I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5126 

To promote the creation of State anonymous school threat reporting 

programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 1, 2023 

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington (for herself and Mr. HIMES) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To promote the creation of State anonymous school threat 

reporting programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe to Tell Act of 

5 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may make 

8 grants to States that enact a law described in section 3 

9 and otherwise conforms its laws to the requirements of 

10 section 3. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5126 IH

1 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A grant under this sec2 tion may be used for the establishment of a program de3 scribed in section 3. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under 

5 this section shall submit to the Attorney General an appli6 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

7 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re8 quire, including a copy of the law described in section 3(a). 

9 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of fis11 cal years 2024 through 2028. 

12 SEC. 3. STATE LAW DESCRIBED. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—A law described in this section is 

14 a law establishing a program described in subsection (b). 

15 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A program estab16 lished under subsection (a) shall— 

17 (1) establish and maintain methods (including a 

18 telephone hotline, a mobile application, and a 

19 website) that provide individuals with the means to 

20 relay information anonymously concerning unsafe, 

21 potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal 

22 activities, or the threat of these activities, to appro23 priate law enforcement and public safety agencies 

24 and school officials; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5126 IH

1 (2) establish methods and procedures to ensure 

2 that the identity of the reporting parties remains un3 known to all persons and entities, including law en4 forcement officers and employees operating the pro5 gram; 

6 (3) establish methods and procedures so that 

7 information obtained from a reporting party who 

8 voluntarily discloses his or her identity and verifies 

9 that he or she is willing to be identified may be 

10 shared with law enforcement officers, employees op11 erating the program, and with school officials; 

12 (4) establish methods and procedures to ensure 

13 that a reporting party’s identity that becomes known 

14 through any means other than voluntary disclosure 

15 is not further disclosed; 

16 (5) promptly forward information received by 

17 the program to the appropriate law enforcement or 

18 public safety agency or school officials; 

19 (6) train law enforcement dispatch centers, 

20 school districts, individual schools, and other entities 

21 on appropriate awareness and response to informa22 tion received under the program; 

23 (7) provide awareness and education materials 

24 to participating schools and school district; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5126 IH

1 (8) monitor each reporting method under the 

2 program 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, includ3 ing providing an answering service staffed with an 

4 individual trained in receiving reports under the pro5 gram; 

6 (9) provide accountability and quality assurance 

7 measures, including disposition reporting, as well as 

8 measures to prevent abuse; 

9 (10) provide that, except as provided under 

10 paragraph (11), materials created or obtained 

11 through the implementation or operation of the pro12 gram are confidential, and a person shall not dis13 close the material; and 

14 (11) provide that a person administering the 

15 program may not be compelled to produce any infor16 mation received under the program or other mate17 rials produced as part of the program except on the 

18 motion of a criminal defendant to the court in which 

19 the offense is being tried. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB