COLUMBUS, Ohio — With school safety top-of-mind following this week's deadly school shooting in Texas, News 5 Investigators discovered more than three dozen Ohio schools failed to complete required emergency management tests in 2021.
Texas School Shooting: 'Wrong decision' on failure to breach door
According to The Ohio School Safety Center, 38 of Ohio's 5,600 schools did not complete the annual test last year.
In a statement, a state spokesman wrote, "It's our understanding that the delay was likely due to the pandemic. The OSSC works with schools to try to get compliance even if they are delayed to ensure the schools are prepared for emergencies."
The state has not released the names or locations of the schools that failed to complete the testing citing an exemption that allows agencies to withhold information that's deemed "security records."
On Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced plans to spend “a significant amount of money” on efforts to ensure every school building in the state is properly protected against an attack.
The Republican governor said he’s asked the state schools superintendent for an assessment of which schools need such infrastructure additions within the next few days. DeWine did not name a figure but said, “This is not going to be cheap.”
He also did not detail the types of security measures he's talking about, which based on measures some schools already have in place, might range from metal detectors to classroom barricade devices.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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