In the wake of school shootings, attention invariably turns to how to make schools safer. But many of the strategies intended to secure schools against external threats yield unintended negative consequences for marginalized students, exacerbating racial and other inequalities. Meg Caven advocates for a definition of school safety that centers on…

School principals are responsible for the safety and well-being of the children entrusted to their care. Parents expect their children to be safe and protected and that school leaders establish and maintain clear lines of communication during a time of crisis. Within their capacity as school leaders, it is incumbent on them to guarantee that…

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS) has created a list of resources on the role of athletic directors in school safety efforts. The list includes the following categories: (1) Before an Emergency; (2) During an Emergency; (3) After an Emergency; and (4) Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Development…

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, teacher retention rates have declined across the country. This alarming trend shines a light on the teaching profession as there are fewer aspiring teachers who are prepared each year. One focal point is how working conditions influence a teachers intent to stay. Collective Efficacy is an extension of teacher…

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…

Recommendations on preventing and addressing school bullying and cyberbullying were developed in November 2020 by a Scientific Committee gathered to advise the International Conference on School Bullying organized by UNESCO and the French Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. They address three key issues: 1) revising the definition of school…

The United States has seen significantly more gun violence on school grounds than other high-income countries across the globe (Grinshteyn & Hemenway, 2019). On February 14, 2018, right here in our very home of Broward County, we experienced one of the most violent, deadly mass school shootings, when 17 people were killed and 17 others injured…

More than half of U.S. schools have no police presence on their campuses. Jonathan E. Collins proposes that all school buildings be free of police. School resource officers (SROs), he writes, do more harm than good. An alternate policy that would remove SROs from schools involves the framework of the community policing model. This model focuses on…

This study aimed to identify potential gaps related to crisis preparedness at 98 public secondary schools, as such crises may occur following a substantiated eminent threat of school violence. Crisis preparedness data collected by trained external assessors captured knowledge of the procedure for responding in a safety-related crisis and process…

The experience of teachers who cope with the potential of violence in their workplaces was the topic of this dissertation. The research question was the following: What is the process of coping with the increased potential of violence in the school/work setting for teachers? This question was posed to examine how teachers process and cope with the…

"Safe spaces" denote areas where students show up as they are and express themselves without fear of being made uncomfortable because of their sex, cultural background, or other status. Many dismiss the importance of safe spaces for students by accusing the institution of becoming a "therapeutic institution" concerned with…

This brief describes the effectiveness and reach of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework.

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…

The social movement for #PoliceFreeSchools (and the adjacent campaign on college and university campuses called #PoliceFreeCampuses) welcomes an opportunity to reimagine school discipline and safety in contradistinction to current carceral forms. Scholars have moved away from notions of "school to prison pipeline" by demonstrating the…

The presence of volunteers, both affiliated and unaffiliated, and the influx of donations during and after an emergency can be addressed through a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP). Education agencies and their planning teams must consider developing a system that addresses the different types of donations and volunteers, how they will…