Keeping Schools Safe: Case Studies and Insights

Since 2009, at least 177 of America's schools experienced a shooting. A parent should not have to worry when their children are at a public school in their city--whether it be an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, or a college campus. School safety and security are strengthened by prevention, mitigation, and response. The sections in this book educate school boards, school administrators, policymakers, academics, and parents on the importance of staying informed and accurately responding to school security and safety. The book highlights the school shootings in Columbine, Newton, Parkland, and many others that remind us of the responsibilities as citizens and communities to make schools a safe space for children. It is time to think about school shootings not merely as a problem of security but as a problem of security and education.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Part I. Introduction  1. Colorado Shooting Eerily Recalls Columbine Massacre Jillian Peterson and James Densley  2. Searching for Safety: Where Children Hide When Gunfire Is All Too Common Cara Anthony  3. How Political Pessimism Helps Doom Tougher Gun Laws Alec MacGillis  4. 100,000 NYC Schoolchildren Face ­Airport-Style Security Screening Every Cecilia Reyes Part II. Risk Mitigation • A. Plan and Prepare •  5. Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety Recommendation Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office  6. Final Report: Missouri Governor’s School Safety Task Force Mike Kehoe  7. School Climate and Emergencies U.S. Department of Education  8. Systematic Approach to Improve Security U.S. Department of Homeland Security  9. Basic School District/School Plan Format Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 10. Beginning the Planning Process Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 11. Preparedness Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 12. School Safety and Security Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction • B. Practice and Train • 13. Chicago’s Safe Passage Program F. Chris Curran 14. Award-Winning Tips on Community Health and Safety Rebecca DeSantis 15. Books, Binders, ­Bleed-Control Kits Sandy West 16. Prevention and Mitigation Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 17. Schools Should Heed Calls to Do Lockdown Drills Without Traumatizing Jaclyn Schildkraut 18. Do Lockdown Drills Do Any Good? Jaclyn Schildkraut • C. Response, Recovery, Review • 19. Beyond the Parkland School Shootings Leonard Matarese 20. Lessons Learned from Mass Shootings Philip Schaenman and Hollis Stambaugh 21. Response Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 22. Recovery Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Part III. Interventions • A. Threat Assessment • 23. Threat Assessments Crucial to Prevent School Shootings Dewey Cornell 24. A Threat Assessment Model U.S. Secret Service 25. Creating a Targeted Violence Prevention Plan U.S. Department of Homeland Security 26. School Shooters Usually Show These Signs of Distress Jillian Peterson and James Densley 27. Analyzing Online Posts Could Help Spot Future Mass Shooters and Terrorists Neil Shortland and Allyssa McCabe • B. Active Shooter • 28. Shots Fired! Is Your Community Ready for an Active Shooter? Rod Gould and Jack Brown 29. Active Shooter: How to Respond U.S. Department of Homeland Security 30. Active Shooter Situations U.S. Department of Education • C. Guns and Weapons • 31. Weapons and Schools Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction 32. Mass Shootings Do Little to Change State Gun Laws Joaquin Sapien 33. More States Are Allowing Guns on College Campuses Neal H. Hutchens and Kerry B. Melear 34. Why Trump’s Idea to Arm Teachers May Miss the Mark Aimee Huff and Michelle Barnhart 35. Arming ­Non-Teaching Staff Ian Smith 36. Republicans Say No to CDC Gun Violence Research Lois Beckett 37. How the Gun Control Debate Ignores Black Lives Lois Beckett • D. Gangs and Bullying • 38. Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 39. At-Risk Youth in Schools: A Wraparound Delinquency Prevention Program National Institute of Justice 40. Gangs vs. Extremists National Institute of Justice 41. Chicago Public Schools Monitored Social Media for Signs of Violence, Gang Membership Aaron Leibowitz and Sarah Karp 42. Bullying Module California Department of Education 43. Teen Cyberbullying Content Assessed in the Context of Social Networks National Institute of Justice • E. School Resource Officers, Police and Fire Departments • 44. The Future of Police Services in Our Nation’s Cities and Schools Roger L. Kemp and Paul J. Figueroa 45. School Resource Officers—Community Perspective Center for Public Safety Management and International City/County Management Association 46. School Resource Officers and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy U.S. Department of Education 47. Video of ­6-Year-Old Girl’s Arrest Shows the Perils of Putting Police in Primary Schools F. Chris Curran 48. The Role of the Fire Department in School Safety Demond Simmons • F. Mental and Behavioral Health • 49. Keeping Students Safe Is a Growth Industry Struggling to Fulfill Its Mission John S. Carlson 50. Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 51. Washington State Law on Behavioral Care Balances Parental Rights, Teens’ Autonomy Michelle Andrews 52. Myth vs. Fact: Violence and Mental Health Lois Beckett 53. What Mass Shootings Do to Those Not Shot Arash Javanbakht 54. Among U.S. States, New York’s Suicide Rate Is the Lowest. How’s That? Michelle Andrews • G. Race and Discipline • 55. School Suspensions Don’t Stop Violence—They Help Students Celebrate Charles Bell 56. Rethinking School Discipline U.S. Department of Education 57. Alternative Approaches Needed to End Racial Disparities in School Discipline Jonathan F. Zaff 58. The Obama Administration’s “Rethink School Discipline” Guidance Federal Commission on School Safety Part IV. The Future 59. Have We Become Too Paranoid About Mass Shootings? Jaclyn Schildkraut 60. Why Security Measures Won’t Stop School Shootings Bryan Warnick, Benjamin A. Johnson and Sam Rocha 61. “None of the Children at the School Are Safe” Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards 62. What Schools Can Do to Reduce the Risk That Teachers and Other Educators Will Sexually Abuse Children David Finkelhor Appendices Appendix A: Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms on School Safety and Security Alan R. Roper and Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III Appendix B: Eight Steps for Creating a Comprehensive Targeted Violence Prevention Plan U.S. Department of Education Appendix C: The Safe Schools for Safe Learning Act of 2013 State of California Appendix D: Sample Firearms Safety Memorandum California Department of Education Appendix E: Internet Safety Letter California Department of Education Appendix F: Compliance Tool for a Comprehensive School Safety Plan California Department of Education About the Contributors Index

About the Author :
Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Ph.D., is vice provost for global affairs as well as chair and Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He founded GGU’s law enforcement and security program and is a San Francisco advocate for the safety and security of Filipino American kids and their families. Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.