“As a father and grandfather, I know nothing is more important than the safety of our children,” said Gov. Braun. “That’s why I created the Office of School Safety, and in just its first year, we’ve put more resources, training and expertise directly into Indiana schools. As students return to the classroom, parents should know that we are working every day alongside educators, first responders and local leaders to make Indiana’s schools as safe as possible.”
WATCH: Gov. Braun reflects on the Office of School Safety’s first-year accomplishments.
At the Governor’s direction, the Office of School Safety conducted school safety visits in all 92 Indiana counties in its first year, working directly with school leaders to review safety plans, identify local needs, provide best-practice guidance on complex safety challenges and develop the resources necessary to keep both students and staff safe.
The Office also established a Behavioral and Digital Threat Assessment process that is unique to Indiana and first of its kind nationally. This assessment gives schools a proactive tool to conduct deeper digital assessments to support at-risk students and disrupt potential pathways to violence. The Office has a dedicated Trainer and Coordinator to support schools with their processes and implementation, ensuring they have hands-on guidance as they adopt this model.
To strengthen preparedness at the local level, the Office hosted Indiana’s first Annual School Safety Summit, bringing together approximately 1,000 school safety professionals, and conducted 45 regional training sessions across the state. Nearly 500 new school safety specialists were certified during the Office’s first year, while more than 2,000 existing specialists were recertified.
Gov. Braun is also investing more than $54 million over two years through the Secured School Safety Grant. More than $27 million was distributed last year to 494 schools and districts, with another $27 million available this year to support school resource officers and other local safety initiatives.
The Office of School Safety will continue working directly with schools, public safety officials and communities across Indiana to strengthen prevention, preparedness and response.