This is the 25th edition of Indicators of School Crime and Safety. This report provides summary statistics to inform the nation about current aspects of crime and safety in schools. This report does so by highlighting selected findings from 23 indicators on various school crime and safety topics. By synthesizing findings in this way, the report…

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms…

High-profile school attacks highlight the need for effective school safety solutions. School safety tip lines offer a prevention-based solution. However, little is known about their effectiveness. Using a quasi-experimental multilevel design, we examined the association between school tip-line adoption and violent threats and attacks at school…

When the pandemic took hold, the superintendent of Selma City Schools realized the strategic plan her district had in place wasn't enough. She shares the collective steps her team took to embrace change and rethink what school could look like from the ground up.

Following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, policymakers have sought ways to improve safety on college and university campuses nationwide. Among the more recent proposals is to permit concealed handgun licensees to carry on campus. To date, eight states have enacted legislation implementing this measure. A limited body of research considers the…

Although rare when compared to other crimes or disasters that occur on college or university campuses, active shootings still affect educational institutions. These campus shootings are also heavily publicized in the media; therefore, everyone can see the damage these tragedies cause. However, while various strategies and plans exist to help in…

A conservatively-minded campus, Liberty University's administrators have, like many college campuses, struggled with creating an appropriate weapons policy. The policies in existence prior to 2011 were more traditionally anti-weapon, while those created after 2011 have been more forgiving. This article examines the background, both national and…

Atomic weapons testing during the Cold War and accidents at nuclear power plants have resulted in the release of radioactive fallout over great distances. Little is known about levels of fallout deposited in Indiana. The reported study sampled soil in all 92 Indiana counties to determine the present level of cesium-137 from the 2 to 12 centimeter…

Dealing with memories of catastrophes is undoubtedly important for education. Yet, how is such an education possible? On which theoretical basis can we describe it? In this article, I build a bridge between 'Memory Studies' and educational studies with regard to the topic of 'catastrophe' and thus present a provisional general theory of education,…

Virginia law mandates the use of threat assessment in all public schools, yet there is little research on grade-level differences. This study investigated a statewide sample of 3,282 threats from 1,021 schools. Threats significantly differed across grade level in demographics, characteristics, and outcome. As grade increased, students were more…

Educational leaders are faced with multiple ethical decisions every day. This article presents the Values-Issue-Action (VIA) Model as a tool for developing ethical decisions in K-12 schools. The model is presented with three scenarios from K-12 education to practice using the model into practice. The model can be used by current school leaders and…

The tables in this report provide national-level estimates of the extent to which students ages 12-18 enrolled in grades 6-12 experience bullying during school. The tables show how bullying victimization varies by student and school characteristics such as sex, race/ethnicity, grade, household income, region, school locale, school enrollment size,…

Although there has been an increase in research on support for campus carry laws, few studies have examined how these laws influence campus safety. Using longitudinal data from a university sample, this study compares measures of campus safety before and after the adoption of a campus carry law. We found statistically significant increases in…

We summarize current data and understanding about the prevalence of gun violence at schools and risk of rampage school shootings. Following that comes a discussion of gun availability among youth and strategies and practices in the United States and abroad that have been implemented to limit access to firearms for minors. Next, we review the…

Since March of 2020, educational communities have largely been in survival mode with little attention, time, or resources allocated to the ongoing work of school safety and violence prevention. Planning and implementing initiatives for a return to school cannot just focus on a return to "normal" because of significant increases in other…