legal in most states and betting apps, fantasy leagues, and prediction markets woven into everyday sports culture, national data shows about one in three boys ages 11 to 17 gambled in the past year, rising to nearly half of 16 and 17 year olds. Research shows boys are at higher risk than girls of developing a gambling problem, and starting young (by age 12 or earlier) significantly raises the risk of a lasting problem.
What to watch for: preoccupation with sports odds, borrowing or lending money among peers, mood swings tied to wins and losses, secrecy around a phone or betting app, and declining grades. If you see these signs, reach out to your school counselor, SRO, or SSO. Families can also call the Washington State Problem Gambling Helpline anytime at 1-800-547-6133. It's confidential and free. The linked Youth Gambling Prevention Guide is a resource for SRO/SSO and School Staff - it will help recognize warning signs and protect students, with a focus on adolescent boys.
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The Great ShakeOut - Are you Ready? |
September Countdown: Get Your Building Ready to Shake |
The Cascadia Subduction Zone doesn't wait for a convenient staff meeting, and neither should we. The Great Washington ShakeOut lands on October 15 at 10:15 a.m., which means September is prep month, not October. A "drop, cover, and hold" drill only works if the details behind it are already confirmed: who does what, where people go, and who is trained to do it.
This month, walk your building and plan and practice the following:
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Confirm your building's participation in the Great Washington ShakeOut, October 15 at 10:15 a.m., and get it on every calendar now.
- Complete a nonstructural hazard walk-through (the falling and shifting hazards, not the structure itself).
- Review and update your access and functional needs (AFN) student assignments so every student who needs support during a drop, cover, and hold has a named adult assigned to them.
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Confirm and post your outdoor assembly area.
- Confirm your high ground or pedestrian evacuation route, if your building sits in a mapped lahar or tsunami zone.
- Confirm your reunification site.
- Confirm your gas shutoff location and who on staff is trained to operate it.
- Confirm your water shutoff location and who on staff is trained to operate it.
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Confirm where building emergency supplies are stored.
- Confirm which staff are trained on evacuation chairs and other assistive equipment.
- Do you know your first responders? Introduce yourself, or reconnect, with your local fire, EMS, and law enforcement contacts before an emergency, not during one.
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None of this takes long to check in September. All of it takes real time to fix if a gap turns up in October instead. Reach out to your School Safety Coordinator team if you'd like a model earthquake annex to organize the walkthrough; we're glad to share one.
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September is Suicide Prevention Month |
September is also a good time to review and update your suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies and procedures. Check out my colleague Ashia Smock's newsletter, she's our Behavioral Health Coordinator. If you need staff trained or want help with your policies and procedures, please reach out to her directly.
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Dear School Leaders,
The NWESD School Safety and Wellness Symposium has been rescheduled to October 14-15 and it will be in Anacortes.
This year's symposium features the nationally recognized Circle of Trust workshop, an interactive, scenario-based experience that helps schools move beyond written emergency plans by building the trust, coordination, and confidence needed to respond effectively during real-world crises. Working alongside regional emergency response partners, participants will strengthen prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery through practical application.
We're also honored to welcome keynote speakers Carly Posey and Reichen Posey, who will share their experiences following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the lessons they've learned about resilience, preparedness, and the importance of strong partnerships in protecting school communities.
We hope you'll join us to learn together, exchange ideas, and continue building the relationships that strengthen school safety efforts statewide.
When: October 14-15, 2026
Where: Seafarers' Memorial Park | Anacortes, WA
Cost: $250 | Clock hours available | Lunch included
Hosted by: Northwest Educational Services District 189, School Safety and Wellness Center
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Back to School: Communicable Disease Awareness For District Leadership |
As schools prepare to reopen, districts should ensure they are ready to respond quickly to communicable disease exposures and outbreaks. Recent measles exposures in two Washington districts disrupted learning and required staff to provide proof of immunity. Pertussis also remains a concern, while influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 continue to circulate. Increased summer travel may further increase exposure risks. District leaders are encouraged to review Infectious Disease Control Guide for School Staff for guidance on preparedness and response.
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HIB Updates Modules for 2026-27 |
OSPI provides an asynchronous training course via Canvas that meets the mandatory training requirement for District HIB Compliance Officers in RCW 28A.600.477. This course is also valuable for school administrators or others who are responsible for responding to and supporting the investigation of HIB incidents.
To Access the HIB Modules:
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OSPI has updated its model student handbook language for the 2026–27 school year. In addition to minor revisions to improve clarity for students and families, the model language also includes new information on the willful noncompliance complaint process, as required in ESHB 1296, and the ESB 5272 safety protections at school activities and events.
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Emergency Operations Planning Support |
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SchoolSafetyGov is the official account of School Safety.gov. Likes, links, reposts, followers & endorsements.
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Erum Mohiuddin she/her
emohiuddin@nwesd.org
Comprehensive School Safety Coordinator
Northwest Educational Service District 189
360-299-4006
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