Keeping Ohio Schools Safe
Early identification, targeted student support, and safer learning environments for Ohio schools.
SAVE Students Act
The SAVE Students Act, also known as Ohio House Bill 123 (2021), became public law on March 24, 2021, and includes requirements related to topics such as threat assessment, emergency management plans, anonymous reporting, suicide awareness and prevention, and more.
Fill out the form to the right to see how Raptor solutions can help Ohio schools meet these critical safety requirements.
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| SAVE Students Act | Raptor Alignment |
|---|---|
| Each local, city, exempted village, and joint vocational school district shall create a threat assessment team for each school building in the district that serves grades 6-12. | Raptor StudentSafe™ supports behavioral threat assessment (BTA) teams by allowing all staff to capture low-level concerns and document interventions. BTA teams can then access individual student chronologies to understand prior concerns, interventions, progress, and more when conducting a threat assessment. |
| Each team member shall complete an approved threat assessment training program upon appointment and once every three years thereafter. |
Raptor provides both online and onsite threat assessment training options.
Raptor Staff Compliance Training, powered by PublicSchoolWORKS, offers a 2-module Ohio School Safety Center approved training program that provides instruction on identifying behavior, signs, and threats that may lead to a violent act, determining the seriousness of a threat, and developing intervention plans. Raptor’s Student Wellbeing Initiative provides BTA training delivered by the experts at SIGMA Threat Management, offering step-by-step guidance on how to use procedures and tabletop exercises that allow participants to practice with actual cases. |
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Administrators shall also incorporate into the emergency management plan a threat assessment plan and a protocol for school threat assessment teams. The plan shall at least:
• Identify the types of threatening behavior that may represent a physical threat to a school community. • Identify individuals to whom threatening behavior should be reported and steps to be taken by those individuals. • Establish threat assessment guidelines including identification, evaluation of seriousness of threat or danger, intervention to reduce potential violence, and follow-up to assess intervention results. • Establish guidelines for coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and reports collected through the district's chosen anonymous reporting program under section 3313.6610 of the Revised Code, and identify a point of contact within each agency. • Conform with all other specifications in a school's emergency management plan developed under section 5502.262 of the Revised Code. |
Raptor StudentSafe and Stay Safe. Speak Up! Anonymous Tip Reporting System allow users to modify and customize their protocols to meet the requirements of the SAVE Students Act.
• StudentSafe supports early identification of potential threats by helping teams document, assess, and monitor concerning behaviors — including threats of violence, self-harm, or other safety risks. • Designated staff can view concerns submitted with custom guidance, tips, and checkpoints added to determine next steps. • Intuitive tools allow users to incorporate their school’s protocols and guidelines for any student wellbeing policy. Stay Safe. Speak Up! enables users to configure a customized call tree and assign designated points of contact to receive all relevant notifications. • StudentSafe is part of Raptor’s integrated school safety ecosystem that supports prevention, response, and recovery, aligning with the comprehensive requirements of emergency management planning. |
| Each board of education shall provide youth suicide awareness and prevention training every two years for school nurses, teachers, counselors, psychologists, administrators, and other appropriate personnel. The board may create its own curriculum in consultation with public or private agencies or persons involved in youth suicide awareness and prevention programs. |
Raptor Staff Compliance Training
, powered by PublicSchoolWORKS, offers a course specifically designed to meet this requirement, providing instruction on legal responsibilities, supporting at-risk students, and building resilience and connectedness within your school community.
Raptor’s Student Wellbeing Initiative provides additional support through expert guidance, resources, and staff training on bullying, harassment, intimidation, and suicide prevention. |
| When developing this plan, evidence-based processes or best practice guidelines created by the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) shall be a resource. | Raptor StudentSafe includes the 3 primary BTA methodologies (NTAC, CSTAG, and Salem-Kaiser) and the ability to create your own or modify an existing one. |
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Each local, city, exempted village, and joint vocational school district shall register with the SaferOH tipline or enter into an agreement with an anonymous tip reporting program of the district’s choosing. The reporting program shall:
• Operate 24/7. • Forward reported information to and coordinate with the appropriate school threat assessment teams, law enforcement, and public safety agencies required under the school’s emergency management plan. • Be promoted in each district school to inform students about the reporting program and its reporting methods. • Comply with sections 149.433 and 3319.321 of the Revised Code and the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 20 U.S.C. 1232g. |
PublicSchoolWorks’ Stay Safe. Speak Up Anonymous Reporting
offers:
• 24/7/365 reporting via a website, iOS app, Android app, telephone tipline, or transcribed voice message. • If a student is in danger of harming themselves or others, properly trained intake coordinators communicate with essential district leaders immediately via telephone and text. • Districts are provided toolkits containing stickers and posters, “buttons” for the districts’ websites, parent letters, and more promotional materials. • Meets FERPA and ORC 149.433 and 3319.321. |
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Districts will be required to submit annual reports to the Department of Public Safety and Department of Education of the number of anonymous reports made through the reporting program and the method by which they were received, disaggregated by the school.
