Verity was developed to be a secure, confidential application. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is encrypted with the Advanced Encryption Standard (the same encryption standard utilized by the U.S. government). Data is additionally protected by strong Access Control Policies which outline the controls placed on both physical access to the computer system as well as software access in order to protect the network and data.

Texas Senate Bill 11 lays out new criteria for reporting student data each year. Verity makes it easy to quickly export data into concise reports to satisfy many of the new report requirements. Additionally, Threat Assessment Teams for each campus can utilize Verity to quickly view a comprehensive report of recent incidents in order to make informed decisions for the safety of the school. As your digital risk management headquarters, Verity can be utilized in many ways to ensure your school district is up-to-date on all state regulatory measures.

Your unique Verity settings are customizable and can be edited by administrators within your platform. Who receives automatic alerts (and when) is entirely up to your school district. Our team can help you set up the alerts that make the most sense for you.

Because the system is designed with multiple user levels that you choose, it’s possible to limit viewing for individual incidents so that only those who need to see the information are able to see it.

Our Verity team is here to help. From onboarding and learning the ins and outs of the application to troubleshooting, we can help you maximize the benefits of using Verity in your district.

Currently, Verity does not integrate with school management software, but we plan on adding this feature in upcoming versions of the software.

Verity is a SaaS application that will be hosted and maintained by our Verity team to streamline troubleshooting and management for you.

In recent years, school shootings have become more common. In 2015, only one active shooter incident at a U.S. school was reported. In 2016, there were three incidents. In 2017, there were four incidents. In 2018, five active shooter incidents in educational settings were reported. Although school shootings may be more common, they are still rare when compared to daily gun violence.

As of 2016, 92 percent of public schools had an emergency plan in place in the event of a shooting. Some states, like Texas, require their schools to submit annually updated action plans.

Between 2005 and 2017, the percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year decreased from 29 to 20 percent. This decrease was observed across all ethnicities, genders, and age groups as well as in both public and private schools.

Of the students who reported being bullied at school in 2017, 43 percent reported being bullied in the hallway or stairwell at school, 42 percent reported being bullied inside the classroom, and 27 percent reported being bullied in the cafeteria. About 22 percent of students who were bullied reported being bullied outside on school grounds, 15 percent reported being bullied online or by text, 12 percent reported being bullied in the bathroom or locker room, 8 percent reported being bullied on the school bus, and 2 percent reported being bullied somewhere else in the school building.

Data from the 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey estimated that students ages 12–18 experienced 827,000 total victimizations at school. The total victimization rates were 33 victimizations per 1,000 students at school, compared to 20 victimizations per 1,000 students away from school.

During the 2015 –16 school year, 79 percent of public schools recorded that one or more incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes had taken place, amounting to 1.4 million crimes.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reports that almost half of high school students (44 percent) know of a student who sells drugs at their school. Nearly all of them (91 percent) know someone at their school who sells marijuana. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of students know someone who sells prescription drugs, while nine percent of students know someone who sells cocaine.

The percentage of students in grades 9 – 12 who reported that illegal drugs were made available to them on school property decreased from 29 percent in 2001 to 20 percent in 2017.

The percentage of students in grades 9 – 12 who reported carrying a weapon on school property during the previous 30 days decreased from 6 percent in 2001 to 4 percent in 2017.

The percentage of students who reported having been in a physical fight on school property has decreased between 2001 and 2017 (from 13 to 9 percent).