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New Data System in Florida Seeks to Prevent School Violence

Government Technology | December 19, 2024

The Florida Department of Education will use a new web portal to assess and address the behavioral issues of students statewide, according to the safety software company Versaterm.

The Florida Department of Education will use an online portal to track student behavior statewide starting next school year.

The Safety and Threat Management Portal (STMP), developed by safety software company Versaterm, aims to help schools identify and address concerning student behavior before it becomes a threat, according to a recent news release.

The portal will store and track the behavioral records of students statewide, provide a protocol for schools to assess student welfare and connect kids with timely support, and standardize the way Florida schools report and manage real and potential threats, the news release said.

The hope is that this systemic, data-driven approach will boost student safety by homing in on the behavioral issues that often precede acts of violence, according to Adam Schwartz, chief revenue officer at Versaterm.“The evolved school safety landscape demands a holistic, proactive approach,” Schwartz said in a public statement. “Florida’s new STMP equips schools with the tools to address potential threats effectively, ensuring a supportive and secure learning environment.”

In addition to providing a framework for threat evaluation and management, the portal also allows schools to transfer student records securely, so if a student switches schools within the state, the new school will have ready access to their behavioral information, the news release said.

As a separate service, STMP will manage the data associated with Florida’s School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting (SESIR) system, according to Versaterm. In place since 1995, SESIR requires schools to report data on specific crimes, violence and disruptive behaviors that occur on school property or off campus at school-sponsored events.Currently, schools send this data to district officials, who pass it along to the Florida Department of Education, where it’s compiled into an annual report, per SESIR’s website. Starting in fall 2025, STMP will “receive, analyze and aggregate SESIR report data and make it readily available,” the news release said.

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