Campus Safety Voices Campus Safety Magazine

Much of today’s focus regarding K-12 school safety and security is on emergency response. Various stakeholders, including district leaders, parents, and school boards, want to know if a school is prepared to respond to an incident, particularly those involving violence.However, prevention should be at the forefront of the rhetoric and school safety plans, and behavioral threat assessments play a pivotal role.During the pandemic, the United States saw a significant uptick in homicides, shootin...

On March 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education issued Liberty University a $14 million fine over its violation of the Clery Act for its handling of sexual assault allegations. Liberty also violated the Clery Act in 2010, and the latest review found the school failed to initiate and sustain remedial action from those findings.The penalty is the largest Clery fine in history, dwarfing the Department's second-largest $4.5 million fine levied against Michigan State University in 2019 over its...

Being proactive with a unified approach to school security and safety is critical to preventing and responding to incidents. However, historically most school districts have taken the exact opposite approach. Traditionally, they’ve waited to address their pressing safety and security vulnerabilities until after a major incident has occurred, according to Michael Garcia, HID Global’s safe schools national end user director. “Force protection, defense in depth, qualitative third party, ind...

Inclusivity is the practice of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for those who might otherwise be marginalized. An inclusive school safety plan accounts for everyone’s individual needs and abilities — including students and staff — when and if a school is faced with an emergency.We spoke with Dr. Roderick Sams, a former educator and administrator of 20+ years, about ways schools and districts can create a more inclusive safety plan by:1. Removing language barriers (0:01)2....

In the three months following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 360% compared to the same period one year prior. Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents increased by 178%.Some of these incidents occurred on K-12 and college campuses. In Georgia, a middle school teacher was fired for allegedly threatening physical harm to a 13-year-old girl. In Indiana, a woman was arrested for intentionally crashing her vehicle into a school because she thou...

Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation on college campuses are at an all-time high. More than 60% meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem -- a nearly 50% increase since 2013.College students are also seeking support at an unprecedented rate, openly discussing their struggles with professionals to formulate a game plan for improving their well-being and overall educational experience. Although student affairs offices are overwhelmed with the influx, many are worki...