As a result of extensive media coverage, the tragedies at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are etched into the collective memory of American society. Shortly after the events at Sandy Hook, the National Rifle Association (NRA) presented a program to address student safety by arming…

Shooting incidents at kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools in the United States have sparked calls to increase security or adopt altogether new approaches to school safety. These approaches include allowing teachers or staff to carry firearms in some schools. To learn what teachers across the United States think about school safety…

In July 2014, the State of Idaho Legislature, after several failed attempts in earlier years, successfully passed Idaho Senate Bill 1254 which allowed for the possession of weapons on Idaho public college campuses by individuals with enhanced concealed carry permits. The Idaho State of Board of Education and the boards of trustees from each of the…

Sometimes school and district personnel must involve law enforcement in disciplinary actions, which may include reporting specific offenses or directing school resource officers to address certain infractions. This data point examines when state statute or regulation requires schools to involve law enforcement agencies and personnel and for which…

The safety of students and staff is one of the most important responsibilities of a superintendent. This mixed-method study examined school security and emergency management protocols in Nebraska public schools. This study used qualitative perceptual data to compare the importance school superintendents place on safety and security emergency…

Mass shootings in schools raise important questions about how best to keep individuals safe and increase survivability in such situations. One of the most common techniques used is lockdown drills, which train individuals to build time and space between them and the threat. Despite their use in 95% of public K-12 schools nationwide, their efficacy…

This study determined the perceptions of school administrators who work at rural schools in Illinois classified as distant and remote on whether they need to be allowed to carry concealed weapons in order to protect themselves and their students by responding against armed intruders with deadly force. An existential conceptual/theoretical…

Although fatal shootings on U.S. college campuses are statistically rare, students are routinely confronted with information suggesting that shootings are rampant and unavoidable. Pre-crisis interventions should address the threat of deceptive claims and restore beliefs that universities are capable of protecting students from violence. This…

This exploratory study used data collected from a representative sample of 522 Pennsylvania residents and 238 Pennsylvania college students to measure attitudes toward four different types of campus carry (CC) -- student, faculty, staff, and universal carry. Findings indicated that a slight majority of both samples believed that armed staff and…

This polling brief describes the observations and views about guns and school safety among school parents, teachers, and the general public. The brief highlights their perspectives about what steps can be taken to ensure children across America have safe schools and classrooms for their learning. This poll was conducted between June 15-June 21,…

This study uses open source information to examine school shootings in the United States for the 1990-2016 period. We innovatively created a national-level database to address the gaps in existing research and identified 652 school shootings. These shootings included 473 intentional shootings (encompassing 354 with known offenders and 119 with…

As the 2021-22 academic year came to a close, the United States was rocked by the news of another school mass shooting, this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen fourth-grade students and two of their teachers were killed when an 18-year-old former student entered the school through an unlocked door, made his way to his former…

A major teacher shortage exists in the United States. As teachers leave the classroom in droves, administrators are forced to hire unlicensed educators in order to fill vacant positions. Teachers have decided to change professions due to a lack of competitive salaries, fear of personal safety, and a lack of support from education stakeholders.…

School safety is a key feature of the learning environment. Research suggests if students perceive their environment as unsafe they will face a myriad of possible detrimental consequences. Using qualitative interviews, we explore the factors most consistently identified by students as important in their feelings of safety. We examine whether the…

This article focuses on gun violence in the school setting and the role of the counselor in helping to reduce gun violence. Gun violence in schools has become pervasive for many reasons, including lack of adequate support staff, undiagnosed mental health issues, students who experience isolation, anger, depression, bullying, as well as access to…