In light of the tragedy in Texas, WCRIS is passing along these resources that the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS) provides. They were announced in the DOJ’s final newsletter of the school year, Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin, to which you are encouraged to subscribe.
Help Stop Future Incidents
In an effort to help prevent future harm, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety sponsors a tip hotline that students, teachers or parents can use to report a perceived threat or student in trouble.
People should still call 911 for immediate threats.
Help spread the word about the Speak Up Speak Out (SOSU) tip line to your students, faculty, staff and parents. The link has a video explaining how the tip line works; a button to easily submit a tip; and a phone app to facilitate tips. Or people can call 1-800-MY-SUSO-1.
All tips are investigated to provide helpful intervention and prevention of greater harm.
SUSO Contacts
Please update your contacts for Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin (SUSO) so your contact information is current in the event that your school receives a report of concerning behavior or needs threat assessment consultation, critical incident response or general school safety guidance.
Critical Incident Response Teams (CIRT)
When a critical incident occurs in Wisconsin that has the potential to impact any public, private, charter or tribal school, an OSS staff member will contact the impacted school/district to offer guidance and provide stabilization resources.
Formalization of the CIR teams is expected to be in September 2022.
School Safety Plan
If your school contact for the Office of School Safety needs to be updated, please email schoolsafety@doj.state.wi.us with the name of your previous contact and the name and email address of the new contact.
DOJ Grant
The Wisconsin DOJ will award grants to assist private schools in submitting mapping data to law enforcement agencies and the Office of School Safety, according to Wisconsin Act 109 enacted on Dec. 3, 2021.
Schools can either submit blueprints of their school or a critical incident map.
Learn more about the grant here.
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Check out various trainings offered by the OSS.
Resources for Your School and Families
The DOJ also offers these resources for school leaders, which you can make available to your staff and parents.
As always, WCRIS urges its schools to screen the content of these links to ensure they match your school’s values and beliefs before sharing them publicly:
- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers – National Association of School Psychologists (Infographic)
- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers / Conversando con Niños Sobre la Violencia: Sugerencias para Padres y Maestros – Spanish Version (Infographic)
- Helping Children with Tragic Events in the News – PBS.org
- Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting – American Psychological Association
- How to Talk to Kids About School Shootings – Common Sense Media
- How to Talk to Children About Shootings: An Age-by-Age Guide – Today
- Resources for Families: Processing Grief and Traumatic Events – DPI
