Experts say that increasing police in schools is not effective in preventing or stopping mass shootings. The armed school safety officer in Parkland failed to stop the gunman. Writing for The 19th, education reporter Nadra Nittle and breaking news reporter Orion Rummler explained that a variety https://everytownresearch.org/report/school-gun-violence-prevention-response-guide-part-one-gun-violence-prevention/ of politicians have argued in favor of armed teachers or adding more armed security officers to schools. Many experts question whether such measures are likely to stop mass shootings – and whether the presence of more guns may only cause more deaths. As the public grapples with the trauma of this event, and with escalating gun violence in general, the question of how to best respond has become highly politicized and controversial.
#20 for gun laws
For more on strategies to advocate for measures that limit access to guns, see NEA’s Legislative Program and Everytown’s Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. As noted earlier in this guide, many educators, parents, and school safety experts, including several law enforcement groups, are opposed to arming teachers. Together, these programs offer services to students going to and from school and students on and off school and building grounds.
- The guide provides examples of effective labor-management collaboration on the gun violence issue, such as the successful advocacy by Racine Educators United in Racine, Wis., for the creation of a joint union-school district School Safety Committee.
- In today’s school environment, children are often viewed as either perpetrators to be punished or as victims to be protected without building on their agency.55 However, investing in evidence-based preventive efforts that are intended to promote critical skill development – and doing so in ways that recognize the resources and agency that children and adolescents bring to the issue – is likely a far more effective way to address both the perceived threat of gun violence and prevent the onset of violent tendencies among youth, while also promoting well-being more broadly.
- Our gun law rankings show which states are ahead and which are behind, and provide a checklist for how to get there.
- In the wake of the tragedy, schools in Tumbler Ridge have been closed for the rest of the week, according to the school district website.
- Gun violence in our schools has become an all-too-familiar tragedy, causing irreparable damage to our children and communities.
- In 2021, the University of Sydney found that private individuals owned more than 3.5 million registered firearms.
Preventing Hate & Bias in Schools
A variety of programs exist to help children cope with witnessing firearm violence. When abusers are convicted of domestic violence or subject to final restraining orders, they should be blocked from purchasing guns and required to turn in those they already own. It is imperative to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers to keep women, children, and their families safe.
The same definitional issue that makes it challenging to calculate mass shooting fatalities comes into play when trying to determine the frequency of U.S. mass shootings over time. Regardless of the definition being used, fatalities in mass shooting incidents in the U.S. are a small fraction of all gun murders nationwide each year. Using this definition, 722 people died in these incidents in 2023.
Communicate with your child’s teachers throughout the school year, not just when problems arise. Parents need to step in and intervene when children exhibit behavior or attitudes that could potentially harm them or others. Show your children through your actions how to adhere to rules and regulations, be responsible, have empathy toward others, control anger, and manage stress.