OK2SAY is a student safety program that allows anyone to confidentially report tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at school students, school employees, and schools. OK2SAY is a nationally recognized program giving students the tools to step up and speak out when they are concerned about their safety or the safety of another.
Tips can be submitted 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week.
Multimedia attachments and links to additional information are encouraged.
Anyone can submit a tip to OK2SAY. OK2SAY accepts tips from students, parents, school personnel, and concerned citizens.
Yes, OK2SAY is a reporting mechanism for the entire state of Michigan. OK2SAY accepts tips concerning any public or private schools in Michigan, kindergarten - 12th grade. We take reports occurring on school property, at a school event, on the school bus, at the bus stop, and on the way to and from school.
Tips can be submitted to OK2SAY 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week.
Initial tips will be fielded by Michigan State Police OK2SAY technicians trained to receive, analyze, and disseminate tip information to local law enforcement agencies, school officials, community mental health service programs, or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for a timely response.
Tip content and circumstances fluctuate, so appropriate follow-up action will also vary. Some situations require that tips be sent to more than one entity. Cases of immediate life threats or crimes in progress are routed through local law enforcement.
Tips that are not emergencies are directly sent to a school administrator for an appropriate response. School officials may conduct a joint investigation with law enforcement or handle the concern separately depending on local protocols.
School officials and behavioral health professionals can intervene and offer support to students struggling.
Schools will have the responsibility to complete an Outcome Report detailing the action taken, how the tip was handled, whether it was resolved, or whether it requires ongoing attention. Outcome Report provides local entities with an opportunity to show they take student safety threats seriously and track them.
The speed of the response depends on the seriousness of the tip - life safety is given priority.
If a tip has all the relevant details, OK2SAY can act within minutes. Since many tips are submitted after the school is closed for the day, the specially trained OK2SAY technician will address the immediate need and if the student is not in immediate danger, the tip information will be shared the next school business day.
If the threat involves life safety or crimes in progress and OK2SAY cannot get a hold of someone at the school (e.g., the tip comes in after the school is closed), local law enforcement will be notified, and a wellness check will be completed.
No, tipsters never have to leave their name. A tipster must provide a phone number or email address.
OK2SAY gives students the tool to break the culture of silence and connect with adult authorities who can help. Threats of retaliation and stigmatization often discourage students from reporting the dangerous behaviors of their peers.
OK2SAY aims to eliminate this culture of silence by providing a confidential, collaborative communication system where students and authorities can work together to respond to safety threats.
OK2SAY is a confidential communication system in which the identity of the tipster is statutorily protected. Initial tips will be fielded by OK2SAY technicians trained to filter the information to local law enforcement agencies, school officials, community mental health service programs, or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for a timely response. The identity of the tipster can only be released if permission is granted by the tipster, the tipster's parents (if he/she is a minor), or through a court order. This information is also specifically exempt from the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
No. An IP address can be used to trace the location of the tipster which would violate Public Act 401 of 2020. This information could only be provided with a court order.
The Michigan State Police maintains tip records. Schools and community mental health service programs will not need to hire additional staff members to maintain these records. To promote program accountability, existing school personnel (likely the OK2SAY contact designee), local law enforcement, or community mental health service personnel will be asked to submit outcome reports detailing how incidents are handled
OK2SAY technicians address the immediate need, and as necessary, forward the call to the appropriate responding agency. The technicians are specifically trained to recognize mental illness and emotional disturbances and manage crisis situations. All psychiatric emergencies are additionally referred to the appropriate Community Mental Health Services psychiatric crisis line. Law enforcement may be called to conduct a welfare check.
OK2SAY is a resource that individuals must use responsibly. Practical jokes and prank tips will not be tolerated.
Filing a false report to mislead the police could be considered an obstruction of justice. If the prosecuting attorney for a local unit of government has reason to believe that a report or other information provided to OK2SAY was falsely provided, that prosecuting attorney may petition the court to disclose the report or information, including any identifying information.
If the court determines that the report or information, including any identifying information, is relevant to the criminal proceedings and is essential to the fair trial of the person, the court may order the disclosure of that report or information, including any identifying information, as determined appropriate by the court.
