House Bill 123 passed the 133rd Ohio General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on December 21, 2020. A few of the impacts are highlighted below:
- Transfers school emergency management responsibilities from the Ohio Department of Education to the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
- Requires schools and districts to adopt an anonymous reporting program of their choosing beginning with the first full school year following the date the bill passes (2021-2022 school year). Schools can enroll in the Ohio School Safety Center’s free Safer Ohio School Tip Line or sign up with a third party service that shares data with the State.
- Requires every 6-12 grade school building to create a threat assessment team within two years of the effective date.
- Requires all schools and districts to provide annual training covering suicide awareness and prevention, safety training and violence prevention, and social inclusion for grades 6-12.
For additional requirements and an in-depth review, read the full analysis here.
The OSSC will provide more information on how to comply with these requirements as information becomes available.
School Safety Training Grant Now Open!
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has notified schools about the opportunity to apply for their share of $10 million in school safety grants for the 2020-2021 school year. Funding for the grants comes from House Bill 166, the main operating budget, and are administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. These grants provide school leaders with the flexibility to decide how the grant funds can benefit school safety and security efforts.
The deadline to apply is January 29, 2021. Read more here.
The OSSC will continue to share new grant opportunities as they become available.
Are schools required to do fire and tornado drills during the COVID-19 pandemic?
If my school is going to have a bifurcated or split schedule, are drills required for each “shift” of students?
Are drills required if a school begins in-person classes and then switches to an on-line format or vice versa?
For answers to these questions and more, check out the State Fire Marshal's website and the FAQ list, available here.
If you have any questions regarding the information contained in the FAQ list, please contact the Department of Commerce Code Enforcement Bureau via any of the following:
Phone: (614) 728-5460 or toll-free at (888) 276-0303
Email: sfm_codeenf@com.state.oh.us
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January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, so there is no better time than now to lift up the role schools and education professionals can play in keeping students safe from trafficking and exploitation. One group often overlooked in these conversations is school transportation. For nearly half of Ohio’s school children, school bus drivers are the first adult they see at the start of their school day, and the last they see before returning home each day. These professionals are also often keenly aware of red flags or changes that do not fit in with their usual route or routine.
That’s why Busing on the Lookout (BOTL) is on a mission to get every school transportation employee in North America equipped and educated to combat human trafficking. BOTL’s free training materials provide industry-specific information about the issue of human trafficking, how to recognize it, and what steps to take if there is a suspected trafficking situation.
Learn more about the program on BOTL's website: https://truckersagainsttrafficking.org/pupil-transportation/ or join them for a national virtual briefing on January 20 at 2 p.m. ET.
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