Additionally, data regarding the following must be submitted to both departments at the end of the first full year of the district’s participation in either SaferOH or an anonymous reporting program of their choosing, and each school year thereafter. • The number and type of disciplinary actions taken in the previous school year as a result of anonymous reports. • The number and type of mental wellness referrals as a result of anonymous reports. • The race and gender of the students subject to disciplinary actions and mental wellness referrals as a result of anonymous reports. • Any other information the departments determine necessary. |
The Stay Safe. Speak Up! Anonymous Reporting
system retains electronic records of incidents and interventions for state reports in one centralized location.
We work with each district to produce the required reports related to discipline actions and mental wellness referrals, following Ohio’s prescribed formatting and data requirements. |
Additional Ohio School Safety Laws
Below are additional Ohio school safety laws related to mandated training and how Raptor supports compliance with each.
| School Safety Mandate | Raptor Compliance |
|---|---|
| Erin’s Law (Ohio SB 288): Requires schools to provide annual, age-appropriate instruction on child sexual abuse prevention for students in grades K–6, including information on counseling and resources. | Raptor Staff Compliance Training includes an Erin’s Law compliant training course that provides instruction on recognizing abuse, responding to disclosures, and reporting obligations to create a safer environment for students. |
| House Bill 57: Requires any school district, chartered and nonchartered nonpublic school, community school, STEM school, and college-preparatory boarding school that elects to obtain and maintain a supply of overdose reversal drugs for use in emergencies to have its board of education adopt and implement a policy regarding the supply’s maintenance and the drug’s use. Among other requirements, the policy must include a description of any related training that school employees or contractors must complete. | Raptor Staff Compliance Training offers a Naloxone Emergency Response course that provides instruction on how to recognize opioid overdoses, administer Naloxone, and take critical next steps. |
| Lindsay’s Law: School coaches must complete the annual Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) training approved by the Ohio Department of Health. | Raptor Staff Compliance Training includes a Lindsay’s Law compliant course that provides instruction on the signs of sudden cardiac arrest, emergency response steps, and the legal responsibilities for student-athlete safety. |
| Sarah’s Law (ORC 3313.7117): Requires each school building to designate at least one employee (other than the school nurse) to complete seizure action plan training every two years. Additionally, all administrators, guidance counselors, teachers, and bus drivers must complete at least one hour of training on seizure disorders by October 3, 2025, or within 90 days of hire if employed after that date. | Raptor Staff Compliance Training includes a course that provides instruction on epilepsy basics, first aid procedures, seizure action plans, and legal requirements for school personnel. |
Available Funding
Various state-level grants are available to enhance safety within Ohio schools, including:
Ohio Attorney General’s FY26 School Safety Grant
Application Deadline: May 29, 2026
Provides eligible school entities with a total of over $9M for safety-related projects. Allowable expenses include:
- active shooter and school safety training or equipment,
- training to identify and assist students with mental health issues,
- and more.
School Safety and Security Grant Program
Application deadline: June 30, 2026
Provides up to $40,000 for each 3-year eligibility cycle to OH employers that operate licensed preschool through twelfth-grade educational facilities. Allowable expenses include:
- school-wide panic alarm/panic button systems,
- two-way communication devices and software,
- modifications of building/facility entrances to restrict access,
- and more.
2025 Ohio School Safety Grants
Period of Performance End Date: June 30, 2026
Provides nearly $11 million to schools throughout the state for securing learning environments. Allowable expenses include:
- active shooter response training or equipment,
- silent panic alarms,
- alert systems warning of dangerous individuals,
- and more.
FY26 State of Ohio Security Grant
Period of Performance: February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2028
Provides $8.5M to nonprofits, houses of worship, chartered nonpublic schools, and Ohio DOE-licensed preschools for preventing, preparing for, or responding to acts of terrorism. Allowable expenses include:
Related Resources
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