Wisconsin’s school safety tip line received nearly 7,000 tips last school year. Most were from students.
Bullying was the most commonly-reported issue to the Speak Up, Speak Out tip line, also referred to by its acronym SUSO. But threats of school violence or concerns about self-harm are also reported to this line. It’s designed to interrupt and prevent school violence, such as the deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison one year ago.
WUWM Education Reporter Katherine Kokal spoke with the head of Wisconsin’s Office of School Safety, Trisha Kilpin, about what we can learn about preventing violence and bullying in schools.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Katherine Kokal: What is Speak Up, Speak Out? And why does Wisconsin have a school safety tip line?
Trisha Kilpin: Here in Wisconsin, we're really proud to have a statewide tip line as a central place that any concerns about school-age youth can be reported. It's not about telling on kids or getting them in trouble. What we're trying to do is we're trying to be part of a culture where we promote help-seeking, where we get kids help and assistance at the earliest signs of struggle.
Way back after Columbine, there were clear recommendations that kids and families should all have access to a place to report their concerns. We know that 81% of the time when a school shooting occurs, somebody knew about that person's plan to attack that school. So we want people who might have bits of information to have a high degree of confidence that they can share that information and it will be followed up on.
This tip line received 6,946 tips during the 2024-25 school year. That's a 30% increase from the previous school year. Why do you think it increased by so much?
Really, it's become a trusted resource across Wisconsin. As schools are conscientiously really focused on trying to build more opportunities for youth to share their experiences, we see SUSO growing.
We're really proud that bullying is our number one tip. Because if you think about it, we're starting to prevent problems from growing very early. We'd rather rectify things at an early point rather than let them grow and someone deciding to use violence to resolve their upset.
Can you explain the lifecycle of a tip? If I'm a student and I'm reporting something, where does it go from there?
Our analysts are real people, 24 hours a day, that answer those concerns. We'll make sure to validate their experience, acknowledge that it's difficult for kids to talk about these things, and make sure that they know that we appreciate them coming forward. Lots of times we go back and forth with the child and are able to draw out more information, problem solve about solutions in real time.
Now every tip that we received is delivered locally to the school it impacts. There are times when the information shared with us is about a life safety matter — that somebody is threatening to harm someone or somebody is talking about self-harm or suicide. Sometimes those are delivered to law enforcement to make sure that no harm comes to anyone and a welfare check can be done.
Important information about school safety tips in Wisconsin: How to report bullying, threats
You can access the Speak Up, Speak Out tip line on its website at https://speakup.wisdoj.gov/.
You can also download the app, call 1-800-697-8761 or text “SUSO” to 738477 to report a tip.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a life threatening emergency, call 911.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide and Crisis hotline is 988.
Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Have a question about schools or an education story idea? You can reach her at kokal@uwm.edu
