DENVER, CO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/11/13 -- Colorado State Senator Steve King will lead this year's first School Safety Summit next Friday, January 18, 2013, at the State Capitol in Denver to examine the total cost of school safety and show how Colorado's innovative approaches to school safety funding have been a model for the nation.

As new bills are considered and introduced to improve school safety, the Summits have been important networking and consensus-building events for legislators, school administrators, and those stakeholders defined by law as "community partners."

"This is where schools and first responders can make their common needs better known," said King. The School Safety Summit is free and open to the public.

Presentations are limited to 3 minutes. Open discussions last longer but are kept moving at a brisk pace. Handouts are encouraged, and gathered for immediate publication.

The event will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on Friday, January 18, in the Old Supreme Court Chambers located on the 2nd floor of the Colorado State Capitol, 200 East Colfax Avenue, Denver. Seating is limited and will be reserved for those who register online at SchoolSafetySummit.org. Interested attendees can also contact King for a seat at the speakers' table.

King announced that he will introduce legislation to include School Resource Officers in the circle of community partners defined by Colorado's Safe Schools Act (C.R.S. 22-32.109.1). In 2008, that law established the School Response Framework, a system to improve coordination among agencies when responding to school incidents. Since that time, unanimous support for 2 bipartisan bills introduced by King expanded the state's vision of community partnering for school safety.

Currently, the designated community partners are: local fire departments, state and local law enforcement agencies, local 911 agencies, interoperable communications providers, the Safe2Tell program, local emergency medical service personnel, local mental health organizations, local public health agencies, local emergency management personnel, and local or regional Homeland Security personnel.

Under the School Response Framework, schools and community partners work together to develop school safety plans and specify their responsibilities for responding to incidents. They participate in joint all-hazard training programs based on the National Incident Management System, and conduct a full range of exercises to improve preparedness and communications interoperability.

For more information and to register online visit www.SchoolSafetySummit.org.

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