In June, President Biden announced a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and other violent crime, including preventive measures proven to reduce violent crime and attack its root causes. This strategy encourages using the American Rescue Plan's (ARP's) historic funding levels, including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency…

According to a national [2017-18] survey conducted by National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), school counselors overwhelmingly oppose efforts to arm educators as a response to gun violence in schools. Nearly three-quarters of 2,251 counselors who responded were either "somewhat opposed" or "strongly…

In this paper, the authors seek to establish the way in which young people are subject to two forms of epistemic oppression in testimony, what Dotson calls testimonial quieting and testimonial smothering. Testimonial quieting happens when a hearer fails to identify a speaker as a person who knows about whatever subject about which the speaker is…

This exploratory research surveyed faculty who instruct in community colleges from 18 states about their attitudes toward the concealed carry gun policies that allow appropriately licensed citizens to carry a handgun in public places such as college campuses. Building upon previous research involving 4-year institutions, we surveyed 1,889…

Despite the familiar American scene of lined-up students being ushered out of school buildings while their classmates lay wounded or dead inside, and despite repeated calls for restrictions on the guns used in such shootings, nearly twenty years after Columbine, the gun lobby retains a powerful grip on the nation's politicians - using money and…

There are a number of different safety threats that children face in their lives. One infrequent, but highly dangerous situation a child can face is finding a firearm. Hundreds of children are injured or killed by firearms each year. Fortunately, behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective approaches for teaching a…

"Guns on Campus: The Architecture and Momentum of State Policy Action" offers a detailed summary of state legislative action and higher education system policy decisions that have occurred in two specific categories: (1) States that have permitted or are seeking to permit guns on campus; and (2) States that have prohibited or are seeking…

The author of this article observes that, while much has been written on the overall topic of safety with regard to allowing guns on college campuses, little has been said about how allowing the possession of deadly weapons can create a "chilling effect" on academic discussions. This article considers how some universities have…

Engagement with political, social, and civic issues is a fundamental hallmark of an educated population. However, the level of engagement among adolescents and young adults is considered by many to be below desirable levels. This article presents details of a Psychology in Current Events course designed to increase civic engagement through an…

As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan works with other Obama administration officials on policy responses to the shootings at a Connecticut elementary school, he brings a personal and professional history that has acquainted him with the impact of gun violence. As schools chief in Chicago from 2001 to 2008, he was affected by the gun deaths…

The question of whether guns should be permitted on college and university campuses in the United States reflects the tension between two competing perspectives. America has both a robust gun culture and an equally robust (if less well known) gun-control culture. The gun culture is as American as apple pie: There may be as many as 300 million…

School safety policies are constantly evolving, often in response to fatal events. After several high-profile and tragic shootings over the past 15 years, school safety has become a major focus for parents, school officials, policymakers and the public nationwide. ECS [Education Commission of the States] conducted a scan of school safety-related…

This qualitative phenomenological study employed narrative inquiry to describe the decision-making processes that Texas school districts followed in enacting firearms policies that allow school employees to carry concealed weapons on district property. Exploration of the lived experiences of eight Texas superintendents in such schools contributed…

Almost all U.S. college campuses ban concealed weapons. But in the aftermath of the tragic shooting deaths at Virginia Tech in 2007, the debate on whether guns should be permitted at colleges and universities has intensified. Dozens of states have considered proposals to lift bans on concealed weapons at colleges and universities, but so far none…

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…