Ohio Department of Education Learning Supports

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: SAFETY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION TRAINING

Amended Substitute House Bill 276 of the 126th Ohio General Assembly (2007) mandated that the Ohio Department of Education work with state agency partners and education organizations to prepare a model policy that would guide every Ohio school district in developing a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying. The bill also required ODE to develop a safety and violence prevention curriculum to train elementary school professionals to detect child abuse.

Amended Substitute House Bill 1 of the 128th Ohio General Assembly (2009) extended this requirement to include public middle school and high schools personnel. An Ohio Department of Education curriculum that may be used to fulfill the requirement is posted below. Specific aspects of the Amended H.B. 1 and the previous legislation (Ohio Revised Code Section 3319.073) also are highlighted here:

Who must take the training? Nurses, teachers, counselors, school psychologists and administrators at public elementary, middle and high schools must take the training. The deadlines vary (see below).
 
What is the training to cover? Participants must take at least four hours training in the prevention of child abuse, violence, and substance abuse and the promotion of positive youth development . School districts and educational service centers may adopt or adapt the curriculum developed by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for this purpose, or they may develop their own program in consultation with public or private agencies or persons involved in child abuse prevention or intervention. (For middle and high school employees, school district and educational service centers may develop their own curriculum to fulfill the in-service training on the prevention of dating violence.)

What is required of elementary professionals? All elementary school professionals who were employed on the effective date of Amended House Bill 276 on March 30, 2007, were required to fulfill the in-service training requirements by March 30, 2009, and every five years thereafter. New employees must complete the training within two years of commencing employment, and every five years thereafter.

When must middle and high schools comply? All middle and high school professionals who were employed on the effective date of the July 14, 2009 legislation are required to fulfill the expanded in-service training requirements by October 16, 2011, and every five years thereafter training should incorporate the prevention of dating violence . New employees must complete the training within two years of commencing employment, and every five years thereafter.

SAFETY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION CURRICULUM and RELATED TRAINING