School Safety

Children place flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Ore., Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, a day after a deadly shooting. The child victims, ages 5, 8, and 11, include the youngest person killed in a school shooting since Education Week began<a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2026/01" target="_blank" link-data="{&quot;cms.site.owner&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000173-0561-d1f0-a17f-adef4bee0000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20&quot;},&quot;cms.content.publishDate&quot;:1792177418426,&quot;cms.content.publishUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000180-d7b2-d193-a1b2-dfbba3aa0001&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;cms.content.updateDate&quot;:1792177418426,&quot;cms.content.updateUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000180-d7b2-d193-a1b2-dfbba3aa0001&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;link&quot;:{&quot;disableUtmTracking&quot;:false,&quot;target&quot;:&quot;NEW&quot;,&quot;attributes&quot;:[],&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2026/01&quot;,&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;000001a1-4619-d1d1-a3f3-f77b151b0000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a&quot;},&quot;linkText&quot;:&quot; tracking these incidents&quot;,&quot;theme.brightspot-theme-default.:core:enhancement:Enhancement.hbs.enhancementAlignment&quot;:null,&quot;theme.brightspot-theme-default.:core:link:Link.hbs._template&quot;:null,&quot;theme.brightspot-theme-default.:core:link:Link.hbs.type&quot;:null,&quot;theme.brightspot-theme-default.:core:link:Link.hbs._preset&quot;:null,&quot;theme.brightspot-theme-default.:core:enhancement:Enhancement.hbs._preset&quot;:null,&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;000001a1-4619-d1d1-a3f3-f77b14b10001&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288&quot;}"> </a>tracking those incidents eight years ago.

A student leaving Greenspun Junior High School in Henderson, Nev., enters a car in the travel lane of Valle Verde Drive on Sept. 14, 2022. Pedestrian fatalities near schools are most likely to occur in the early morning and early evening hours, federal data show.

The police department in Jackson, Mich., responded to a "swatting" incident directed at the city's Middle School at Parkside on May 8, 2025. Many schools across the country have experienced similar fake threats, which can scare teachers, students, and parents, and disrupt the school day.

Authorities investigate the scene after a deadly shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23, 2018. Patricia Greer, who was serving as principal during the incident, and other current and former school leaders have updated a guide on leading schools in the aftermath of gun violence.

Education Week Managing Editor. Sean Cavanagh (left) and Deputy Managing Editor Kevin Bushweller discuss how one New York City school experienced September 11, 2001.

The U.S. flag hangs on One World Trade Center during the a ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2011, in New York. Now 25 years on, the event has shaped school safety, debates over patriotism, and even federal education policy in ways that continue to reverberate.

A Campus Guardian Angel drone circles a dummy during a demonstration at the Florida Association of School Resource Officers' conference in Jacksonville, Fla. on July 22, 2026. Such drones, which are designed to distract a school attacker, are a largely untested strategy in the school safety world.

A high school football field in Crofton, Md., on Aug. 22, 2026. Gunfire has wounded or killed someone at 43 high school football games since 2018, according to tracking by Education Week. Safety specialists suggest deliberate planning ahead of football season and clear assignments for school staff at games, among other steps schools can take to enhance security.

Richneck Elementary schoolteacher Abigail Zwerner with her mother after a verdict was reached in her lawsuit against the school's assistant principal, Ebony Parker, at Newport News Circuit Court on Nov. 6, 2025 in Newport News, Va. A 6-year-old student brought a loaded gun to school that was later used to shoot Zwerner, despite her raising concerns with school officials.