The issue of school safety is of paramount concern but what is lacking is clarity on the best course of action aimed at bolstering safety in public schools. We sought to answer the following research questions: What topics are addressed in school board policies related to arming employees? What outlying policy topics are addressed in school board…

With the increase in school violence on campuses all over the country and the increased media attention that these incidents receive. The amount of pressure on school leaders to develop and implement interventions for students is mounting from all angles. Politicians, parents, students, advocates and others have been extremely vocal in their…

Weapons at school pose a danger to students as well as faculty. Educational administrators have attempted to reduce their prevalence by implementing random weapons searches in schools. This article examines the effectiveness of this approach using data from two geographically adjacent school districts in Florida (Miami-Dade and Broward). In the…

A core responsibility of the local education agencies (LEAs) that operate kindergarten-through-12th grade (K-12) schools across the United States is creating safe and secure environments that support effective teaching and learning. To help them meet this obligation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Cybersecurity and…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of additional revenues for safe school programs and services on the incidences of violent behaviors in the educational environment of a rural and urban school retrieving data from the fourth and final calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) for the 2001 to 2002, 2002 to…

Educational leaders have a substantial degree of control over students and generally have a tremendous influence on the decisions that they make. District administrators are already involved in comprehensive efforts to stem sexual harassment, teen violence and bullying; therefore, they may be well positioned to identify and address the problem of…

The purpose of this research was to address the public policy of adequacy by the creation of a Florida state-wide poverty index model to assist in the distribution of state and local dollars in funding public education. This poverty index model would measure the amount and severity of poverty in every public school within the state each year and…

This paper describes a program that was developed and implemented to define better the incidents used by a rural school district to report school violence to the state. The program was also designed to decrease the use of out-of-school suspension by 90 school administrators in this Florida district. Some of the strategies used for the program…

This study looks at existing aspects of written school violence policies (Codes of Student Conduct) across large, mid-size, and small school districts in Florida. The aim was to provide a clearer picture of how weapons are defined, and the consequences of their possession, use, or display. Two research areas were addressed: (1) What constitutes a…