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 group of people forming the shape of a shield around a school building.
iStock + E+/Getty Images +Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion 5 Critical Strategies to Make Your School Safer
There's no single solution to defend students’ physical, mental, and emotional health, but these five actionable steps are a place to start.
Doug Roberts, Ann Levett & Shanna Downs, June 1, 2023
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5 min read
Teachers and other staff members from the Clifton, Texas, school district undergo handgun training at a shooting range just outside of Clifton. Instructors from Big Iron Concealed Handgun Training in Waco, Texas, were giving teachers tips on what they need to know to earn a license to carry weapons out of sight.
Teachers and other staff members from the Clifton, Texas, school district undergo handgun training at a shooting range just outside of Clifton in 2013. Instructors from Big Iron Concealed Handgun Training in Waco, Texas, were giving teachers tips on what they need to know to earn a license to carry weapons out of sight.
Lance Rosenfield/Prime for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Teachers Agree on Most School Safety Issues, Except Guns
Teachers agree on their schools' top safety concerns, but they're divided over a policy that's extensively debated after school shootings.
Caitlynn Peetz, May 31, 2023
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4 min read
Crime scene tape cordons off a school bus as police officers from the Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department and Columbus Police Department investigate a hit and run involving a student and a vehicle at a bus stop on South Gladstone Avenue in Columbus, Ind., on Aug. 30, 2021.
Crime scene tape cordons off a school bus as police officers from the Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department and Columbus Police Department investigate a hit-and-run involving a student and a vehicle at a bus stop on South Gladstone Avenue in Columbus, Ind., on Aug. 30, 2021. About eight students per year are killed boarding or getting off of school buses.
Mike Wolanin/The Republic via AP
School Climate & Safety Drivers Illegally Pass Buses 42 Million Times a Year. What Schools Can Do
A handful of students are killed each year getting on and off school buses. Schools can take some steps to try to make a difference.
Caitlynn Peetz, May 24, 2023
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6 min read
A mourner stops to pay his respects at a memorial at Robb Elementary School, created to honor the victims killed in the recent school shooting, June 9, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.
A mourner stops to pay his respects at a memorial at Robb Elementary School, created to honor the victims killed in the recent school shooting, June 9, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP
School Climate & Safety Photo Essay Photos: A Year of Grieving and Struggling for Answers After Uvalde School Shooting
A year after a gunman killed 21 people in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, the community still searches for answers.
Evie Blad, May 23, 2023
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3 min read
Image of a shooting target being covered over by many hands with artwork.
melitas, Benjavisa, and CollideOscope/iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion How Teachers Can Collectively Push Back Against Gun Violence
A teacher educator proposes concrete ways educators can raise their voices alongside parents and youth.
Rebecca Woodard, May 11, 2023
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5 min read
Students are evacuated off the campus at Cardozo Education Campus after a reported bomb threat was made to the school on Feb. 10, 2022 in Washington.
Students are evacuated off the campus at Cardozo Education Campus after a reported bomb threat was made to the school on Feb. 10, 2022 in Washington.
Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP
School Climate & Safety How Districts Should Respond to Bomb Threats
What schools need to do to be prepared in case of a bomb threat, in the light of increasing threats to districts across the country.
Eesha Pendharkar, April 28, 2023
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4 min read
A male uniformed police officer walks out of a police SUV in front of a sign that says "Richneck Elementary School."
Police respond after a 6-year-old student shot and injured his teacher at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, 2023 in Newport News, Va. Federal legislators are proposing data collection and a more uniform definition of school shootings.
Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
School Climate & Safety What Counts as a School Shooting? Lawmakers Want an Official Definition
A bill would also require agencies to collect more data on school shootings to guide safety efforts.
Evie Blad, April 28, 2023
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5 min read
The Hilton Central School District in New York has received bomb threats for refusing to ban a book about LGBTQ+ topics.
The Hilton Central School District in New York has received bomb threats for refusing to ban a book about LGBTQ+ topics.
Courtesy of the Hilton Central School District
School Climate & Safety Book Ban Debates Prompt Bomb Threats Against Schools
An upstate New York district received four bomb threats after community members objected to a book.
Eesha Pendharkar, April 27, 2023
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10 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor How to Support Students Following a School Shooting
An educator offers seven tips for teachers and parents about how to talk to kids about and help them deal with the aftermath of school shootings.
April 25, 2023
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1 min read
President Joe Biden congratulates Rebecka Peterson, 2023 National Teacher of the Year, during a ceremony honoring the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 Teachers of the Year in the Rose Garden of the White House, on April 24, 2023.
President Joe Biden congratulates Rebecka Peterson, 2023 National Teacher of the Year, during a ceremony honoring the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 Teachers of the Year in the Rose Garden of the White House, on April 24, 2023.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Teaching Profession Teaching Shouldn't Be a 'Life-Threatening Profession,' Biden Says
The president spoke to educators during a ceremony to honor the 2023 State Teachers of the Year.
Libby Stanford, April 24, 2023
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5 min read
Image of a gun sitting on a glass table.
edwardolive/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being 4 Out of Every 10 Parents Own a Gun. What That Means for School and Student Safety
Among those parents, one-third say their guns are stored in an unlocked location, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Arianna Prothero, April 24, 2023
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4 min read
The Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 2023, in Washington.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 2023, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Has Schools in Mind as It Weighs What 'True Threats' Are
The justices cite school and college scenarios as they consider when speech perceived as threatening may be punished.
Mark Walsh, April 19, 2023
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6 min read
Security officer James White wears a mask as protesters hold signs during a Board of Education meeting in Castle Rock, Colo., to discuss the use of masks and other protective measures in Douglas County Schools on Aug. 24, 2021. A federal judge issued a restraining order Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, against the suburban Denver county's policy allowing parents to opt their children out of a mask mandate at schools, finding that the rule violates the rights of students with disabilities who are vulnerable to COVID-19.
Security officer James White wears a mask as protesters hold signs during a board of education meeting in Castle Rock, Colo., to discuss the use of masks and other protective measures in Douglas County Schools on Aug. 24, 2021.
AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP
School Climate & Safety After Threats and Unruly Meetings, School Boards Invest in Security
Many districts have decided to make metal detectors, security guards or police, and mandatory bag checks a permanent feature of board meetings.
Caitlynn Peetz, April 18, 2023
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7 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
David J. Phillip/AP
School Climate & Safety Texas Lawmakers Could Make It Easier to Kick Students Out of Class
The bill would allow a teacher to remove a student based on a single incident of unruly or disruptive behavior.
Talia Richman, The Dallas Morning News, April 14, 2023
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6 min read
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