FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
February 22, 2018
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
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ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL AND ALABAMA
INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION DR. ED RICHARDSON
ANNOUNCE CYBER SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR
SCHOOL FACULTY AND PARENTS
Attorney General’s Office to Train School Faculty and Parents in Student Online
Safety Practices and How to Report Suspicious Activity to Law Enforcement
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Alabama Interim
Superintendent of Education Dr. Ed Richardson announced today a partnership between the
Attorney General’s Office and the State Superintendent’s Office to provide cyber training to
assist parents and school faculty in safe online practices for students. The training will also
instruct school faculty and parents in reporting to law enforcement any suspicious activity
aimed at students and schools.
“I would like to thank Dr. Ed Richardson and the State Department of Education for their
partnership in empowering parents and teachers with the ability to shield our children from
online threats,” said Attorney General Marshall. “We have been working together for several
months to develop cyber training that helps parents and teachers determine if children are
being targeted and how to report it to law enforcement. Our training is focused on protecting
our children and our schools.
“Last week, my office announced the creation of a new Cyber Crime Lab to assist state and local
law enforcement in targeting and prosecuting cyber criminals who prey upon our citizens.
Today, my office is announcing a new partnership with the Alabama Department of Education
to focus on ways to guard our young people from cyber predators.
“Nothing is more precious than our children and a well-informed parent is the best defense for
a child from online threats. My office will provide training to parents about online risks
confronting children every day as well as ways to become involved in their social media
activities while giving them the space to be independent. Our experts will cover the most
common smart phone applications (apps) accessible to young people which predators often use
to contact young victims, as well as apps that allow young smart phone users to hide files and
photos from parents.
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov Page 2 of 2
“My office will also work with the State Department of Education and the makers of
smartphone applications to develop policies that address child safety and security issues before
they start. Furthermore, cybercrime experts from my office will provide training to school
administrators and faculty on how to preserve digital evidence and when to contact law
enforcement.”
Schools and parents may contact the State Department of Education at comm@alsde.edu to
request a training session. Training sessions will be open to the public.
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