In May, Texas and Tennessee became the third and fourth states to pass “Alyssa’s Law,” which law requires all public school districts to equip schools with silent alert systems, such as panic buttons. The law was named for a victim of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and was championed by education groups including Alyssa’s own parents. Lawmakers in five other states, including Oregon and Michigan, are considering similar legislation.
These security measures come at a time when school safety is on the minds of children, families and especially teachers and staff who are charged with protecting their students while taking their own safety into account. Their fears have become even more acute in the wake of COVID-19-related disruptions.
Since the return to in-person instruction, schools have grappled with an increase in behavioral issues—everything from a child disrupting a math lesson to potentially life-threatening instances of students fighting or bringing weapons to campus. From September through May of this school year alone, the number of assault-related claims topped 1,350—a five-year high—at a sampling of 2,000 high schools.
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The issue has become so critical that schools of education across the country are now making safety protocols—such as active-shooter drills and trauma response—part of the curriculum.
Meanwhile, district leaders are continuing to grapple with unprecedented staffing shortages. Not only are fewer people entering the education profession, teachers in many states say they’re planning to retire or quit sooner than they’d originally planned.
To be clear, these two issues—school safety and school staffing—are intrinsically linked. A recent survey found that four out of 10 educators feel less safe in their classrooms than they did five years ago. Additionally, a study conducted by researchers at Brown University found that a school’s climate, including its leaders’ commitment to safety, has a significant impact on teacher retention. It also found that “the degree to which students and teachers feel their school is a safe, orderly learning environment is of central importance for student achievement.”
A report from a commission in Virginia found that increased behavioral and mental health challenges among students contributed to lower job satisfaction for teachers. And Dr. James J. Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, professed that the state’s teachers “aren’t given the resources they need most” to serve students like this.
Amid the bustle of an already busy school day, teachers in these situations need to be able to request and receive immediate support. If teachers feel safe and understand that they will receive support in an emergency, job satisfaction increases.
Solutions championed by Alyssa’s Law
As districts consider every possible way to make teaching jobs less stressful and more rewarding, many are considering investing in strategies that make their campuses safer. In some communities, that means turning to the same methods they’ve used for decades: hiring more school resource officers, deploying metal detectors or building fences around their schools. While these solutions may make schools safer, they don’t equip teachers with the resources in-hand to feel safer or, more importantly, to actually be safer.
They also don’t take advantage of modern-day technological advances that equip school employees to deal with today’s challenges more effectively. Mobile phone apps have been an option selected by some school districts, but there are mixed results when it comes to implementation (i.e. teachers and staff not downloading the app, or not keeping their mobile devices on-hand at all times).
Solutions championed by Alyssa’s Law—such as wearable panic buttons—not only empower teachers, they’re also appropriate for quickly alerting authorities to a range of situations, from a student medical emergency to an unauthorized visitor on campus.
As staffing shortages continue in districts across the country, districts should consider making safety measures like silent alert badges a cornerstone of their recruiting efforts—to the point of discussing it during interviews. They should also take steps to make existing staffers feel equipped to handle emergencies in the safest and most efficient way possible. After all, teachers who feel safe and supported by administrators can focus their efforts on effective teaching, making them less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
As more states consider passing legislation like Alyssa’s Law, district leaders should ask themselves whether their schools are supportive, inclusive and safe for teachers and staff. Providing educators with an extra layer of security is a critical first step in creating an environment where they feel nurtured and protected enough to keep returning each day.
And that, in turn, creates the best environment for students to learn and thrive.
