Columbus, OH -- As schools return to session across the state, on Sep 6th, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued a memo to superintendents reminding them of the many ways in which the state can assist with school safety.

“Earlier this week, we saw a horrible, heart-breaking tragedy in Georgia. As many of our kids are in the process of going back to school, I wanted to take the opportunity to remind our school superintendents of the many options – a majority of them at no cost – that the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) can provide to their schools in order to help make our schools safer,” said Governor DeWine.

Read Governor's School Safety Memo

Governor DeWine created the Ohio School Safety (OSSC) in 2019 to be a safety support personnel spread across 16 regions covering all 88 counties in Ohio. A division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the OSSC assists all Ohio K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and first responders in preventing, preparing for, and responding to threats and acts of violence, including self-harm, through a holistic, solutions-based approach to improving school safety. Trained personnel at the Center regularly scan social media to proactively identify school threats and can provide help with school vulnerability assessments, threat assessment investigations, safety grant application guidance, and the creation or modification of school emergency management plans.

Other services include the Safer Ohio School Tip Line – 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) – a free safety resource available to all Ohio schools. The tip line is an anonymous reporting system that accepts tips via call, text, webform, and mobile app 24 hours-a-day. Anyone can download the Safer Ohio School Tip Line app or use the webform at https://app.saferohioschooltipline.com.

This tip line allows students and adults to anonymously share information with school officials and law enforcement about threats to student safety – whether that involves a threatened mass incident or harm to a single student.

Things to report to the tip line include (but are not limited to):

• Bullying incidents;
• Withdrawn student behaviors;
• Verbal or written threats observed toward students, faculty or schools;
• Hazing;
• Weapon/suspicious devices on or near school grounds;
• Gang-related activities;
• Unusual/suspicious behavior of students or staff;
• Self-harm or suicidal sentiments; and
• Any other school safety-related concerns.

Regarding the importance of students’ mental health, the Ohio Department of Education previously worked with Dr. Dewey Cornell, one of the nation’s leading experts on behavioral threat assessment, to develop an evidence-based training model to identify, assess, and manage threats and threatening behavior before it escalates to violence. This training, known as Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG), has been offered to schools and districts statewide, and nearly 650 teams in Ohio’s schools and districts are currently trained in this model. Ohio continues to offer this training at no cost to Ohio schools.