Over the past 25 years school violence in the form of active shootings has steadily increased in frequency and devastation. Schools across the United States have leveraged a multitude of security mechanisms and philosophies to stop active shooter violence. The 2020 COVID pandemic further ignited violence within the schools and a rise in teacher…

This qualitative study explored the factors that affected King Unified School District's (KUSD's) successful attainment of their goal to instruct 100% of their administrators on their comprehensive safety plan, with a specific focus on active shooter violence prevention. Documents from the district were analyzed, and administrators from both the…

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…

This qualitative case study investigated the perception of school safety, what current policies and procedures were effective, and what policies and procedures should be implemented. Data were collected in two steps, by survey and focus group interview. Analysis determined codes that revealed several themes relevant to the perception of school…

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has become very prominent among adolescents in middle and high school settings. However, little research has evaluated the role of the school environment in the behaviour. This study examined whether indices of school trust and perceived safety were predictive of NSSI behaviour. Results indicate that these variables…

In the wake of the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, a number of state legislatures are considering bills that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. The author recently spoke at a conference on higher-education law, sponsored by Stetson University and the National Association of Student…

The present study examined how public school administrators negotiate discipline policies that are intended to protect the common good and the educational rights of students with disabilities. We investigated the political nature of these decisions and the strategies used in reaching them through interviews with administrators in 9 public high…