As state legislatures increasingly turn their gaze to education and school policy, one intervention that is particularly concerning is the proposal to arm civilian school personnel. Under the guise of school safety, these policies suggest that allowing teachers, who often have little if any training, to carry weapons on school grounds may deter a…

Personally and professionally, the author shares experiences with school safety and how the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom may utilize middle grade novels to address gun violence with adolescents. Highlighting five middle grade novels that address school shootings--Katherine Erskine's (2011) "Mockingbird," Emily Barth Isler's…

Safety has contributed to the growth of charter schools. However, charter schools may drain public schools of key resources, leading to a decline in safety in public schools. This study examines whether the opening of charter schools in New York City is associated with decreased safety in public schools. Results indicate very little or no…

School violence research has broadly overlooked violence directed at teachers. Despite recent growing acknowledgment of teachers' workplace victimization and concerns regarding the potential costs of the problem worldwide, teachers' perceptions of safety and risk of workplace victimization have not been sufficiently studied. To fill this gap, this…

Widespread concern exists that participating in lockdown and active shooter drills, practices that although discussed synonymously are different, may be similarly traumatizing for students. This study examined state anxiety levels--anxiety-present (i.e., anxiety) and anxiety-absent (i.e., well-being)--among students in one rural high school, as…

This article presents the "Readiness for Solutions to Lower Violence Model (ReSOLV)" a model generated from Elinor Ostrom's Institutional Analysis Framework, as an alternative approach for adopting equitable and evidence-based strategies to reduce violence in schools and communities. The article explores application of the model within…

School violence perpetrated against teachers is becoming a scourge in South African schools, and as a result, teachers feel stressed, depressed, unsafe and demotivated to continue teaching. This problem, which has had a severely negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning, has also permeated the entire educational system in South…

This study examines patterns and trends in 911 calls from Boston public school addresses related to mental health and physical assaults/fights generated from 2014 to 2018. We analyzed 12,113 Boston Police Department (BPD) 911 call records from 102 Boston Public School addresses during the 2014-2018 school years. In addition, we separately analyzed…

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,…

School counselors provide comprehensive school counseling services related to prevention of school violence, but a critical step is to put those pieces together in an intentional and preventive evidence-based model. Several nationally recognized safe school initiatives neglect the significant role school counselors provide in mental health…

The State of Nevada launched the "Nevada SafeVoice" anonymous tip line to prevent harmful events in schools and to promote student safety, health, and wellbeing. We assessed the extent to which "SafeVoice" contributed to reductions in school discipline incidents, youth suicides, and increases in the positive school climate.…

The safety of teachers has been researched in South Africa, but less is known about education law that regulates functionaries' duty to act to ensure teachers' right to safety from violence in public schools. Section 12(1)(c) of the Constitution of 1996 provides that "(1) [e]veryone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which…

Various scholars have confirmed that teacher safety against learner victimization is a growing concern worldwide, and this problem is exacerbated by a lack of understanding and readiness to implement policies to address this matter. In this regard, policy implementation by middle leaders (MLs) in creating safe school environments has attracted…

The present pilot study explores pre-service teachers' experiences related to active shooter preparedness and perceptions of preparedness of active shooter training and drills. A survey was conducted among pre-service teachers (N = 97) regarding (a) previous experiences with active shooter response drills, (b) perceptions of preparedness for…

In the past several decades, the number of college students who experience mental health concerns has increased astronomically. During that time, acts of campus violence have increased as well. Unfortunately, many colleges have been unable to effectively meet the needs of students with mental disorders. This article explores the challenges…