School Safety

Education news, analysis, and opinion about keeping students safe in the school building from bullying, violence, and environmental hazards, among other things

Explainer

Greeley Police Officer Steve Brown stands in the hallway during passing periods at Northridge High School in Greeley, Colo. on Oct. 21, 2016. While school resource officers, like Brown, are expected to handle responsibilities like any police officer they're faced with unique challenges working day-to-day in schools
School Resource Officers (SROs), Explained
Does the presence of armed officers prevent school violence? Do they contribute for Black children to the 'school to prison pipeline'?
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Illustration of a cellphone with a red exclamation mark inside of a word bubble.
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School Climate & Safety Researchers Analyzed Years of Reports to a School Safety Tipline. Here's What They Learned
More than a third of gun-related tips in one state outlined possible school attacks, a new analysis finds.
Evie Blad, January 31, 2024
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4 min read
Visitors walk past a makeshift memorial honoring those recently killed at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. A Texas lawmaker says surveillance video from the school hallway where police waited as a gunman opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom will be shown this weekend to residents of Uvalde.
Visitors walk past a makeshift memorial on July 12, 2022, honoring those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in a May 2022 school shooting. Nearly a year after the Uvalde shooting, lawmakers in Texas passed a bill requiring that every public school classroom have a panic alarm system.
Eric Gay/AP
School Climate & Safety Could Panic Buttons Save Lives in a School Shooting? More Schools Think So
There's legislative momentum to require panic alarm systems in schools. But many districts are installing the systems without a mandate.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 30, 2024
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6 min read
Free gun locks at the Meriden, Conn. police department, June 21, 2019. Police are providing free cable-style gun locks to residents through a partnership with a child safety organization. Some advocates say schools could be distribution sites for gun locks to families, too.
Free gun locks at the Meriden, Conn. police department, June 21, 2019. Police are providing free cable-style gun locks to residents through a partnership with a child safety organization. Some advocates say schools could be distribution sites for gun locks to families, too.
Dave Zajac/Record-Journal via AP
School & District Management White House to Principals: Talk to Parents About Gun Safety
One principal advised being practical, not political, in messaging to parents about firearms.
Olina Banerji, January 29, 2024
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5 min read
Concept image of security breach, system hacked alert with red broken padlock icon showing vulnerable access.
Nicolas Herrbach/iStock/Getty
Privacy & Security A Massive Data Leak Exposed School Lockdown Plans. What Districts Need to Know
More than 4 million records held by school safety software company Raptor Technologies were left inadvertently exposed online.
Arianna Prothero, January 24, 2024
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5 min read
Illustration about warnings, with a businessman and woman each holding a with megaphone in front of a caution symbol.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion How to Strengthen the Safety and Security of Your School
Resources, guidance, and best practices can help leaders feel ready and empowered to improve their school’s safety and security.
Lindsay Burton & Michelle Kefford, January 22, 2024
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6 min read
Attorney General Merrick Garland, right, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, left, tour murals of shooting victims on Jan. 17, 2024, in Uvalde, Texas.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, right, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, left, tour murals of shooting victims on Jan. 17, 2024, in Uvalde, Texas. Details of the U.S. Department of Justice Department's long-awaited investigation into the tragedy were released Jan. 18.
Eric Gay/AP
School Climate & Safety 'Cascade of Failures' in Response to Uvalde School Shooting, Investigation Finds
The long-awaited federal review emphasized law enforcement failures, but also noted lapses in the district's safety policies.
Evie Blad, January 18, 2024
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6 min read
Illustration of sad figure in dark room with window.
Benjavisa/Getty
School Climate & Safety What the Research Says A Snapshot of Crime and Safety in Schools
The latest federal data show fewer crime and drug incidents in high schools in the 2021-22 school year.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 17, 2024
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3 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor Work With, Don't Eject, Troubled Students
Schools should work with students, not try to push them out, says this letter to the editor.
January 16, 2024
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1 min read
Sign indicating school zone.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Tracker School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where
Education Week is tracking K-12 school shootings in 2024 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
January 4, 2024
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3 min read
Ash covers the desks at Cardinal Newman High School where the Tubbs fire destroyed part of the school in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2017.
Ash covers the desks at Cardinal Newman High School where the Tubbs fire destroyed part of the school in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2017. Forty percent of principals in a recent EdWeek Research Center survey said the buildings where they most often work lack fire sprinkler systems.
Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Thousands of Schools Don't Have Working Fire Sprinklers
School buildings constructed before sprinkler mandates now face prohibitively steep costs to install crucial fire-prevention systems.
Mark Lieberman, January 2, 2024
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4 min read
Brian Hall, an armed community safety officer dedicated to the elementary schools in the Prince William County school system, monitors hallways at Ashland Elementary School in Manassas, Va.
Brian Hall, an armed community safety officer in the Prince William County school system, monitors hallways at Ashland Elementary School in Manassas, Va.
T.J. Kirkpatrick for Education Week
School Climate & Safety 5 Key School Safety Conversations for Districts
School districts face challenging decisions about issues like swatting calls, policing, and safety drills.
Evie Blad, December 20, 2023
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9 min read
3d rendering Low key image of menorah Jewish holiday Hanukkah background with candle lights
iStock/Getty + Education Week
Student Well-Being Opinion How Teachers Can Do Better by Jewish Students This Chanukah
An instructional specialist shares three pervasive mistakes that educators should avoid.
Miriam Plotinsky, December 8, 2023
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4 min read
Displayed is a Glock 17 pistol fitted a with a cable style gun lock in Philadelphia on May 10, 2023.
Displayed is a Glock 17 pistol fitted a with a cable style gun lock in Philadelphia on May 10, 2023.
Matt Rourke/AP
School Climate & Safety Gunlocks to Be Given Free to Tucson Unified Schools' Families Who Ask
Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo says students often come to school with unauthorized firearms because adults don't have gun locks.
Jessica Votipka, Arizona Daily Star, December 7, 2023
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2 min read
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. The three students were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said.
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war are playing out in schools and colleges across the country, including some K-12 schools.
Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
School & District Management Rising Tensions From Israel-Hamas War Are Seeping Into Schools
As effects of the war reverberate in school communities, schools have federal responsibilities to create discrimination-free environments.
Elizabeth Heubeck, November 29, 2023
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5 min read
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