Background: Mass school shootings have created fear in the American public. The results of this fear have been the hardening of schools, lockdowns, and active shooter drills, yet the mass shootings have not ended. The goal of this study was to analyze the mental health awareness of K-12 public schools teachers in Texas with a goal to identify the…

While previous studies have assessed public opinions for arming teachers in K-12 schools in the United States, comparatively less research has focused on understanding teachers' opinions for such policies and assessed whether and to what extent school- and individual-level factors are associated with differences in support. The current study aims…

We assessed college students' perceptions of safety related to concealed carry of firearms on a university campus. Explicit assessments were collected before passage, before implementation, and after implementation of the law; implicit assessments were collected before and after implementation. For comparison, we included college students from a…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate which components or programs within the higher education environment have the greatest influence on college students' intention to engage in physical activity. Participants: Undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities in the southcentral United States were issued a questionnaire via…

Throughout history, guns have been used as tools for social control to instill terror within minoritized communities. Campus carry is a current gun law that now allows licensed concealed handgun holders to carry on public college campuses in 11 U.S. states, including Texas (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2018). This qualitative…

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi's 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study is a public-funded community college in Mississippi. Using…

Long-term effects associated with the use of zero-tolerance policies and lack of restorative discipline strategies used with expelled students in a local Lower Rio Grande Valley school district revealed that students' lives were impacted negatively by educators who practiced a one-size-fits-all approach to school discipline. Marginalization of…

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…

This case focuses on the Board of Trustees of a large urban school district in Texas, as they worked to decide when learners would have the option to return to in-person learning even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the community, particularly communities of color. This decision-making process included two back-to-back school board…

The present study examined the utilization of Clery Act information by college students. Results from 107 students indicated that awareness of the Clery Act and knowledge of crime log information was lacking. Using an experimental design, study participants demonstrated potential benefits from exposure to information about campus crimes. This…

Objective: Campus recreational sport activities impact college student health and well-being in a variety of domains. This multi-institutional study examined the participation of students in campus recreation during the pandemic and explored the relationship between student participation and their demographic markers, COVID-19 experience, and…

Drawing from a context of reception framework, this article asks the following questions: How do educators describe issues of safety and belonging in the context of a charged immigration policy climate? What practices have educators developed to support immigrant-origin youth? And, what are the relationships between educators' perceptions of…

The 2020 Texas Educators' Needs Assessment Regarding School Safety and Victims Services included responses from educators across the state of Texas regarding school safety. This needs assessment generated data that provided researchers with the unique opportunity to analyze the school safety issues in Texas (Fuller et al, 2020). The purpose of the…

While there is an increased national focus on student safety and gun violence in schools, the policies for arming teachers are often vague and unclear. Additionally, policies and laws enforcing safety protocol for students differ across states. Clarity in policies are important for stakeholders in school communities who can use such information to…

Following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, policymakers have sought ways to improve safety on college and university campuses nationwide. Among the more recent proposals is to permit concealed handgun licensees to carry on campus. To date, eight states have enacted legislation implementing this measure. A limited body of research considers the…