This report provides a broad overview of the history and recent controversies surrounding safe space, and explains the variation of how safe space is defined or enacted at campus, division, and classroom levels within institutions. This brief is designed to give policymakers a broader perspective on safe spaces and the different ways that people have used the term in a higher education context. It will also present the different ways people have used or enacted the idea of safe space. The report also includes a list of resources to further inform policymakers on the topic.