BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Board of Education (ISBOE) created a confidential form called "See Tell Now!" for students and staff to report any level of concerning information in Idaho schools.
The form routes the reported tips to the appropriate agency. Low-level tips, such as bullying, go to school administration; high-level emergencies go to local dispatch, according to ISBOE School Safety and Security Program Manager Mike Munger.
"We don't wanna end up in a situation where everyone knew what was going on, but nothing was done about it because they didn't communicate that to anyone," Munger said. "A lot of times we see kids know what is going on, but they don't have the tools to communicate it to the people who need to know."
Around 230 schools in Idaho are promoting 'See Tell Now!' This has brought awareness to roughly 110,000 Idaho students; that's roughly 1/3 of the state's K-12 population, according to Munger.
The West Ada School District is the largest in the state. They signed onto the program starting in the 2022-23 school year.
The program intends to serve as a preventative measure to stop violent incidents at schools - such as a shooting - before it occurs in the first place.
The Cassia School District (CSD) has used the program for years; it has been successful in providing troubled students with the help they need, according to CSD Student Safety Coordinator Gail Gallegos.
"I don't ever want us to have a situation where we can't return those students to their parents," Gallegos said.
Tips to CSD administration from the 'See Tell Now!' report form often include suicidal ideations and bullying, according to Gallegos. When a tip comes to the district, the Cassia Threat Assessment Team determines the credibility of the tip and how to handle it.
The threat assessment team includes Gallegos, the district superintendent, several principals, mental health experts, juvenile detention representatives, an attorney, the school resource officer, and the deputy sheriff.
"We never want to make a decision with one person on how to handle a student," Gallegos said. "The other day we had a 2.5 hour meeting on a student."
A CSD student in recent years made "significant threats" against others, according to Gallegos. The report form brought this concern to the district administration.
The student received mental health resources; the district transferred the student to a different school.
"He was upset about that, and I said, 'I'm going to be there when you graduate.' And graduation night he sent me a text saying, 'where are you?'" Gallegos said. "He's doing great. It brings tears to my eyes to think about him, because he is truly a success story."
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