PublicSchoolWORKS Stay Safe. Speak Up! vs. Safer Ohio School Tip Line

As a district leader, educator, parent or student you want the peace of mind that students and staff are able to learn and work in a safe environment. Whether your top concern is student bullying, improving student mental well-being, preventing imminent threats, ensuring your schools are harassment free, or anything of the like, it’s critical to invest in tools and policies to address those concerns.

Today we’re going to compare two different school threat reporting systems: PublicSchoolWORKS Stay Safe. Speak Up! and the Safer Ohio School Tip Line. Keep scrolling for what these two systems are, why your district needs one, and the key differences!

What are Stay Safe. Speak Up! and the Ohio Safer School Tip Lines?

Stay Safe. Speak Up! and the Ohio Safer School Tip lines are both 24/7, anonymous school threat reporting systems that are House Bill 123 compliant. Stay Safe. Speak Up! also has an accompanying app for reporting, and a software solution for administrators which automates notifications and reporting, and provides a central dashboard for monitoring and updating cases.

Why does your district need to use a school threat reporting system?

In March of 2021, Ohio became the first state to enact the Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act through House Bill 123. The SAVE Students Act requires Ohio schools to implement the following:

• Trained threat assessment team that works to address threats
• Require schools serving grades 6-12 to administer annual youth violence prevention trainings each year
• Train teachers on suicide awareness and prevention
• Requires each school district to contract with an anonymous reporting system
• Ensure students are able to anonymously report threats or safety concerns to officials so they can be addressed in a timely manner
• School buildings serving grades 6-12 to establish a student led violence prevention club

Seven Features Stay Safe. Speak Up! has that Ohio Safer School Tip Line Doesn’t

Although both anonymous reporting systems are HB 123 compliant, Stay Safe. Speak Up! was built to be a more comprehensive software solution to eliminate manual tracking and ensure a centralized source of data for monitoring, tracking and reporting. Below we’ll cover the key differences between the two systems:

1. A Mobile App

Stay Safe. Speak Up! gives each district access to the app which allows students, parents, community members and teachers to report threats easily from their cell phone. Currently, the Ohio Safer Schools Tip Line only accepts phone calls, texts and emails.

2. Uploading Photos

Stay Safe. Speak Up! allows reporters to upload:

• Images
• Videos
• Documents

This is most common if someone sees a threat or something concerning on social media or via text. This is especially helpful in platforms such as Snapchat, WhatsApp and iMessages where messages automatically delete or can be deleted by the sender.

3. District-Selected Top 5 Call Tree

Stay Safe. Speak Up! is monitored 24/7/365 with trained professionals to answer calls and assess app and web form submissions. The live attendant ensures all reports are appropriately entered into the district’s report library.

Once the report is entered, central office and school contacts are sent an email notification. They can then easily access all reports, update and track case records, document investigations and/or interventions, as well as report child abuse.

If the attendant receives a call from a student who is in distress, the attendant stays on the line with them and seamlessly transfers them to an appropriate crisis resource. For immediate threats to school safety, the attendant initiates a call tree to the district’s pre-identified key five contacts until someone is reached.

The Safer Ohio School Tip Line doesn’t provide specific details into their elevation process or which district leaders they contact or how.

4. Automated Ohio Department of Education Reporting

Stay Safe. Speak Up! automates the tracking process and auto-generates the spreadsheet you’re required to submit to ODE. Ohio Safer School Tip Line provides the spreadsheet for you to download and manually track reports yourself. Some of our districts get hundreds of reports a year, so tracking manually can quickly become a time-consuming, unmanageable task.

5. Implementation Support

Stay Safe. Speak Up! implementation is guided by your dedicated PublicSchoolWORKS Safety Advisor to ensure the solution meets your district’s need. They walk your district leaders through the process step-by-step, and provide resources to communicate the partnership with teachers, students, and parents, including grade level posters, ID card stickers, and a toolkit which includes student instructions, website content, sample press release, parent communication, and sample social media posts.

Ohio Safer School Tip Line requires you to complete a request form online. From there, you can check on the status of your request via email. They also allow you to order posters and tip cards as you see fit.

6. Customer Service Support

With Stay Safe. Speak Up! help is always just a click or a call away. We know how frustrating it is when you have a question and can’t seem to connect with a human to talk it through. Our call center is always available for quick questions and troubleshooting, and if you need to adjust your PublicSchoolWORKS program, you dedicated Safety Advisor is available M-F, 9-5 to find the right solution for your district.

Ohio Safer School Tip Line offers an email address for you to reach out and ask questions. You may be able to call the Ohio School Safety Center for help, but their website directs you to reach out via email.

7. Trend Reporting

Stay Safe. Speak Up! provides administrators with trend data that details who, what and where school safety concerns are occurring. This helps provide you with actionable data on how to improve school safety.

Since Ohio School Safety Center doesn’t automate the reporting of tips, they’re unable to provide this level of data reporting.

Improving school safety requires a comprehensive approach and involves alignment from staff to administrators. It also requires insight into where the safety concerns are happening so you can address the why. Stay Safe. Speak Up! is a smart solution that ensures you’re compliant with state laws and helps you leverage technology to save time and affect positive change for your district.