Belton: School district to start using anti-bullying app

A new application for a Central Texas school district will hopefully empower students to speak up when they've experienced bullying or saw something suspicious at school.

At a board meeting Monday night, Belton ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Kincannon gave the green light for the district to use the anti-bullying app.

The “Anonymous Alerts” app will allow students to submit an incident without having to reveal who they are. Students can even engage in a private two-way conversation with an official.

“It empowers our students to let us know of safety issues or concerns. Having an app in place for students to do that anonymously will allow them to give us important information,” Kincannon said.

When a student or parent submits anything — from bullying to school threats — that tip is sent immediately to school officials.

“Our students are a big factor in school and when they see something, if they can tell us and give us information anonymously to make our schools more secure, then that's what we want to do,” Kincannon added.

Belton ISD will join 130-plus districts across Texas to use the “Anonymous Alerts” app.

Now, when will the district start using the app?

Officials say administrators will be trained this week and then testing will take place at Belton Middle School.

The app will be available for iPhone, Android devices and Chrome store.