Colorado students reported a record number of concerns about suicide, bullying and problems with schools and home life last school year.

Safe2Tell saw 28,218 reports for the 2023-24 school year, the largest in the history of the anonymous reporting system. That’s a 23% increase over the previous year.

“The increase in reports reflects both the growing challenges facing youth and the commitment of Safe2Tell trainers and ambassadors to raising awareness in Colorado,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser. “Students today need support more than ever, and I’m grateful that Safe2Tell provides a trusted and accessible platform where they can voice their concerns and help make our schools safer for everyone.”

At the same time, the monthly report for October showed a 26 percent drop in report volume compared to a record September.

Students and others can contact Safe2Tell to make anonymous reports to local law enforcement and school officials. It is not an emergency response unit or a provider of mental health counseling services, although officials can refer students and families to support services.

For the first time, the most reported category in Safe2Tell history last school year was school complaints. Suicide, assault, drugs and school threats followed.

School complaints are a broad category that includes issues within a school, such as conflicts between students, staff and the community, or school security. The report recommends replacing the broad category of school complaints with three new categories — school personnel complaints, building complaints and policy-related safety concerns.

“These categories sharpen our focus on specific safety concerns, empowering school districts and law enforcement to better support Colorado’s children and communities,” said Safe2Tell Director Stacey Jenkins. “This approach ultimately creates safer schools where students feel their concerns are understood and addressed appropriately.”

For people who self-reported, harassment was by far the top category.

False reports accounted for 3.7 percent of all reports submitted to the program this year. False reports are defined as those that contain untrue information and are submitted with the intent to harm, injure or assault another person. This number has gradually increased over the years.

Examples of stories

The report highlights a number of examples of how the system has helped students. Last September, a person reported that a student said he was struggling with his mental health and wanted to be hospitalized. Local crews conducted a welfare check and spoke with the student’s parent. The hospital admitted the student and local teams conducted a suicide assessment. As a result, the student is now on a safety plan.

In January, a person reported that a student threw a knife at other students. Local crews investigated and the school resource officer found a gun on the student. Disciplinary action was taken in the school.

In April, a person reported that a student was blackmailing a classmate and sending inappropriate photos of that classmate to classmates. The school teams investigated spoke to the student and their parent, took disciplinary action, facilitated a restorative conversation with the student and arranged counseling for them.

The report offers a number of recommendations for improving the system, such as increasing the number of teacher training sessions offered, including an asynchronous course developed for educators, and starting routine data auditing starting next school year.