Michigan school safety hotline OK2SAY records over 10,000 tips during 2025, state police say

A State of Michigan school safety hotline reports receiving its second-highest number of messages and calls in the program's 11-year history.

OK2SAY is a confidential student safety reporting system that launched in 2014. Created as part of the 2012 Student Safety Act, it is overseen by Michigan State Police and allows students to report possible criminal activities or potential harm in a confidential manner.

In 2025, the program received 10,777 tips — an 8% decrease from 11,671 in 2024.

The tip line is available 24/7, and tips can be submitted through the program's website, phone, email, text, or mobile app. Information then goes to an OK2SAY technician, who gathers additional details to assess the severity of the concern. OK2SAY will then forward the tip to the appropriate responding agency, such as a school or a mental health or law enforcement agency, which will then take necessary precautions to address the concern.

Because multiple people can report the same incident independently, a total of 8,242 incidents were tracked. 

"We continue to see that OK2SAY serves an important need in our state, empowering students to take an active role in keeping their schools and communities safe," said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP. "Every tip received shows our children have the courage and compassion to say something helpful when they suspect something harmful."

The report states 57 of the tips led to the immediate hospitalization of a student due to suicidal thoughts, and 220 tips involved the seizure of drugs or alcohol. Behavioral threat and suicide assessments increased by 89% in 2025 compared to 2024.

Of the 3,247 submitted outcome reports from schools and local law enforcement agencies, 87% confirmed that the tip was sufficient to initiate an investigation.

A recent OK2SAY intervention happened in June, when the Clintondale High School prom was canceled an hour before it was scheduled to happen after officials alerted the school of a tip indicating a student may have been planning to bring a gun to prom.

The cost to run the program was $1.76 million.

The top five categories among the 25 topics tracked and the numbers recorded are:

• Other (e.g., anxiety, stress, depression, harassment): 1,816 tips.
• Suicide threats: 1,767 tips.
• Bullying: 1,576 tips.
• Drugs: 1,153 tips.
• Sexual assault/misconduct/exploitation: 1,036 tips.