Student Well-Being & Movement Blog

Rules for Engagement

The Rules for Engagement blog explored the nonacademic issues that bear on students’ learning. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: social-emotional learning, student well-being, and school climate.

Crime scene tape is set around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting on March 20 in Great Mills, Md.
Crime scene tape is set around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting on March 20 in Great Mills, Md.
Alex Brandon/AP
School Climate & Safety A School Officer Intervenes in a Shooting. And the Debate Turns to 'Good Guy With a Gun'
A school-based sheriff's deputy confronted a student gunman at a Maryland high school Tuesday, fueling debates over school safety and the role of law enforcement in schools.
Evie Blad, March 21, 2018
7 min read
School Climate & Safety Stoneman Douglas Student Arrested for Threat; Deputies Move to Keep Guns From Brother of Accused Shooter
Broward County sheriff's deputies arrested a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Tuesday for a social media threat. And they sought to prohibit the brother of the accused school shooter from obtaining weapons under the state's new "red flag law."
Evie Blad, March 20, 2018
3 min read
School Climate & Safety Lawmakers Question Obama-Era Discipline Policy at Hearing on Parkland Shooting
Members of Congress debated a directive to drive down disproportionately high discipline rates for students of color with Republicans questioning whether similar policies in a Florida district allowed the accused Parkland, Fla., shooter to avoid being arrested despite his reportedly frequent discipline issues at school.
Evie Blad, March 20, 2018
8 min read
Crime scene tape runs outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in the days after the Feb. 14 fatal shooting there.
Crime scene tape runs outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in the days after the Feb. 14 fatal shooting there.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Equity & Diversity Civil Rights Groups Sound the Alarm About Safety Plans After Parkland Shooting
"Knee-jerk reactions" to school safety fears after a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., have created civil rights concerns for students of color and students with disabilities, a group of civil rights organizations said Monday.
Evie Blad, March 19, 2018
5 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement 'The Most Traumatizing Experience Imaginable.' Stoneman Douglas Teacher Tells Senators About Students' Pain
After a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students will be processing their trauma for years to come, a teacher told lawmakers.
Evie Blad, March 14, 2018
2 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Teachers Say Social-Emotional Learning Is Important, But They Can't Do It Alone
A focus on students' social, emotional, and academic development improves classroom learning, a new report says, but teachers need support to bring that mindset into their work.
Evie Blad, March 13, 2018
2 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Parkland-Inspired Bill on Guns, School Safety Heads to Florida Governor's Desk
Florida lawmakers passed a bill that includes restrictions on gun purchases, school safety measures, and a voluntary program to arm school staff. Gov. Rick Scott has not said if he will sign it.
Evie Blad, March 7, 2018
3 min read
Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, after a shooter opened fire on the campus.
Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, after a shooter opened fire on the campus.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
School Climate & Safety Thwarted School Shooting Plans Don't Get Much Attention. Here's How That Affects School Safety Debates.
Prevention is an important part of school safety plans, experts say. But the public isn't always aware of successful prevention efforts, and that can skew debates over school safety.
Evie Blad, March 7, 2018
5 min read
School Climate & Safety After Shooting, Superintendent Calls for Review of Suspect's Education, Disciplinary History
Robert Runcie, the superintendent of the Broward County district recovering from a Feb. 14 school shooting, called for an independent review of the "educational record and the academic, social and emotional services" that accused gunman Nikolas Cruz received while he was a student.
Evie Blad, March 6, 2018
2 min read
School Climate & Safety After Parkland Shooting, Sen. Rubio Questions Obama-Era Guidance on School Arrests
Obama-era guidance that calls on schools not to rely on police to administer routine student discipline "may have contributed to systemic failures" to report a school shooting suspect's behavior to law enforcement, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary or Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions Monday.
Evie Blad, March 6, 2018
6 min read
School Climate & Safety Parkland School Officer Took Position, But Didn't Enter Building During Shooting, Sheriff Says
The Broward County sheriff's deputy assigned to Stoneman Douglas High School took position outside of a building during the mass shooting there last week, but he never entered to try to stop the gunman, Sheriff Scott Israel said Thursday.
Evie Blad, February 22, 2018
1 min read
Smoke and shell casings fly as teachers and staff from Clifton Independent School District in Clifton, Texas, fire handguns at a range just outside of Clifton during training on what they need to know to get a license to carry a concealed gun.
Smoke and shell casings fly as teachers and staff from Clifton Independent School District in Clifton, Texas, fire handguns at a range just outside of Clifton during training on what they need to know to get a license to carry a concealed gun.
Lance Rosenfield/Prime for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Calls to Arm Teachers Meet Resistance From Parkland Educators, Leaders
Even before President Donald Trump proposed training and arming teachers in response to a mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school, some teachers there said they wouldn't want to carry a weapon in their classrooms.
Evie Blad, February 22, 2018
6 min read
School Climate & Safety After Parkland Shooting, Deputies in Broward County Schools Will Carry Rifles
Deputies who patrol Broward County, Fla., schools will carry AR-15 rifles, the same weapon that was used to carry out a mass shooting at one of the district's high schools last week, Sheriff Scott Israel said.
Evie Blad, February 21, 2018
2 min read
School Climate & Safety West Point Posthumously Admits School Shooting Victim Honored as Hero by Classmates
The military academy awarded a rare posthumous admission to Peter Wang, a Parkland JROTC member who died holding open a school door so his peers could escape.
Evie Blad, February 20, 2018
2 min read