Representative Manning Joins Ohio Attorney General in Addressing School Violence

Today, State Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) joined Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost during a press conference to address preventing targeted violence in schools. The initiative includes a training curriculum to stopping violence before it starts through a ten-part video series for local school administrators and law enforcement.

“As a former school teacher, I know this is something that we need to address for the safety and health of our students,” said Manning. “As a part of this curriculum, last year, I voted to support grants through the budget that will help schools address this issue and it is fantastic to see this coming to fruition for our schools.”

Grants are being made available to help schools build threat assessment teams. This allows school resource officers or law enforcement personnel to receive a $500 grant when they complete the training curriculum and then agree to help create and participate with the school threat assessment team.

To further combat school violence, Manning has also been the sponsor of the SAVE Students Act, which passed the Ohio House last October.

The bill ensures schools teaching grades 6-12 have a trained threat assessment team, have schools conduct annual youth violence prevention trainings, and train teachers on suicide awareness and prevention. Yost made a reference of support regarding the SAVE Students Act today at the press conference.

For information on the Ohio School Threat Assessment Training, the materials can be found at www.ohioattorneygenearl.gov/threatassessment.