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1 1 (June 10, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefvz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informning 1h legisIative debate since 1914 School Safety and Target Hardening June 10, 2022 The May 2022 deaths of 19 students and 2 teachers in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, has led some Members of Congress to discuss a range of policy options to address gun violence in schools, several of which have been considered after previous mass shootings in schools. One option that has again gained the attention of policymakers is target hardening of schools, which generally involves attempts to fortify schools against gun violence through their physical design and additional security measures. Data on Shootings on School G rounds Shootings on school grounds are relatively rare events, though data from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the Naval Postgraduate School suggest that these events have occurred more frequently in recent years. CHDS publishes data on the number of school shootings (defined as each and every instance a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week) each year from 1970 to 2022. From 1970 to 2017, there were two years (2006 and 2017) during which more than 50 school shootings occurred. From 2018 to 2022, there were more than 100 school shootings each year. Despite the increase in shootings on school grounds in recent years, most do not involve an active shooter (i.e., when a shooter killed and/or wounded victims, either targeted or random, within the school campus during a continuous episode of violence). Since data collection began, 2018 was the year with the most active school shooter incidents (11). Active shooter incidents in 2018 accounted for 9% of all school shootings (118) and 57% of all school shooting deaths that year. NV' s Comprehensive School Safety The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released a comprehensive school safety framework in 2020. The framework has three interconnected components: physical safety, school climate, and student behavior. NIJ notes, school climate and physical safety are central to preventing school violence. Managing student behavior contributes to a positive school climate, which can prevent threats to students' physical safety. NIJ asserts there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to school safety and that each school has to develop its own approach based on its assessment of needs and risks. Physical Safety This component is broadly about ensuring students' physical safety at schools and pertains to school architecture, controlling ingress and egress, and preventing bodily harm to students and teachers. NIJ states that the keys to keeping students safe through physical security measures include (1) having an emergency operations plan (EOP), (2) being aware of and receiving training on the EOP, (3) having mechanisms in place for threat assessment, (4) consistently using safety technology (e.g., controlled entries, surveillance cameras) that is appropriate for the issues the school faces, (5) designing schools that utilize Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles (i.e., designing spaces so they provide informal and formal means of access control, surveillance and the ability to be aware of one's entire surroundings, and creating a sense of shared ownership and responsibility for a space), and (6) utilizing school resource officers (SROs). School Climate This component refers to the feelings people have about the school setting and includes factors such as conditions for learning and that support physical and emotional safety, connection and support, and engagement. NIJ explains that a positive school climate is important for school safety. According to NIJ, there is strong evidence that a positive school climate helps keep students safe and promotes other desirable student and school outcomes. A school's environment influences student behavior, may affect students' mental health and help-seeking behavior, improves school attendance, and creates an atmosphere where students are willing to report threats of violence or other negative behavior. Student Behavior This component encompasses students' mental health, behavioral health, trauma, and discipline. NIJ notes that unaddressed mental health problems and adverse childhood experiences are connected to negative outcomes, such as poor academic achievement, behavior problems, dropping out of school, and delinquency. School Resource Officers SROs are sworn law enforcement officers who are assigned to work at a school. Assigning SROs to schools is a frequently discussed option for making schools harder targets because the SRO might serve as a deterrent to a potential school shooter, or provide a quicker law enforcement response in cases where a school shooting occurs. While there are proponents of placing more SROs in schools to protect against school shootings, there is a debate about whether their presence is potentially detrimental to some children. Advocacy organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, and academics have argued that SROs might result in more children either being suspended or expelled or entering the criminal justice system for relatively minor offenses. During the recent debate over policing in the United States, numerous school districts across the country re-evaluated their SRO programs, with some reducing budgets for SROs or

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