A federal school safety commission that formed after the Parkland, Florida, school massacre won’t be focusing on guns. That’s according to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who stated recently that firearms were “not part of the commission’s charge per se.” She made the remark in response to a U.S. senator who asked if the commission would consider the role of firearms in school violence. Of course, if the commission were to focus on just guns, they would miss the mark. But as a scholar who studies school safety, I similarly believe if the commission ignores one of the main contributors to school shootings – particularly one as important as the…

School shootings like the one that took place in Santa Fe, Texas, on May 18 are often followed by calls for enhanced security measures. But Santa Fe High School already had many of these security measures in place. For instance, the high school had a school resource officer who responded to the attack. The school also had security cameras in place and had recently conducted active shooting training and drills. As the nation searches for ways to prevent school violence, the focus must be as much on school climate and culture as it is on school security. I make this argument as an educational researcher who studies school safety.v

Long before the current state of heightened attention to school shootings, my colleagues and I began a two-year study of school safety and the role of law enforcement officers in public schools. Our work is funded by the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative of the National Institute of Justice. To date, the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative has funded 100 research projects that involve almost US$250 million in total. Research projects have looked at things ranging from school emergency response plans to policing strategies that use alternatives to arrest. Collectively, this research is meant to build a robust evidence base so policymakers can use proven ways to keep students safe in school.…