Thanks for participating in this important community program. We’ve developed resources to help support you and will continue to add additional materials as this program evolves. We are excited to get to know everyone and look forward to celebrating your dedication to your community and sharing best practices together at our quarterly lunch meetings.
Resource Page Index
*Please read the entire resource page before reviewing the Interview Script.
- Volunteer Training & Support
- DBM Closure Intake Form
- Conducting the Interview
- Resources for the Client
- Children with Disabilities
- Suing the School District
- Identity of Opposing Parties
VOLUNTEER TRAINING & SUPPORT
If you missed the initial volunteer training or you’d like to review any portion of the training, you can access it here:
2023 Updated DBM Intake Training
2022 DBM Intake Training
SALSA will send emails with any program updates and will keep this site up-to-date with the most recent information, so please bookmark this page in your favorites bar.
We’ve included a brief overview of the laws that govern the issues that our clients most often run into. Please review it to familiarize yourself with the landscape before you dive into the process materials. Relevant Legislation Overview
DBM INTAKE CLOSURE FORM
Upon completion of your intake phone call, please compete the DBM Intake Closure Form. A link has been sent to you by SALSA staff in you welcome email.
CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
Please utilize the Intake Script to guide your discussions with the potential clients. You should stick to the script as much as possible so that you don’t miss any pertinent resources that may be available to the client.
Please review this script in depth prior to your first interview so that you are familiar with the likely topics you’ll be addressing.
RESOURCES FOR THE CLIENT
There are few documents that are on the David’s Legacy Foundation website that are referenced in the Intake Script. They are included below for your use during your interviews. Feel free to email them to download them and email them to the client if it is easier for the client to receive over email.
A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Bullying – Texas State School Safety Center (includes bullying checklist)
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Sometimes a potential client with a disabled child may have a separate and distinct legal issue that is related to the child’s disability (school isn’t following the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), complying with ADA requirements, etc.). The potential client may need assistance from an attorney who specializes in disability law. SALSA’s partner, Disability Rights TX, is happy to work with us to take referrals in these types of cases. If you speak with a potential client in this situation, please be sure to note this fact in the DBM Intake Closure Form. SA-LSA staff will provide proper resources and transfer.
SUING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
The DBM Project does not sue school districts because David’s Legacy Foundation is committed to working alongside schools to create safer environments for Texas children, however, if the client is interested in pursuing a claim against the school they will receive Texas Civil Rights Project referral information in an email from SA-LSA staff.
ANONYMOUS REPORTING
There may be times when the applicant does not want to have their name linked to a report, but has concerns for their child’s safety if the incident is not reported. iWatchTexas is an anonymous community reporting system that is available to parents to report school safety issues.
IDENTITY OF OPPOSING PARTIES
If a caller would like to be referred to SALSA to be matched with a volunteer attorney to draft a cease and desist letter, please tell them that they must have (1) the child exhibiting the bullying behavior’s name and address, and (2) the names and address(es) for that child’s parents. If there is more than one child involved, then children and parents’ contact information. An attorney must have this information for a couple of reasons (1) to run a conflicts check, and (2) to know the appropriate place to send a cease and desist letter. It is the caller’s responsibility to provide that information. SALSA will not search for addresses. If the caller already has the contact information, it can be provided during intake and noted to SALSA staff upon referral of the case. If they do not have it, but plan to search, please make a note of that. You are also welcome to share with them the following search resources:
- The county appraisal district website in the county in which their school is located will allow searches of addresses or names (assuming the parent is a homeowner).
- If the caller knows the other parent’s name, they can do a driver’s license database name search (Publicdata.com) and look for those within the district boundary.
Until contact information for the other parties are provided, SALSA will not be able to match a caller with a volunteer attorney.
POSITION REPLACEMENT
If you you are unable to complete your volunteer assignment, we ask that you help locate a replacement to take over from you. Please notify Tashawna (TashawnaT@sa-lsa.org) if you need to make a substitution.