No, the Student Safety Act generally prohibits disclosure of tipster identity. The identity of the tipster can only be released if permission is granted by the tipster, the tipster's parents (if he/she is a minor), or through a court order. This information is also specifically exempt from the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
Yes. Individuals listed in the report who need intervention may be contacted, interviewed, investigated, etc. as appropriately determined by the designated school representative, law enforcement officer, or involved community agency.
It is not necessary to articulate that an OK2SAY tip has been received. OK2SAY wants the tipster to feel their information is kept private and confidential.
OK2SAY is an early warning system, not a determination of fact; all reports from OK2SAY must still be investigated by the school administration (as with bullying) or school or local law enforcement (as with allegations of criminal acts).
In most cases, the most effective intervention for the student is realizing that an adult in their life notices, cares, and is aware. Consider some suggestions of possible actions for obtaining a positive outcome:
Tips are considered resolved when an Outcome Report is filed detailing the action taken by law enforcement or school officials in response to a threat.
No. OK2SAY is just another way for information to come to the attention of the school and support your existing practices, policies, and initiatives. OK2SAY encourages schools to leverage the program as part of their overall school safety plan.
The OK2SAY technicians are trained to open the lines of communication with the tipster. They ask all the pertinent questions to the tipster including who, what, why, where, how, when - to forward the necessary information. They also will ask for a screenshot or images pertinent to the tip. Occasionally a tipster does not provide all the information. OK2SAY technician will exhaust other avenues to try and obtain pertinent information. Even with limited information, OK2SAY will still pass on the tip information.
If a student does not attend your school, please let OK2SAY know.
Yes. You may ask an OK2SAY technician to reach out to the tipster and request additional information. OK2SAY will provide you with all updates.
The Michigan State Police maintains tip records. To promote program accountability, existing school personnel (likely the OK2SAY contact designee), local law enforcement, or community mental health service personnel will be asked to submit an outcome report detailing how the incident was handled. Before submitting the report, you can print a copy of it.
No. OK2SAY does not use Open-AI to handle responses to an OK2SAY tip. Upon tip submission, an automatic acknowledgment response is sent to the tipster, confirming the receipt of the tip. A human OK2SAY technician then reviews the tip, engaging in a dialogue with the tipster through clarifying questions such as who, what, where, and when. Rest assured, all OK2SAY tips are addressed and handled by compassionate caring human professionals.
While the identity of the person submitting the tip will remain confidential, the parents of the victim and the student causing harm can be notified of the existence of a potential threat if the situation demands that they are contacted.
OK2SAY operates 24/7 which means tips will frequently be submitted during times when school is not in session. In these instances, law enforcement officials will either respond directly to the threat or coordinate with a school's designated emergency contact to respond appropriately. The same would be similar for tips that report behaviors taking place off school property.
Federal Educational Records Privacy Act (FERPA) provides an exception to allow for communication before a notification to the parent (or student if the student is 18 or older) when the communication is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student. Information received and shared within the OK2SAY is by law confidential; it is not a student's educational record.
Yes. A report is still required for Public Act 551 of 2018.
When law enforcement receives a tip, they will decide how to handle the matter. Ideally, law enforcement will investigate the situation with the goal of prevention and intervention. They may also communicate directly with school administrators to ensure key personnel is apprised of the situation and/or coordination can take place.
The role of students is to stand up and speak up for themselves and their friends. Students can take charge of school safety and climate by bringing concerns to trusted adults - face to face or through OK2SAY when school is not in session or confidential reporting is preferred.
OK2SAY is a student safety program. There are no fees for any Michigan school - public or non-public schools.
Yes, OK2SAY has been very successful because once the appropriate responding parties receive the tip information, they take action to eliminate the threat. Instances of peer mistreatment have been addressed, weapons have been removed from schools, and students harming themselves or threatening suicide are receiving the support they need. Go to OK2SAY Monthly and Cumulative Program Statistics for updated information.
While OK2SAY reserves the right to use tip content to describe incidents and outcomes for program purposes, the identity of particular schools and/or districts will not be disclosed unless that particular school or district chooses to pursue their own media coverage.
