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This report provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. The information presented in this report serves as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention. Accurate information about the nature, extent, and scope of the problem being addressed is essential for developing effective programs and policies. The report is organized into five sections: elementary and secondary student and teacher victimization; school environment; fights and weapons; safety, security, and mental health practices; and postsecondary campus safety and security. Each section begins with a set of key findings. In this report, where available, data on victimization that occurred away from school are offered as a point of comparison for data on victimization that occurred at school. Indicators of crime and safety are compared across different population subgroups and over time. All data reflect the most current data available at the time the report was produced. Data throughout this report represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings described with comparative language (e.g., higher, lower, increase, and decrease) are statistically significant at the 0.05 level.

The tables in this report provide national-level estimates of the extent to which students ages 12-18 enrolled in grades 6-12 experience bullying during school. The tables show how bullying victimization varies by student and school characteristics such as sex, race/ethnicity, grade, household income, region, school locale, school enrollment size, and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The tables also show how rates of bullying victimization vary by crime-related characteristics such as: the presence of gangs, guns, drugs, alcohol, and hate-related graffiti at school; selected school security measures; student criminal victimization; personal fear of attack or harm; avoidance behaviors; fighting; and the carrying of weapons to school.

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS is managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences and collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects data on school security measures, school security staff, mental health services, parent and community involvement at school, and staff training on school discipline and safety policies and practices. SSOCS data can be used to study how violent incidents in schools relate to the programs and practices that schools have in place to prevent crime. In addition to collecting data on these core topics, SSOCS:2022 collected data on schools' responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-22 school year. The national sample for SSOCS:2022 was made up of 4,800 U.S. public schools. Data collection began on February 15, 2022, and continued through July 19, 2022.

State law (Revised Code of Washington [RCW] 28A.320.130) requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to annually report to the Legislature the number of incidents in violation of RCW 9.41.280, which involves the possession of weapons on school premises, transportation systems, or in areas of facilities while being used exclusively by public or private schools. This update reports on the 2,275 incidents involving the possession of a weapon and the resulting interventions that were reported by Washington's public and private schools for the 2022-2023 school year.

Gun violence and school shootings have become more prevalent in recent years, and beginning in 2017, firearm-related injuries became the most common cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 24. Students also face the threat of bullying, gangs, racism, drugs, and abuse. In recognition of the need for collective action, the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) established a joint task force early in 2022 centered on identifying models for collaboration between police and school districts to address the safety of students in communities and schools throughout the United States. The impact of crime and violence in schools and communities goes beyond the immediate threats to student safety. Students who experience or witness crime and violence often face lasting trauma that may impact their long-term mental health and academic achievement. In response to these threats, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed into law by Congress in the summer of 2022. The Act seeks to help keep schools safe and reduce the threat of violence across the country. This document proposes new and innovative approaches to reducing incidents of violence in schools and communities with a focus on shifting mindsets and reframing relationships and practices related to schools, police, and communities.

This is the 25th edition of Indicators of School Crime and Safety. This report provides summary statistics to inform the nation about current aspects of crime and safety in schools. This report does so by highlighting selected findings from 23 indicators on various school crime and safety topics. By synthesizing findings in this way, the report allows readers to gauge the breadth of the content more efficiently and make connections across indicators. This report covers a variety of topics on school crime and safety. It first examines different types of student victimization, including violent deaths and school shootings, nonfatal criminal victimization, and bullying victimization. Then, the report presents data on teacher victimization. This report concludes the section on crime and safety issues at the elementary and secondary level by examining data on school conditions--such as discipline problems, gangs, hate-related speech, possession of weapons, and use and availability of illegal drugs--as well as data that reflect student perceptions about their personal safety at school. [For the 2021 report, see ED620652.]

A rise in the number of school shootings over time has driven increasing attention to school safety. However, school shootings are not the only physical safety threat students may encounter at school. Other types of violence include sexual assault, robbery, physical attack or fights, and threats of physical attack (with or without a weapon). In addition to immediate physical harms, school violence can have long-lasting effects that undermine students' engagement and mental health. It can also increase drug use and risk of suicide. Although there is widespread agreement that all children and youth deserve a safe and healthy school environment, there is significant debate about how best to promote student safety. As states, districts, and schools consider policies and practices that will promote school safety, they can look to existing research to understand more about the effectiveness of proposed strategies and the potential risk of unintended consequences. This report summarizes what is known about the prevalence and effectiveness of strategies to improve student safety in schools. The authors acknowledge that schools are not the only place where young people experience violence, and there is much to be done to ensure safety in all homes and social spaces.

The American School Shooting Study (TASSS) is an ongoing mixed-method project funded by the National Institute of Justice to catalog US school shootings. It has amassed data based on open sources and other public materials dating back to 1990. This brief presents new insights from TASSS, diving deeper into the database's potential to examine the locations, timing, and student involvement of youth-perpetrated gun violence.

