Speak Up, Speak Out tipline working to address threats
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS), released the 2023-24 annual report, for Speak Up, Speak Out (SUSO). SUSO is a free, statewide threat reporting tipline, available to all Wisconsin schools.
SUSO also serves as the hub that connects all OSS initiatives and the entry point where schools can access comprehensive services offered by the OSS, as well as local, state and national partners.
“Kids in our schools should be able to focus on what they’re learning in class, without having to worry about their safety,” said Attorney Gen. Josh Kaul. “SUSO has been a remarkable success, assisting an increasing number of students and helping many schools that are working to take a comprehensive approach to school safety.”
SUSO received 5,270 tips during the 2023-24 school year, a more than 40 percent increase from the previous school year. Since the inception of SUSO in 2020, bullying has consistently been the No. 1 tip. It is also common, nationally, for bullying to be the most reported tip.
Awareness of these incidents helps schools intervene early, before grievances and upsets can lead children down a pathway to violence.
Numerous students across Wisconsin, have contacted SUSO each year, since its inception, reporting concerns, resulting in safer school communities. The significant increase in tips and the rich dialogue that many students have with SUSO staff, indicate that SUSO has earned a reputation amongst youth as a safe, accessible and credible place to report concerns.
The 2023-24 annual report, reflects OSS’ comprehensive approach to prioritizing preventing violence in schools and when crisis events do arise, responding appropriately to mitigate trauma and get students back to learning more quickly. The OSS assisted several schools with crisis response and recovery, during the 2023-24 school year.
OSS also offers a variety of free trainings concerning violence prevention, protection, mitigation, crisis response and recovery. These include trainings for Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM), Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and the Standard Reunification Method (SRM).
From Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, the OSS provided SRP and SRM training to 838 people, from 98 public school districts, private schools and tribal schools, 55 law enforcement agencies and 28 other agencies, such as Emergency Management, EMS, fire, city administration, bus companies and other community agencies.
