3. Security Related Communications/Technology:  The majority of schools surveyed reported using security cameras to monitor school property (91%), 2-way radios for staff (83%), electronic notifications to parents in school emergencies (70%) and systems for the anonymous reporting of threats such as telephone hotlines or written forms (66%).  Panic buttons/silent alarms that communicate directly to law enforcement were reportedly used in 40% of schools surveyed, an increase from 27% in the 2015-16 school year, the first year in which this data was collected.^xxix

4. Threat Assessment Teams:  64% of the schools surveyed reported the use of threat assessment teams defined as a “formalized process of identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence” at school. These teams routinely include school staff such as administrators and psychologists.^xxx

Amidst the ongoing debate as to how best to protect schools and their inhabitants from active shooters, a $3 billion active shooter defense industry has arisen composed of companies that sell specialized products and services to school districts.^xxxi These companies commonly offer products such as automatically locking doors, bullet proof tables, Kevlar backpacks, and AI gun detection devices, along with training services such as breathing techniques to prevent panic during attacks and strategies for using a pencil to pierce a shooter’s eyes, among others. Those opposed to spending on these products and services say they are unproven and that passage of more restrictive gun laws (including a ban on sales of military style assault weapons) offer greater protection. They also argue that the success of the active shooter defense industry constitutes a capitulation to mass shootings as an American way of life.^xxxii

Arming teachers and other school staff is a tactic gaining traction in the country. An assessment of school safety state legislation from 2018-2022 by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reveals that during this period some 30 states passed bills allowing guns to be carried on the campuses of K-12 schools (by personnel other than police and security officials), with some 23 state bills on the issue pending.^xxxiii

After the 2022 Uvalde, TX school shooting, Ohio passed a controversial law making it easier for teachers and other staff to be armed at work. The law authorizes school districts to allow school personnel to carry firearms in school safety zones. If a school opts to authorize arming personnel in their districts, then those carrying guns must undergo some 24 hours of initial training and 8 more hours on an annual basis.^xxxiv The law severely reduces the amount of training required to carry a gun under previous Ohio law that set training requirements at 700 hours for police officers, with police officers assigned to school campuses (school resource officers) required to take an additional 40 hours of training. The Ohio Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police strongly opposed the new law in part based on the reduced training hours.^xxxv

Ultimately, these laws will have to prove themselves for us to know if arming teachers and staff is worth the risk.  There is also the fact that some liability and workers’ compensation insurers have reservations about covering schools where non-sworn law enforcement officers are armed.^xxxvi Increasing the presence of armed personnel in schools did not get off to a particularly good start, however. In 2018, the Associated Press reported that there were at least 30 mishaps occurring due to armed staff at schools.^xxxvii In a 48-hour period that year, a school police officer, a teacher who works in law enforcement as a reserve officer and a veteran sheriff all experienced gun safety accidents putting students in danger.  The school officer accidentally fired his gun in his Virginia office resulting in a stray bullet entering a middle school classroom.  While demonstrating gun safety in California, a teacher discharged a round into a classroom ceiling where 3 students were injured by falling debris. The sheriff left a loaded weapon in a locker in a Michigan middle school where a 6th grader found it.^xxxviii

Until or unless there is a cultural shift brought on by more restrictive gun laws or the effectiveness of active shooter defense products and services or a combination of both, active shooter incidents at K-12 schools and colleges and universities are likely to continue to increase with grave repercussions to students and faculty.