The Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) hosted its annual School Safety Symposium Oct. 14, bringing together early care providers, school teams, mental health professionals, and first responders from across the county.
The event focused on strengthening Comprehensive School Safety Plans (CSSPs), improving coordination during emergencies, and better supporting students with special needs and those who may be struggling at school or at home.
The full-day training included sessions on youth mental health and suicide prevention; the impact of opioids in the community; managing school threats; and building safety plans that support and include students with disabilities.
“We launched the School Safety Symposium series two years ago to bring schools, law enforcement, and community partners together around a shared goal — protecting and caring for our students,” said Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools.
“It’s inspiring to see that commitment continue to grow,” she said. “When we collaborate across sectors, we not only strengthen our response systems, but also our collective capacity to support our students before, during, and after a crisis.”
The symposium featured expert presenters including Ashley Kelly-Holden and Michelle Kurta of Youthwell, Jarret Morris of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Rosy Bucio and Lisa Foote of the Santa Barbara County Special Education Local Plan Area, and Cherylynn Lee of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, who facilitated a multi-agency law enforcement panel with representatives from Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara.
The gathering was coordinated by SBCEO’s Student and Community Services team: Associate Superintendent Bridget Baublits, School Safety Liaison Dennis Thomas, and Director Elise Simmons.
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brad Welch described the gathering as “more than a meeting; it’s a commitment to proactive collaboration, shared responsibility, and unified preparedness from Santa Maria all the way down to Carpinteria. By bringing together diverse voices and expertise, we ensure that our strategies reflect the real needs of students, staff and families.”
The 2025 Symposium builds on the countywide momentum established through SBCEO’s multi-year series of safety trainings.
Other topics have included prevention and response to campus violence, and family reunification after emergencies.
Together, these efforts are helping schools countywide establish well-prepared crisis response teams and adopt a common language for safety through the Standard Response Protocols, which outline five key actions that guide how schools and law enforcement respond during or near an emergency.
“The Safety Symposium was incredibly helpful because it gave us focused time to refine and strengthen our district’s safety plans,” said Anne Hubbard, superintendent of Hope School District. “Hearing from such a range of experts helped our team think more broadly and make sure our plans meet the needs of every student we serve.”
Dennis Thomas, SBCEO School Safety Liaison who previously served as a sheriff’s resource deputy in Lompoc schools, said the goal is for every campus “to have a cohesive, practiced, and inclusive safety plan that reflects the diverse needs of students and staff.”
SBCEO maintains school safety resources at www.sbceo.org/school-safety. The site includes templates for safety plans, bilingual materials on the Standard Response Protocols, Standard Reunification Method, and additional training resources.