June 18, 2026 – HOOVER, Ala. – Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. and Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Admiral Brian Christine, will open the 36th annual National School Safety Conference, June 29 – July 2, in Reno, Nevada. The two government officials will be speaking on federal initiatives to support law enforcement, bolster school safety, and to strengthen safety guidance around cell phone use and screens for children.
The conference schedule also includes more than 40 breakout sessions on a wide variety of important topics, including:
- A Sneak Peek into the Federal School Safety Task Force’s New Report with a Focus on Understanding Child Exploitation & Empowering Students to Protect Themselves, by Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, July 1, 8 – 9:30 a.m. This session will provide attendees with an early look at emerging trends and equip school resource officers with tools to identify victims, support students, and help prevent tragic outcomes. Reports of online child exploitation continue to surge, driven by social media, gaming platforms, encrypted messaging apps, and the growing misuse of AI, creating new threats such as financial sextortion and AI-generated intimate images.
- Tracking School Swatters and Shooters Through Leakage and Holding Them Accountable, by Rich Wistocki, July 2, 8 a.m. In this interactive session, Wistocki will teach school officials and law enforcement how to investigate swatting incidents and online school threats, collect critical evidence, and quickly identify suspects using cyber investigative techniques.
- The Day You Train For — and the Things You Don’t Expect, by James Englert, Douglas County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office, July 2, 8 a.m. Englert will provide a rare and powerful firsthand account from the school resource officer who was on scene and responded to the 2013 shooting at Colorado’s Arapahoe High School, in which an 18-year-old student shot and killed a 17-year-old student with a shotgun.
- We've Got a Monster: Hunting Sexual Predators in Our Schools, by Jason Stoddard, Director of School Safety and Security, Charles County (Maryland) Public Schools, July 2, 12:45 p.m. Stoddard examines how employee sexual misconduct and grooming behaviors can go undetected in school environments and the warning signs SROs should recognize. Attendees will learn investigative strategies and prevention techniques to identify predatory behavior early and better protect students.
The above dates and times are subject to change. A complete, continuously updated schedule of sessions is available on NASRO’s website.
In addition to the breakout sessions described above, the conference will offer several compelling general sessions for all attendees, including proactive ways to prevent mass shootings and other threats in schools, identifying human trafficking victims, and the importance of interpersonal connections in keeping children safe.
In 2025, over 2,000 people attended the NASRO National School Safety Conference in Grapevine, Texas. More than 1,600 people have already registered for this year’s edition. In addition to multiple presentations, the event will offer attendees an opportunity to receive in-service training; visit an exhibit hall with the latest in products, technologies and innovations; and interact with school resource officers, school administrators, sheriffs and chiefs of police from throughout the country and world.
More information about the conference, including a complete agenda and online registration, is available at www.nasro.org/conference/.
Complimentary credentials are available to working journalists covering the conference. NASRO requests that journalists who wish to attend inform NASRO’s media contact (below) as soon as possible.
About NASRO
NASRO is a nonprofit organization for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators and school security/safety professionals working as partners to protect students, school faculty and staff, and the schools they attend. NASRO’s national offices are in Hoover, Alabama. The organization was established in 1991. For more information, visit www.nasro.org.
Media Contact:
Kaitlin Candelaria, Communications and Marketing Manager, NASRO
[email protected] | 205.329.8382