School shootings have been a constant looming threat for students across the US, with the number of shootings on campuses dramatically increasing in recent years. In response, schools have instituted preparedness and response measures, including school-shooter drills. This essay examines the relationship between active-shooter drills and two school accountability outcomes: attendance rates and proficiency rates on statewide end-of-year tests. There are two main results. First, in English and math, students in grades three through five who test on the school days immediately after an active-shooter drill have lower proficiency rates than their counterparts who test on the days and weeks before the drill. But proficiency rates return to typical levels as tests are administered in the weeks following the week of the drill. Second, attendance rates are slightly lower during quarters when active-shooter drills occur, relative to quarters without these drills.

Schools should be safe places for young people, educators, school staff, and community members, and policies and practices can help create learning environments where kids thrive. Gun violence in U.S. schools has prompted calls for increased school safety measures; however, which policies contribute to safe school environments is often a topic of debate. How can schools create safe environments while also fostering welcoming, equitable school climates that support growth, learning, and community? To help Colorado policymakers and school communities answer this question, the Colorado Children's Campaign has identified and compiled research on strategies that are supported by strong evidence. While school safety can be defined broadly as freedom from physical, emotional, and psychological violence, this brief focuses on promoting freedom from bodily harm in a school setting. Strategies that support students' well-being and prevent bullying, fighting, the use of weapons, and other types of violence can contribute to reducing harm. [Leslie Colwell, Megan Ives, Erica Manoatl, and Jackie Zubrzycki contributed to this report.]

This document is the first of a semi-annual "stocktaking" publication to analyze various political trends impacting education and young people. Bellwether hopes to help the field separate signal from noise and provide context around various issues and trends affecting the sector. The impact of COVID-19 school closures on schools and students, which are only starting to be understood, was an obvious starting place for the first project. But while the pandemic has dominated attention for the past several years, it is not the only issue in American life. Other issues are stressing Americans, such as mass shootings, inflation, mental health needs, and racism, to name a few. Because schools are institutions that transfer culture and norms and one of the last public venues where Americans regularly come together, schools are often battlegrounds for society's various debates. In this report, the authors focus on six issues related to pandemic disruptions and broader cultural debates: (1) School Enrollment; (2) Student Achievement; (3) Student Discipline; (4) Guns and School Safety; (5) Race and Racism; and (6) LGBT Rights. Each topic begins with an overview of the data and research at a societal level, then takes a closer look at how it is affecting the education sector and how schools are navigating it. The goal is to provide a clear fact base for discussion about complicated issues.

The prevalence of school-based healthcare has increased markedly over the past decade. We study a modern mode of school-based healthcare, telemedicine, that offers the potential to reach places and populations with historically low access to such care. School-based telemedicine clinics (SBTCs) provide students with access to healthcare during the regular school day through private videoconferencing with a healthcare provider. We exploit variation over time in SBTC openings across schools in three rural districts in North Carolina. We find that school-level SBTC access reduces the likelihood that a student is chronically absent by 2.5 percentage points (29 percent) and reduces the number of days absent by about 0.8 days (10 percent). Relatedly, access to an SBTC increases the likelihood of math and reading test-taking by between 1.8-2.0 percentage points (about 2 percent). Heterogeneity analyses suggest that these effects are driven by male students. Finally, we see suggestive evidence that SBTC access reduces violent or weapons-related disciplinary infractions among students but has little influence on other forms of misbehavior.

This 50-state comparison assesses the K-12 school safety policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The information presented in this interactive resource gives an overview of relevant laws in each state and does not reflect how these laws may interact with other state or federal policies. The interactive resource does not include district- or school-level policies, handbooks, manuals or other sources outside of state statute or regulations. It also does not provide legal advice on specific circumstances. Hyperlinked data tables for 50-state comparisons showing how all states approach school safety policies are provided. A specific state's approach can be viewed by going to the individual state profile page.

The 2021-22 academic year was profoundly challenging for California schools. Eight critical issues emerged as serious threats to student learning, the operation of schools, and even the very institution of public education: (1) gun violence, (2) politicization of and support for public education, (3) controversy over what is taught in schools, (4) student learning and well-being, (5) declining enrollment, (6) teacher shortages, (7) college affordability, and (8) long-term funding inadequacy and instability. These issues also present a threat to equity because they disproportionately affect the most marginalized communities, exposing long-standing systemic inequities in education and creating new gaps in opportunity and access. It is against this backdrop that PACE and the University of Southern California (USC) Rossier School of Education fielded their annual poll of California voters in July 2022 on their opinions of and priorities for public education. To inform California public schools' transition into a postpandemic future, this report analyzes Californians' perspectives on the eight critical issues. [For the Summary, see ED624797.]

