To better understand what teachers across the United States think about school safety in general and active shooter drills in particular, RAND researchers fielded a survey to a randomly selected sample of 1,020 kindergarten through grade 12 teachers. Key findings include teachers' main safety concerns at school and perceptions on whether drills make students and staff feel safer and more prepared to respond to active shooter and other emergencies.
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Related Organizations
- Division
- RAND Homeland Security Research Division Infrastructure, Immigration, and Security Operations Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center
- Pages
- 36
- Published in
- United States
- RAND Identifier
- RR-A1077-6
- RAND Type
- report
- Rights
- RAND Corporation
- Series
- Research Reports
- Source
- https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1077-6.html
Table of Contents
- Incidents Involving Firearms at K12 Schools January 1 2023March 31 2024 3
- How Worried Are Teachers About Violent Incidents at Their Schools 5
- Roughly One in Six Teachers Work in a District That Has Been Touched by Gun Violence in the Last Five School Years 5
- School shootings have increased substantially in recent years and more children are dying from gun violence than from any other cause. 5
- Percentage of Teachers Who Teach in a District That Has Experienced Gun Violence Since the 20192020 School Year 6
- Active Shooter Incidents Remain Comparatively Low on Teachers Lists of School Safety Concerns 7
- Teachers in districts that had experienced gun violence in the last five years were no more likely than their counterparts to select an active shooter as their top school safety concern. 7
- Teachers Fear That They or Their Students Will Be Attacked or Harmed at School Increased over the Last School Year 8
- Percentage of Teachers Who Indicated That Various School Safety Topics Pose the Largest Safety Concerns at Their Schools Fall 2022 Versus Fall 2023 8
- Percentage of Teachers Who Reported Being Afraid That They or Their Students Will Be Victims of Attack or Harm at School 9
- Rate of Violent and Serious Violent Incidents per 1000 Students in K12 Schools over Time 10
- Percentage of K12 Schools That Indicated the Prevalence of Various Behavioral Incidents Relative to Prepandemic Levels as of May 2022 11
- Teachers in Districts That Have Experienced Recent Gun Violence Are More Afraid That They or Their Students Will Be Harmed at School 12
- How Are Schools Using Drills to Prepare for Violent Incidents 12
- Likelihood of Teachers Reporting Fear That They or Their Students Might Be Victims of Attack or Harm at School 12
- Instructions to Students About What to Do During School Safety Drills Differs Somewhat by Grade Level 13
- The vast majority of our surveyed teachers 90 percent took part in active shooter drills during the 20222023 school year. 13
- Drills Rarely Include Realistic Sensory Elements Though Many Have Police Participation 14
- Percentage of Teachers Who Indicated That Students at Their Schools Are Instructed to Take Various Actions During Drills to Prepare Them for School Shootings 14
- Teachers Typically Know When Active Shooter Drills Are Going to Happen but Students and Parents Typically Do Not 15
- Schools Are More Likely to Give Advanced Warning and Allow Students to Opt Out When Drills Include More Realistic Elements 17
- Association Between the Number of Realistic Elements Included in Drills and the Provision of Advanced Notification and Student Abstentions 17
- Do Teachers Perceive That Drills Increase Their and Their Students Sense of Preparedness and Safety 18
- Teachers Are Split over Whether Drills Make Them Feel More Prepared or Have No Impact on Their Sense of Preparedness or School Safety 18
- Figure 8 Percentage of Teachers Who Indicated That Drills Made Them Feel More or Less Prepared or Safe by School Locale 19
- Most Teachers Perceive Drills as Positively Affecting Students Sense of Preparedness but They Are More Split over How Drills Affect Students Sense of Safety at School 20
- Percentage of Teachers Who Indicated That Drills Made Their Students Feel More or Less Prepared or Safe by School Grade Level 20
- About Three in Ten Teachers Are Concerned That Drills Have Negatively Affected Students Mental Health 21
- Discussion and Implications 22
- Future Research 23
- Improving teachers perceptions of school safety could help address some of the issues that K12 schools are facing with teacher well-being at least in part. 23
- Sample Characteristics Before and After Weighting Compared with the National Population of K12 Public School Teachers 26
- Appendix 27
- Which of the Following Do You Think Currently Poses the Largest Safety Concern at Your School 27
- Are You Afraid of Being the Victim of Attack or Harm at Your School 27
- Are You Afraid That Students at Your School Will Be the Victims of Attack or Harm 27
- At Any Point over the Last Five School Years Including This School Year i.e. Since 20192020 Has Your School or Another School in Your District Experienced Any of the Following Incidents 28
- Following the Incidents You Selected Did You Experience Any of the Following 28
- What Resources Did Your School or Another School in Your District Make Available in the Aftermath of the Safety-Related Incidents You Selected 28
- In the Last School Year 20222023 Did You Take Part in Active Shooter Active Assailant or Other Drills at Your School or School District Designed to Prepare for School Shootings 29
- Did the Drills in Which You Took Part Make You Feel More or Less Prepared About Responding to an Active Shooter Incident 29
- Did the Drills in Which You Took Part Make You Feel More or Less Safe at School 29
- Do You Think Drills Make Students Feel More or Less Safe at School 29
- Do You Think Drills Make Students Feel More or Less Prepared About Responding to an Active Shooter Incident 30
- What Actions Are Students at Your School Instructed to Take During Drills to Prepare Them for School Shootings 30
- What Elements Are Included in the Drills to Prepare for School Shootings at Your School 30
- Were the Drills in Which You Participated Designed to Address the Needs of Students in the Following Categories 31
- Are Certain Students at Your School Exempt from or Given the Choice to Opt Out of Participating in Drills to Prepare Them for School Shootings 31
- Does Your School Provide Advanced Notice to Teachers and Students When Planning Drills Designed to Prepare Them for School Shootings 31
- Is Your School Required to Notify Parents in Advance of Drills Designed to Prepare Students and School Staff for School Shootings 32
- Which of the Following Resources Does Your School Provide to You to Support Students Who Are Participating in Drills 32
- Are You Aware of Students at Your School Experiencing Trauma or Heightened Anxiety and Stress Following Participation in a Drill Designed to Prepare Them for School Shootings 32
- References 33
- Notes 33
- Acknowledgments 35
