A former school resource officer will now oversee safety for Indiana’s schools.
Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday announced Julie Q. Smith, a Columbus police sergeant, as the first director of the newly created Office of School Safety.
Smith leads the Columbus Police Department’s school resource officer division, which serves 18 schools in Bartholomew County. She previously worked as an SRO in that local school district. She is also president of the Indiana School Resource Officers Association, a regional director for the Midwest states with the National Association of School Resource Officers and a national instructor for that group.
“School safety isn't just a career for me; it's a passion. And it's something that I hold dear to my heart,” Smith said. “Every child deserves a safe and secure environment to learn and develop.”
Braun said Smith’s mix of law enforcement leadership and on-the-ground school safety experience will help the state strengthen prevention efforts.
“Julie has dedicated her career to strengthening schools and looking out for Hoosier kids,” Braun said.
According to the 2024 Hoosier Survey, about 70% of respondents said school safety is a “very important” policy.
Establishing the Office of School Safety was part of Braun's overall education agenda, announced late last year following the November election.
It was established this year within the Indiana Department of Homeland Security under House Enrolled Act 1637. That law transfers school facility-safety functions from the Department of Education to the new office and expands the Secured School Safety Board from 7 to 11 members.
“This office will bring all of our school safety efforts into one team with one mission to keep Hoosiers safe,” Braun said. “They will make sure Indiana schools are secure as possible and help give schools the tools they need to keep everyone else safe.”
The DHS executive director appoints the office’s director, a role Braun announced Tuesday.
The announcement took place at an early learning center in Beech Grove City Schools. Beech Grove Superintendent Laura Hammack said state safety grants helped her district build a proactive resource officer program with the city and police department. She called safety “a daily practice” in the district.
More than 400 different schools will utilize more than $24 million for several safety needs like school resource officers, equipment, and student support services programs.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education team editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.