LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette recently reminded Michigan students to continue to use OK2SAY in the summer months. OK2SAY is the student safety program that enables students to confidentially report any behavior that threatens their safety or the safety of others. Tips can be submitted using email, mobile app, telephone, text message, or the OK2SAY website.

“The reality is that just because school is ending for the summer does not mean that bullying, self-harm or other threats are taking a break,” said Schuette. “I want to remind students and their parents that the OK2SAY hotline operates 24/7, so even during the summer months there is a safe way to report threats.”

 

OK2SAY background

In the majority of violent incidents that occur in our schools, someone other than the perpetrator of violence knows of a threat before it’s carried out but fails to report it. Often, students chose to keep quiet because they fear retaliation, rejection, or stigmatization by their peers. The result is a culture of silence in which students suffer harm that could have been prevented if another had chosen to speak out. OK2SAY empowers students to break the code of silence.

In the month of May alone, OK2SAY received over 330 tips, which puts the total number of tips since OK2SAY launched in September 2104 at 4,448. Tips are submitted across 30 categories, with most tips reporting bullying, suicide threats, assault, self-harm and drugs.

“This is a student safety initiative not just a school safety initiative and that means making sure students feel safe even when they are on summer break,” Schuette said.

Students, teachers, parents, school officials, friends and neighbors can all submit tips, if they are aware of a threat in school.  Tips can be submitted though the following ways:

 

Submit a tip

Call: 8-555-OK2SAY (855-565-2729)

Text: 652729 (OK2SAY) *

Email: OK2SAY@mi.gov

Mobile App: OK2SAY