Speak Up, Speak Out

Wisconsin parents and caregivers,

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS) is thrilled to announce the launch of the SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT Resource Center (SUSO). SUSO is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn to with your concerns regarding school safety. A facet of the Resource Center that we are particularly pleased to share with Wisconsin students and parents is the threat reporting system.

The SUSO threat reporting system is available 24/7 and is free to all.

Students, parents, school staff and community members can submit a school safety concern by downloading the SUSO app (Android and iOS), visiting speakup.widoj.gov or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. Resource Center staff work around-the-clock to respond to reports and to deploy a response locally by communicating directly with school administrators, law enforcement and counselors.

Nationwide, more than half of public middle and high schools now operate a tip line.

Threat reporting systems - or tip lines - are recommended for use by the United States Secret Service when developing comprehensive school violence prevention plans. Tip lines are used to identify threats to schools, and other daily safety concerns students encounter, such as bullying, drug use, suicidal thoughts and more.

Of school administrators who participated in a recent survey surrounding the use of school tip lines, 77% believed that their tip line made them more aware of safety issues at their school, 73% reported that their tip line had prevented incidents of self-harm or suicide, and more than half believed their tip line had prevented violent incidents.

It’s time to break the code of silence.