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School Violence

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All forms of school violence—from playground bullying to school shootings—have an adverse effect on educational environments. RAND studies have evaluated the effectiveness of risk assessment and violence prevention programs, as well as counseling for students who have been traumatized by violence in schools.

Essay
How to Prevent, Prepare for, and Respond to Mass Attacks
A new step-by-step guide can help communities prevent shootings and other mass attacks before they happen, and save lives when they do. It's written for a variety of public- and private-sector audiences—everyone from emergency responders and school officials to security personnel and community leaders.
Aug 30, 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

Explore School Violence

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
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
Commentary
A Toolkit for Avoiding Mass Shootings
RAND has developed an online educational toolkit to provide practical strategies and guidance on deterring, mitigating, and responding to mass attacks. Research highlights three top ways to mitigate and/or respond to mass attacks right now: through proactive prevention, relentless follow-up, and diligent preparation and training.
Jul 14, 2022
Tool
Mass Attacks Defense Toolkit
RAND researchers created this tool to advance efforts to prevent and reduce intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and public mass attacks in the United States.
May 31, 2022
Tool
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) for American Indian Youth
The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program helps students exposed to traumatic events who are experiencing emotional or behavioral problems. This tool is an adaptation of the CBITS program for American Indian youth.
Dec 22, 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
Commentary
How Can the U.S. Do a Better Job of Keeping Kids Safe at School?
Many proposals to improve school safety promote the use of technology, such as metal detectors and video cameras. How effective are these devices? The evidence is mixed.
Mar 26, 2018
Commentary
Here's How a National Database Could Help Colleges Fight Sexual Assault
At a moment of heightened awareness around sexual violence, America's colleges and universities have an opportunity to lead by example, through a commitment to full transparency about campus sexual assaults and openness to learning from each other's failures and successes.
Mar 2, 2018
Commentary
The Ghost of Bullying
The idea that bullying is experienced by only a few children and adolescents is false. Most cases are verbal, not physical, and victims tend to remain silent. Research has shown that bullying can have negative long-term effects on a person's life.
May 31, 2017
Research Brief
Can Technology Make Schools Safer?
Concerns about violence have led many schools to seek out safety technologies such as metal detectors, anonymous “tip lines,” and video surveillance systems. How effective are these at helping schools prevent and respond to threats and acts of violence?
Aug 22, 2016
Report
The Role of Technology in Improving School Safety
School violence can damage both kids' future outcomes and the culture and performance of the school. Safety technologies are one of many approaches to prevent and respond to the problem. What role might they play?
Apr 14, 2016
Journal Article
The Association Between Youth Violence Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms in a Sample of Fifth-Graders
The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between violence exposures (no exposure, witness or victim only, and both witness and victim) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
Nov 11, 2015
Commentary
Rethinking Student Discipline and Zero Tolerance
Restorative practices are an alternative to zero-tolerance school discipline policies. Rather than mandating prescribed punishments for specific misbehaviors, this more tailored approach aims to empower students.
Oct 14, 2015
Blog
How Schools Can Help Students with Traumatic Stress
Schools are in a unique position to recognize traumatic stress in children. But first, adults throughout the school system—teachers, staff, administrators, school resource officers, and parents—must be aware of the issue, know how to detect signs of trauma exposure, and create a supportive environment.
Oct 2, 2014
Journal Article
Attending Successful Schools Can Reduce Risky Behavior in Adolescents
Most successful schools demonstrate better retention and academic achievement. As a result, being admitted to or attending a successful school can reduce very risky health behaviors among low-income adolescents.
Jul 30, 2014
Journal Article
School Intervention Related to School and Community Violence
This article describes how schools can circumvent several key barriers to mental health service provision, outcomes that school interventions target, and the role of the family in school-based services.
Mar 28, 2014
Journal Article
Early Puberty, Negative Peer Influence, and Problem Behaviors in Adolescent Girls
Early puberty and friends' deviance may increase the risk of problem behavior in young adolescent girls. Although many of these associations dissipate over time, early-maturing girls are at risk of persistently higher delinquency and stronger negative peer influences.
Jan 1, 2014

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RAND Topic:
School Violence

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Andrea Phillips

Policy Researcher

Andrea (Andie) Phillips (she/her) is a policy researcher with expertise in education policy, policy analysis, program evaluation, single case design, and qualitative methods and analysis. Phillips’ work focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions that promote…
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…

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