School District of Philadelphia, police to debut new Handle With Care program for students
School District of Philadelphia, police to debut new Handle With Care program for students
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The School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Police Department are launching a new program aimed at helping students who have experienced a traumatic event outside of the classroom.
The program is called Handle With Care, and its efforts begin outside of the school setting. According to the School District of Philadelphia, if police officers encounter a student while responding to an incident, the school will be notified so they can supply the student with extra layers of support throughout the day.
This year, Handle With Care will run as a pilot program for 15 schools within the 22nd Police District, which covers North Philadelphia areas, including Strawberry Mansion, Yorktown, Brewerytown and East Fairmount Park, among others. The school district and police department hope to roll out the program city-wide during the 2026-2027 school year.
Leaders from PPD and the school district will hold a press conference about the program on Monday at 10 a.m.
A $1 million grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance through the Office of Justice Programs provided training related to student exposure to violence and trauma to 300 law enforcement members and 100 school staff members over the past year, according to the School District of Philadelphia.
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