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School Security

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Essay
Preventing Violence in Schools: How to Encourage Students to Report Threats
One of the most consistent findings in research on school shootings is that someone knew an attack was possible but didn't report it. There are ways schools can encourage students to come forward when they see or hear something concerning: tip lines, training, and a lot more trust.
Mar 9, 2023
Report
What Do Teachers Think About Carrying Guns to School?
U.S. teachers are divided on whether arming themselves would make schools safer. One in five feels that carrying a gun would make schools safer and would do so if allowed. More than half believe teacher-carry policies would make schools less safe. And teachers' top safety concern is bullying, not guns.
May 30, 2023

Explore School Security

Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2023
Features explore the use of psychedelics to address depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders among veterans, and the prevalence of food insecurity among active-duty military families and veterans.
Nov 9, 2023
Journal Article
The Thin Blue Line in Schools: New Evidence on School-Based Policing Across the U.S.
We find that school resource officers reduce some forms of violence, but do not prevent gun-related incidents. We also find that SROs intensify the use of suspension, expulsion, police referral, and arrest of students.
Sep 11, 2023
Blog
The Four-Day School Week, AI and Social Media Manipulation, School Safety: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the costs and benefits of a four-day school week, how artificial intelligence is bringing a new era of social media manipulation, the effects of placing police officers in schools, and more.
Sep 8, 2023
Commentary
Is Believing Our Kids Are Safer Worth Closing Off Some of Their Futures?
Placing an officer in a school appears to reduce violence and petty crimes within a school. But it also creates long-term negative consequences for students who are increasingly likely to become involved in the school disciplinary system.
Aug 22, 2023
Report
American Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave
Teachers reported better well-being in January 2023 than in 2021 and 2022, and rates of job-related stress have returned to pre-pandemic levels. But teachers continue to report worse well-being than other working adults. Twenty-three percent said that they were likely to leave their jobs.
Jun 21, 2023
Blog
Reconstructing Ukraine, Wildfires, Telehealth: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on reconstructing Ukraine, what to do about wildfires, virtual mental health care services, and more.
Jun 16, 2023
Blog
Arming Teachers, F-16s in Ukraine, Commercial Spaceflight: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how teachers feel about arming teachers, what F-16s will (and won't) do for Ukraine, the need to regulate commercial spaceflight, and more.
Jun 2, 2023
News Release
1 in 5 Teachers Feel Carrying Gun to Class Would Make Schools Safer; More Than Half Think Armed Teachers Would Make ...
U.S. teachers are divided on whether arming themselves would make schools safer, with one in five saying they would be interested in carrying a gun to school.
May 31, 2023
Commentary
Ways to Help Students Report Threats to Their School
When students or others don't know how to report a threat or aren't willing to do so, important opportunities to protect students may be missed. Schools receive little guidance about how to implement an effective reporting program or how to build a robust reporting culture. A recent research effort helps to fill this gap, highlighting seven key implications for school safety planning.
Sep 29, 2022
Blog
Diversity in the Military, Telemedicine Abortion, China and Taiwan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the benefits of increasing and maintaining diversity in the armed forces, the challenges of telemedicine abortion, whether Indo-Pacific countries are backing China or Taiwan, and more.
Aug 26, 2022
Report
Supporting Individual Willingness to Report School Safety Concerns
What can states, districts, and schools do to encourage people—especially students—to report threats of school violence so that preventive action can be taken?
Aug 25, 2022
Report
Seeking Balance in the Provision of Technical Assistance: Insights from the National Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety
The authors examine the first three years of operation for the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety (CISELSS) and offer insights that might help guide efforts to continuously improve CISELSS's provision of supports.
Nov 9, 2021
Blog
China's Ambitions, Origins of the Coronavirus, Income Inequality: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on China’s quest for global primacy, understanding the coronavirus origin story, how parents feel about sending their children back to school, and more.
Jun 11, 2021
Blog
Sexual Assault in the Military, School Security, Mental Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the risk of sexual assault to sexual minorities in the U.S. military, making treatment more accessible to people struggling with opioid addiction, countering Russian propaganda, and more.
Jun 4, 2021
Report
Challenges in Implementing Physical Security Measures in K–12 Schools
Creating safe and secure environments is essential to supporting effective teaching and learning in America's classrooms. What are the most common challenges to physical security planning in schools?
Jun 3, 2021
Report
A Systems Approach to Physical Security in K–12 Schools
Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center researchers present a systems approach to school safety in which physical security elements integrate to provide benefits with minimal negative effects on schools' missions, operations, and climates.
Jun 3, 2021
Journal Article
Making Schools Safer And/Or Escalating Disciplinary Response: A Study of Police Officers in North Carolina Schools
In this study, we try to understand the causal role that school resource officers play in school safety and the day-to-day practice of school discipline by using incident-level administrative data from North Carolina public schools.
Apr 13, 2021
Commentary
Coronavirus Will Necessitate Changes in Schools When They Reopen
Schools will likely need to modify their practices so that their teachers, staff, and students maintain social distancing standards whenever they reopen. If a federal agency would create guidance, then educators could focus on teaching students.
Apr 16, 2020

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RAND Topic:
School Security

Topic Synonyms:
School Safety;
Student Safety

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Pauline Moore

Political Scientist

Pauline Moore is a political scientist at the RAND Corporation and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research focuses on violent extremism, targeted violence, terrorism and counterterrorism, and safety and security in K-12 schools. She is the author of The…
Melissa Kay Diliberti

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Melissa Kay Diliberti is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She analyzes data from RAND's American Educator Panels to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the U.S. education system. Her research interests include domestic…

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