Collaboration is the key to a balanced and well-planned response to an emergency and subsequent recovery. Schools and school districts should explore existing resources within their communities that can provide services to their students during and after an emergency that negatively impacts school operations. One such resource to consider is local…

Background: Ongoing masking of K-12 children has not been universally accepted despite recommendation from public health authorities. In states without universal mask mandates for schools, district administrators are forced to make masking decisions under significant local political pressures. There is a call for endpoints to masking to allow…

The authors assert that the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) model and its companion documents provide school counselors with a comprehensive framework for intervening to prevent violence. This article is a brief overview of the model, the competencies, and the standards, which are used as theoretical lenses for addressing gun violence…

Comprehensive school emergency management planning requires input and collaboration from multidisciplinary stakeholders that represent the whole school community. The involvement of those who are affected by and help carry out the school emergency operations plan (EOP) can help ensure buy-in and the quality of the plan, as well as build the…

There is a broad impetus across policy and institutional domains to expand public engagement and involvement with emerging technology research and innovation. Yet innovative theory, methods, and practices to critically explore algorithmic system controversies and democratic possibilities are still in nascent form. In this paper, we bring together…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

In order to assist schools and their community partners in their efforts to create, assess, or update their comprehensive emergency operations plans (EOPs), Federal agencies jointly produced the "Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans (School Guide)" and "The Role of Districts in Developing High-Quality…

From Colorado and Connecticut to Florida and Texas, school shootings have struck the U.S. education system. In response, there has been a proliferation of policies, programs, and practices to make schools safer. We term this phenomenon the fortification of schools. Fortification entails prioritizing and instituting various structures, resources,…

We describe how a modified version of an emergency survival strategy led our team in addressing problems of practice identified in two second grade classrooms. We attended to the urgent needs of students by enacting the curriculum with integrity, doing what was most important and effective, while accommodating their classroom context (LeMahieu,…

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) social work students experience microaggressions on campuses, curricula that are often cissexist and stigmatizing, and a lack of inclusive facilities, like gender-neutral bathrooms. The Transgender Justice Group (TJG) was founded by students at a School of Social Welfare (SSW) to respond to these and other…

After an emergency event has occurred on campus and the education agency has activated the emergency operations plan (EOP), it is likely that the planning team has feedback and lessons learned. Similarly, after conducting an emergency exercise -- whether it be an orientation, tabletop exercise, drill, functional exercise, or full-scale exercise --…

When recess is well-planned out, carefully taught, and expectations are clear, it is a time that can have a multitude of benefits for students. On the contrary, recess time can also be a breeding ground for bullying, name-calling, and aggressive behaviours, which can have detrimental effects on our youth. It is crucial that we recognize the true…

Integrating chemical management into a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP), including through the creation of a Toxic Materials Annex and a Hazardous Materials Annex, helps improve a school district's or individual school's preparedness for a chemical-related incident. To ensure the annexes remain relevant and useful, districts and…

The increase in hostile behavior targeted at Asian people is a concern that school districts must address. To respond well, educators need to apply effective methods for preventing this problem. One of the ways they can achieve this goal is by implementing a culturally responsive approach to teaching. Another involves using effective anti-bullying…

Public schools are the cornerstone of this nation's communities, democracy, and economy. The challenges and deep inequities facing schools today are largely the result of decades of disinvestment, compounded by a global pandemic. All of this has led to a breaking point for the system of public education. In 2023, lawmakers and stakeholders are…