School safety is a wicked problem due to shifting needs and available information, the diverse actors affected and involved, fluctuating budgetary demands and ramifications, and relations to broader social and political issues. School safety challenges encompass a range of factors, including threats of violence and fears related to school…

Campus public safety plays an essential role in student retention and success at any university or college. To best support students' emotional and physical security, campus police should be aware of their perceptions and expectations of the police as the law enforcement entity directly responsible for their safety. This quantitative study…

This qualitative study explores the retrospective sensemaking of Black1 girls and Latinas in their interactions with school security guards and School Resource Officers (SROs). Seven Black women and two Latinas participated in the study. Additionally, district data around SROs and discipline were analyzed for the five school districts in which the…

In this brief, Research for Action examines the prevalence of school policing in Pennsylvania schools. While data on police presence is limited, this brief is able to examine: (1) race/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in school police staffing and spending; (2) race/ethnic disparities in referrals to law enforcement and school-based arrests by…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Is California Doing Enough to Close the School Discipline Gap?" In California, a combination of statewide and local efforts has been implemented to reduce the use of punitive suspensions in public K-12 schools. Current state data trends reflect these efforts, showing that far fewer students…

This research provides a unique seven-year trend analysis indicating that, while California has seen a decline in the use of suspensions in schools prior to the pandemic, the pace of the decline has slowed and large racial disparities in suspension rates remain. The research supports renewed advocacy efforts to eliminate schools' use of security…

This case study is designed for preservice school administrators enrolled in principalship and school law courses in educational administration. It describes an incident in which a school's crisis management and communication protocol were challenged. One day, through a series of unanticipated events, an assistant principal is engulfed in a test…

This paper provides an analysis of data on school security measures which were obtained from a survey administered to a sample of 230 high school students. The majority of students indicated that the school police officers and security officers help keep the schools safe and that the drug-sniffing dogs help reduce drugs in the schools, but there…

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 39% of public school students were considered to be part of a minority group in 2000, as opposed to just 22% in 1972. Although the increased diversity offers many opportunities for staff members and students to learn from one another, not all members of the school community adjust quickly to a…