During the 2021-22 school year, schools leveraged fewer on-campus resource officers and armed guards, according to new survey data released by the National Center for Education Statistics.
The report, released on Wednesday, highlights the latest trends surrounding K12 school safety and security at a time when some 67% of all public schools recorded at least one violent event during the same school year.
“These critically important data reveal some of the challenges public schools face in keeping the focus on teaching and learning, such as violence, drug use and bullying,” NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said in a statement.
Just this year, we’ve already witnessed a number of violent security threats occur at K12 schools, including one violent shooting at Perry High School in Iowa that initially cost the life of one sixth-grade student and later a principal, Dan Marburger, after he stepped in harm’s way to protect his students.
Additionally, more than three-fourths of public schools prohibit the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours, an idea that has gained traction in recent years to minimize distractions among students. Furthermore, 90% of schools said they increased social and emotional support for students as a result of the pandemic.
However, despite an alarming number of violent incidents occurring on school grounds, the data suggests a decline in the number of SROs and armed officers in K12 schools.
Below, you can find a breakdown of some of the most crucial findings from the report:
Additional findings broken down
Bullying/Cyberbullying
- 28% of middle schools reported bullying on campus at least once per week in 2021-22, compared to 15% at high/secondary schools and 10% at elementary schools.
- On a similar note, cyberbullying at school or at home occurred at least once a week at 37% of middle schools, 25% of high/secondary schools and 6% of elementary schools.
Safety/Security Practices
- Nearly 46% of public schools employed school resource officers in 2021-22.
- In 2021-22, 25% of public schools were staffed with a sworn law enforcement officer who routinely carried a firearm at school. In 2019-20, that number was 51%.
- Ninety-two percent of public schools reported having a formal plan to prepare for and respond to multi-country or worldwide pandemic diseases. Schools had issued written plans outlining the procedures to be performed in certain crisis scenarios, including:
- Active shooters: 96%
- Natural disasters: 96%
- Suicide threats or incidents: 94%
- Bomb threats: 92%
- More elementary schools (87%), middle schools (77%) and schools with other grades combined (70%) reported incorporating policies that prohibited the nonacademic use of cellphones during school hours compared to high/secondary schools (43%).
Supporting Students
- 59% of public schools said they engaged in restorative practices with their students.
- 58% of public schools said they involve students in restorative practices, compared to some 72% of charter schools.
- Nearly 50% of public schools offered diagnostic mental health assessments in 2021-22 to assess student mental health. Furthermore, 38% of schools provided treatment to students with mental health disorders.
- Nearly 90% of public schools provided one-on-one mentoring, tutoring or coaching administered by an adult.