The 2021-22 academic year was profoundly challenging for California schools. Eight critical issues emerged as serious threats to student learning, the operation of schools, and even the very institution of public education: (1) gun violence, (2) politicization of and support for public education, (3) controversy over what is taught in schools, (4) student learning and well-being, (5) declining enrollment, (6) teacher shortages, (7) college affordability, and (8) long-term funding inadequacy and instability. These issues also present a threat to equity because they disproportionately affect the most marginalized communities, exposing long-standing systemic inequities in education and creating new gaps in opportunity and access. It is against this backdrop that PACE and the University of Southern California (USC) Rossier School of Education fielded their annual poll of California voters in July 2022 on their opinions of and priorities for public education. This report summarizes the top findings related to major threats facing public schools. [For the full Report, see ED624796.]

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects data on school security measures, school security staff, mental health services, parent and community involvement at school, and staff training. SSOCS data can be used to study how violent incidents in schools relate to the programs and practices that schools have in place to prevent crime. Data collection began in February 2020 and was conducted mostly using an online survey instrument. In March 2020, many schools began closing their physical buildings due to the coronavirus pandemic. This affected data collection activities. Also, the change to virtual schooling and the adjusted school year may have impacted the data collected by SSOCS. Readers should use caution when comparing SSOCS:2020 estimates with those from earlier years. The national sample for SSOCS:2020 was made up of 4,800 U.S. public schools. Of these schools, 2,370 elementary, middle, high/secondary, and combined/other schools responded. The results showed that nonresponding schools were significantly different from responding schools. However, the results also showed that weighting adjustments removed most of the observed nonresponse bias. [For the summary report, see ED621594. For the 2019 report, see ED596638.]

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects data on school security measures, school security staff, mental health services, parent and community involvement at school, and staff training. SSOCS data can be used to study how violent incidents in schools relate to the programs and practices that schools have in place to prevent crime. The purpose of this report is to introduce the data by presenting selected descriptive information from SSOCS:2020. The tables in the report contain totals and percentages, which have been weighted to represent U.S. public schools. The report also includes selected findings and figures. Together, the tables, findings, and figures show the range of data available from the survey rather than a full review of all observed differences. [For the full report, see ED621593.]

This is the 24th in a series of annual publications. Beginning with the 2020 edition, this report has been redesigned with the intention of increasing its usability for a wider audience. This report does so by highlighting selected findings from 23 indicators on various school crime and safety topics. It first examines different types of student victimization, including violent deaths and school shootings, nonfatal criminal victimization, and bullying victimization. Then, the report presents data on measures of school conditions--such as discipline problems, gangs, hate-related speech, possession of weapons, and use and availability of illegal drugs--as well as data that reflect student perceptions about their personal safety at school. This report wraps up the discussion on crime and safety issues at the elementary and secondary level by examining the percentages of teachers who reported having been threatened or attacked by their students. [For the 2020 report, see ED613654.]

The tables in this report include data from the 2019 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These tables show the extent to which students, ages 12 through 18, with different characteristics report being bullied, including estimates by student sex, race/ethnicity, grade, and household income. The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) appended additional data from the 2017-18 Common Core of Data (CCD) and the 2017-18 Private School Universe Survey (PSS) to the SCS data to show the extent to which bullying victimization is reported by students in schools with different characteristics. The SCS tables show the relationship between reported bullying victimization and other crime-related variables, such as reported presence of gangs, guns, drugs, alcohol, and hate-related graffiti at school; selected school security measures; student criminal victimization; and personal fear of attack or harm, avoidance behaviors, fighting, and weapon carrying at school. The 2019 SCS included an embedded, randomized, split-sample experiment to compare two versions of an updated series of questions on bullying and to test changes in wording for several additional items in sections assessing student participation in activities, availability of drugs at school, and gang presence at school.

In 2019, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) was directed to provide Congress with a report on the state of school policing in the United States that examined the current role of police in schools and provided recommendations on how they can better serve the needs of students. To address this directive, NIJ engaged two consultants to conduct a comprehensive literature review and examination of data sources, facilitate four days of expert panel discussions, and synthesize the results from these data collection efforts. This report is the result of those efforts. The report focuses exclusively on the United States and on sworn officers and does not consider the use of school police in nations outside the United States or on the employment of private security, retired military, or other types of nonsworn police in schools. Much of the writing of this report occurred in 2020 amid the civil unrest stemming from the murder of George Floyd and the police killings of other people of color. It also was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, which undoubtedly will also have impacts on school policing. This report focuses on what we currently knew at the time of its writing.

Annually, the Department of Education (Department) collects data from school districts across the state on disciplinary infractions and their consequences. These data are analyzed in a state-level report developed by the Department for the Governor and the Legislature to fulfill the requirements of the "Public School Safety Law N.J.S.A." 18A:17-46 through 48. This report includes statewide data on incidents of school violence, harassment, intimidation and bullying and school suspensions as well as related professional development for educators. School districts can use both statewide data and their local data to evaluate the efficacy of efforts to maintain a positive school climate, foster social emotional learning, and provide interventions for students who exhibit patterns of violating school conduct policies.