                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SCHOOL CRIME LINE DEFINED; DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL CRIME LINES AUTHORIZED; LOCAL
SCHOOL BOARDS&#8217; AUTHORITY; BOARD TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS (§ 22.1-280.2)

A. As used in this section, &#8220;school crime line&#8221; means a
confidential, anonymous system providing inducements for students to report any
unlawful act occurring in school buildings or on school grounds or during
school-sponsored activities to local law-enforcement authorities that is
established as a cooperative alliance between the local school board, news
media, the community, and law-enforcement officials or through a separate,
nonprofit corporation governed by a board of directors or as part of a local
&#8220;Crime Stoppers&#8221; program.

B. In order to reduce crime and violence within the school divisions in the
Commonwealth, any local school board may develop a school crime line program as
a joint, self-sustaining, cooperative alliance with news media, the community,
and law-enforcement authorities to receive, screen, and reward student reports
of unlawful acts committed in school buildings or on school grounds or at school
functions, when such reports lead to arrests or recovery of contraband or stolen
property. Police or other law-enforcement personnel shall staff every school
crime line program, receive reported information from anonymous student callers,
screen such information, and direct information for further investigation, as
may be appropriate.

C. Such programs may be established (i) by a local school board as a joint,
self-sustaining, cooperative alliance with news media, the community, and
law-enforcement authorities; (ii) through a separate nonprofit corporation
initiated jointly by the local school board, news media, the community, and
law-enforcement authorities and governed by a board of directors; or (iii) as
part of a local &#8220;Crime Stoppers&#8221; program.
			The governing board of any separate nonprofit school crime line corporation
shall include broad-based community representation and shall, through its
bylaws, set the policy, coordinate fund raising, and formulate a system of
rewards. Prior to implementation of any school crime line program and annually
thereafter, the local school board shall review and approve, as complying with
the Board&#8217;s regulations for implementation of school crime lines, its
regulations or the bylaws of any nonprofit school crime line corporation or the
bylaws of any nonprofit &#8220;Crime Stoppers&#8221; corporation operating a
school crime line. No school crime line program shall be implemented or revised
without first obtaining the local school board&#8217;s approval. Every local
school board developing a school crime line program shall also notify all
students and their parents or other custodian of the procedures and policies
governing the program prior to implementation and annually thereafter.

D. The Board shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of school crime
lines, including appropriate fund raising, and the appropriateness of and
limitations on rewards. In developing the regulations, the Board shall, in
consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, address issues relating to
civil rights, privacy, and any other question of law, including the civic duty
to report crime without compensation.

E. Local school boards may establish, as a separate account, a school crime line
fund, consisting of private contributions, local appropriations specifically
designated for such purposes, and such funds as may be appropriated for this
purpose by the Commonwealth pursuant to the appropriation act. No state or local
funds appropriated for educational purposes shall be used to implement a school
crime line.

HISTORY: 1993, c. 361; 1994, c. 721; 2022, c. 355.