The Role of Technology in Improving K-12 School Safety

Schwartz, Heather L.; Ramchand, Rajeev; Barnes-Proby, Dionne; Grant, Sean; Leuschner, Kristin J.; Matsuda, Mauri; Saunders, Jessica

doi:10.7249/rr1488

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Dubbed the "safest school in America," Southwestern High School in Shelbyville, Indiana spent $400,000 to harden itself against potential attacks by installing bulletproof doors, school-wide alarm systems that can be activated by a special fob worn by teachers, security cameras that are directly tied to the local sheriff's department, and smoke cannons to distract assailants (Chute and Mack 2018). While few schools may adopt such comprehensive measures to protect against a potential shooter, school security now has grown into nearly a $3 billion industry, selling products such as metal detectors, security cameras, gunshot detection sensors, access control technology, social media trackers that assist schools in flagging potential threats, and bullet-proof whiteboards (Keierleber 2018;Schwartz et al 2016).…”

Section: School Target Hardeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Support for Policies to Reduce School Shootings: A Moral-Altruistic Model

Burton

Pickett

Jonson

et al. 2020

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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Objectives: The recurring mass murder of students in schools has sparked an intense debate about how best to increase school safety. Because public opinion weighs heavily in this debate, we examine public views on how best to prevent school shootings. We theorize that three moral-altruistic factors are likely to be broadly relevant to public opinion on school safety policies: moral intuitions about harm, anger about school crime, and altruistic fear. Methods: We commissioned YouGov to survey 1,100 Americans to explore support for a range of gun control and school programming policies and willingness to pay for school target hardening. We test the ability of a moral-altruistic model to explain public opinion, while controlling for the major predictors of gun control attitudes found in the social sciences. Results: The public strongly supports policies that restrict who can access guns, expand school anti-bullying and counseling programs, and target-harden schools. While many factors influence attitudes toward gun-related policies specifically, moral-altruistic factors significantly increase support for all three types of school safety policies. Conclusions: The public favors a comprehensive policy response and is willing to pay for it. Support for prevention efforts reflects moral intuitions about harm, anger about school crime, and altruistic fear.

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Section: School Target Hardeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Support for Policies to Reduce School Shootings: A Moral-Altruistic Model

Burton

Pickett

Jonson

et al. 2020

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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“…Parents and school personnel agreed that any threat to a school or student safety should be reported, and parents thought tip lines could also be useful for reporting mental health concerns, particularly suicidality (Espelage et al, 2021). School safety experts also agreed that tip lines are an appropriate technology for preventing frequent forms of school violence such as bullying or carrying weapons (Schwartz et al, 2016). While these studies are encouraging, they rely on student and staff perceptions of tip lines rather than a more direct measure of effectiveness.…”

Section: Student Threat Reportingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the 2020–2021 Safe2Say Something Pennsylvania annual report (Office of Attorney General, n.d.) stated that out of the 10,495 tips received, about 75% were submitted via mobile apps, about a quarter were submitted via website, and only 2.8% were via phone calls. Administrators have observed that ARSs with online options are used more frequently than systems that provide only a phone hotline (Payne & Elliott, 2011; Schwartz et al, 2016). In focus groups, students said they would be more likely to share sensitive information via text than over the phone (Kingkade, 2020).…”

Section: Student Threat Reportingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anonymous reporting systems, school climate, and student threat reporting.

Payne,

Cornell,

Konold

2024

Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

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Schools nationwide use anonymous reporting systems (ARSs) to identify student threats of violence, but there is little empirical research on the impact of ARSs. This study examined the association between ARS availability and student willingness to report threats as well as the number of threat assessments (TAs) conducted by schools. A statewide sample of 106,865 students in 282 Virginia high schools rated their school climate and their willingness to report peer threats. The majority (91%) of schools used at least one ARS, most commonly internet tip lines (67%). School-and student-level regression models showed that internet tip line accessibility was not associated with student willingness to report threats or with the number of TAs. However, student perceptions of supportive teachers and fair discipline were associated with greater willingness to report, and schools that informed students about TA conducted more TAs. Findings suggest that positive school climates and education about TA might be more effective in encouraging students to report threats than ARSs alone. Public Significance StatementMany schools use anonymous reporting systems as part of their threat assessment and management process in order to reduce barriers to student reporting of peers' violent threats. This study examined the association of anonymous reporting system availability with student willingness to report threats and with the number of threat assessments conducted in schools. Findings suggest that positive school climates and student education about threat assessment might better facilitate student threat reporting than the availability alone of anonymous reporting systems.

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“…Researchers have concluded that both approaches are ineffective and counterproductive (APA Zero Tolerance Task Force, 2008;O'Toole, 2000;Vossekuil et al, 2002). In addition, resources are often allocated to security measures that lack evidence for their effectiveness, such as metal detectors and on-campus police officers (Schwartz et al, 2016;Whitaker et al, 2019). These approaches can lead to the exclusionary discipline of students, including suspension and expulsion, and contribute to a school-to-prison pipeline (Novak, 2018;Skiba et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventing school violence: A review of school threat assessment models.

Jackson¹,

Viljoen²

2024

Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

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Several experts and states have developed school threat assessment models to guide schools through the process of identifying, assessing, and managing threats of violence. This article reviews all widely discussed, well-known models and the research on their (a) reliability and validity, (b) implementation in schools, and (c) impact on school outcomes. Despite several similarities, the models show some differences in their general approach, such as addressing threats through a school-based team versus a community-based team. The models also have differing degrees of research supporting their effectiveness, with the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines model having the strongest research support.

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The Role of Technology in Improving K-12 School Safety

Cited by 20 publications

References 78 publications

Public Support for Policies to Reduce School Shootings: A Moral-Altruistic Model

Public Support for Policies to Reduce School Shootings: A Moral-Altruistic Model

Anonymous reporting systems, school climate, and student threat reporting.

Preventing school violence: A review of school threat assessment models.

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