The new office is the first centralized safety hub for all schools in the District. Here’s what to know.
WASHINGTON — D.C. leaders have launched a new School Safety Office to coordinate safety supports across District schools.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) announced the launch at Thursday’s annual Citywide Campus Safety Summit. It’s the District’s first centralized hub for coordinating school safety supports across DC Public Schools (DCPS), Public Charter schools, private and parochial schools. The DC SSO partners with agencies from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ) and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) to help schools prevent crises, respond more effectively when concerns arise, and connect students and families to support before issues escalate.
D.C. joins more than 40 other states in establishing a School Safety Office, but adapts best practices to the District’s unique educational landscape.
“When a school is facing a safety concern, getting help shouldn’t depend on who you know or which sector you belong to,” said Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn. “The School Safety Office gives schools a single place to turn for support, whether that’s accessing behavioral health services, implementing safety procedures, conducting school safety assessments, or coordinating with public safety partners. By bringing education, public safety, and health and human services agencies together, we’re making it easier for schools to provide students and families with the help they need and strengthening school safety across the District.”
The creation of the office follows recommendations from the School Safety Enhancement Committee’s 2024 report, “Strengthening School Safety in Washington, DC.” School leaders identified several opportunities for improvement, including better access to behavioral health professionals for risk assessments, consistent coordination of student reentry after crises, and working together to provide Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for common safety scenarios.
Services currently available through the DC SSO include:
- School Safety Line: Schools can call 211 and ask for the School Safety Office to report non-emergency safety concerns and connect to citywide services and supports through the Department of Child and Family Services’ 211 Warmline.
- Model Standard Operating Procedures: Twenty-four standardized procedures covering topics such as lockdowns, reunification, mandatory reporting and court-involved youth enrollment are available for schools to adopt and adapt.
- School Safety Inventories: A triennial assessment process that identifies individual school safety needs while also surfacing neighborhood-level trends across school communities. To date, 37 inventories have been completed across four communities, with a goal of assessing 75 to 100 campuses annually on a three-year cycle.
- Community-Based Communication Channels: Real-time, non-emergency coordination between school safety teams, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Safe Passage teams. These channels currently operate in Congress Heights/Bellevue/Washington Highlands and Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant/Park View and will expand to additional communities by the end of School Year 2026-2027.
By the start of the 2026-2027 school years, the DC SSO will launch a School Safety Artificial Intelligence Assistant. According to school leaders, the tool “is built on a vetted, DC-specific knowledge base to help school staff quickly access safety protocols, behavioral health resources, and school safety guidance.”
For more information, visit dme.dc.gov/school-safety or to request direct assistance or guidance, call 211 and ask for the DC School Safety Office.
