One of the questions that inevitably arises after a school shooting is: When the shooter clearly showed signs of trouble, why wasn’t the attack prevented?
“Prevention is the missing piece after every attack,” Attorney General Dave Yost said. “And the safety of children across our state depends on us plugging that gap.”
To that end, Yost’s team created the Ohio School Threat Assessment Training, a combination of best practices from leading school-safety experts, including the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center. The Ohio guide helps schools team up with other community members, such as police officers and mental-health advocates, to prevent targeted violence and get help for troubled students.
In the Ohio School Threat Assessment Training, which runs 10 chapters and about three hours, Ohio and national experts introduce the protocols that have worked for them. Each of the chapters, including the Introduction and Conclusion, runs between eight and 27 minutes in length.
A 30-page Reference Guide is also available for download.
DISCLAIMER: These course links do not provide credit for training or training certificates.
- If you are a K-12 school official or employee, and require credit for taking this training to comply with HB123, you must click on the following link Threat Assessment | Ohio School Safety Center to take these courses. Under the Approved Trainings Programs title, you will find the Ohio Attorney General's free training videos program at the top of the list. Follow all instructions provided, in the training user guide, to create an account and complete the training.
- If you are a law enforcement officer, and require credit for taking this training, you must login to OPOTA Online to take these courses.