On the Job 

Continuing his efforts to improve school safety, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has unveiled a pilot program to provide high-quality, standardized training to law enforcement tactical team officers responsible for responding to an active shooter or other dire threat.

The ultimate goal is to have all 2,500 Ohio tactical team officers trained within the next two years, at no cost to law enforcement agencies. School safety grant funds from the Attorney General’s Office would cover the full cost of the two-day training.

The initiative complements the school-threat assessment training that Yost launched in 2020 for school resource officers, and the Ohio School Vulnerability Assessment, which provides funds to improve building safety.

Under the new program, tactical officers will complete 16 hours of in-person, physical and classroom training taught by the Ohio Tactical Officers Association (OTOA). Because officers will be learning the same thing from the same source, the training will be consistent across the state.

OPOTA has approved the curriculum for continuing professional training (CPT). The credits can be applied one of two ways: as 16 hours of general CPT, or as three hours of school-threat safety training and 13 hours of general CPT.

Seven training sessions will be presented across the state through June 2023, with 24 spots available per session.

OTOA is providing the training at $600 per officer, but law enforcement agencies can be fully reimbursed by the Attorney General’s Office by submitting course-completion certificates and grant request forms signed by each officer and his or her chief.
Contact training@otoa.org to register for this course.