Oklahoma is rolling out a new statewide playbook for keeping classrooms safe, and it is being run straight out of the Department of Public Safety’s own training hub.
State officials on Wednesday unveiled a partnership between the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma State Department of Education that will expand school safety training, security assessments and emergency notification tools in districts across the state. The plan elevates the Oklahoma School Security Institute as the main on-the-ground team for training and vulnerability checks and promises wider access to Run. Hide. Fight. drills, LASER active-shooter response courses and school-resource-officer certification. The effort also pushes mobile reporting and panic-button tools directly into classrooms and taps the state’s counterterrorism and intelligence network to back local schools. The goal is to bring more consistency to safety training and technology from one district to the next.
The agencies formally launched the program at an 11 a.m. press conference at the Department of Public Safety’s Robert R. Lester Training Center. State Superintendent Lindel Fields said in a news release that “teachers cannot teach, and students cannot learn if our schools are not safe,” according to News 9. Officials said the event would walk districts through how to sign up for on-site assessments and training.
OSSI to Lead Training and Assessments
Under the partnership, the Oklahoma School Security Institute becomes the state’s primary provider for school safety training and for security and vulnerability assessments. It will offer no-cost courses to educators, law enforcement and emergency responders, according to the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security. The agency notes that OSSI’s course catalog is structured so law enforcement can earn CLEET credits and educators can log professional development hours while they train.
Training Lineup: Drills, Threat Assessment and SRO Certification
Courses on the menu include Run. Hide. Fight. active-assailant discussions, behavioral threat assessment and management training, and risk and vulnerability assessments conducted alongside school resource officers. The lineup also features SRO academy certification and LASER training for law enforcement, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. On its safety page, the department also points districts to toolkits and sample procedures they can use to refresh or overhaul their emergency operations plans.
Apps, Alerts and Intelligence
The partnership leans on two phone-based tools to keep information moving quickly when something feels off. The state’s ProtectOK app, the Department of Public Safety says, consolidates suspicious-activity reporting into a single platform and allows anonymous tips, according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. On the alert side, Rave Mobile Safety’s system provides panic and notification functions that feed details directly to dispatchers, and the company highlights how panic-button technology and tip apps can cut response times by delivering location and floor-plan data to responders, according to Rave Mobile Safety.
Legal Context and Vendor Rules
The rollout tracks with HB 4073, known as Alyssa’s Law, which requires school districts to adopt a mobile panic-alert system. The Oklahoma State Department of Education says the State Board has signed off on a list of qualified vendors that districts may negotiate with and offers guidance on panic-button purchasing on its safety page. The law and the approved-vendor list are set up to give districts a clear path to compliance while leaving room to decide which contracts work best locally.
What Districts Can Expect
Officials say the new program will come online in phases, region by region, as OSSI schedules trainings and security assessments around the state. Sessions will be offered both in person and at regional hubs. Schools that already use panic apps or have school resource officer programs will be pulled into the statewide calendar so that response practices, reporting methods and threat-assessment protocols line up more closely between districts.
How to Request Support
Districts can download ProtectOK from standard app stores and contact the Department of Public Safety with questions about how the app works, according to the DPS site. Schools that want security assessments or training can request services through the state’s training portals and by reaching out to the Threat Response Preparedness Division. For details and to request courses or assessments, districts are directed to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety’s ProtectOK information and the state’s school-security training calendar.
