Enhancing School Safety: A Guide for Concerned Parents
- Philip Schentrup
- Feb 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 20
School safety remains a top concern for parents across the United States. Close to 40% of parents fear for the safety of their children at school[1]. Parents have legitimate reasons for concern and are worried about a broad range of topics, from in person and online bullying / psychological harm to school shootings and death. For example, almost 1 in 5 students between the ages of 12-18 reported being bullied in school[2]. The numbers for school shootings are even more concerning. School shootings have risen from an average of five per year between 2002-2004, to an average of 56 shootings per year between 2022-2024[3]. That’s over a 900% increase in the last 20 years.
Given these statistics, however, surprisingly over 60% of parents believe that their child’s school is a safe environment. We know that 77% of parents consider school safety the most important issue for transparency by schools and school districts[4], we know from countless examples across the United States, however, is that schools have incentives to hide information. For example, in the Parkland shooting, the school failed to disclose to parents that the shooter was searched every day when he attended the school for fear that he would bring a weapon to school. The school failed to disclose that they were notified by students of a threat to attack the school made by the attacker. The school also reported zero fights for the previous two school years, which was an outright lie. After an investigation by the State of Florida, it was discovered that many schools had intentionally underreported acts of violence on their campus. The problem is not just isolated to Florida. At Newport High School in Bellevue, WA, a student and her supporters were expelled by the school district for calling the district to action after she reported an assault by a fellow student[5] and the school failed to act. Similar incidents have been reported in Texas, Ohio, and other states[6].
The reality is, if parents want their child to be safe at school, they must be active partners in the safety and security of their child’s school. But what does it mean to be an active partner in school safety? What makes a school safe? What can parents do? These are great questions and fortunately there is help out there!
The good news is parents don’t have to be an expert in school safety to be a great advocate. The best practices in school safety have been developed for years (decades) and the fundamentals are easy to understand. To help parents begin their journey as school safety advocates, Stand with Parkland published “A Parent’s Guide to School Safety”. This guide is a great starting point and explains the basics of school safety. It covers best practices in campus security, behavioral interventions and mental health, SRO’s, and red flag laws. Stand with Parkland also publishes “5 Questions Every Family Should Ask” which provides a set of questions parents can ask their child’s teacher, school administrator, and/or district staff. While these questions do not cover the entire breadth of school safety, they provide parents a simple way to start a school safety conversation with their child’s school.
In addition to our guide, SchoolSafety.gov is a great resource for parents as they progress in their school safety advocacy work. SchoolSafety.gov was created by presidential executive action in 2020 and codified into law by the Luke and Alex School Safety Act. The Luke and Alex School Safety Act was part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which was passed in 2022 . The Luke and Alex School Safety Act is named in honor of Luke Hoyer and Alex Schachter, both were murdered in the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School tragedy. Stand with Parkland is proud to have been the primary advocate for this important legislation.
School Safety.gov is a collaboration between the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security and acts as a clearinghouse for all school safety information generated by our federal government. In addition to publishing best practices and data on school safety, it also provides schools and school districts with tools to assess their current school safety readiness and provides suggestions on next steps to continue to improve in the areas of student and school safety. Many recommendations are low cost or no cost, making it easy for schools and school districts to start an improvement plan. Even better, SchoolSafety.gov helps schools and school districts find funding to implement more expensive needed reforms and campus improvements. Additionally, parents have free access to this important school safety nformation.
Finally, if you think a tragedy like ours cannot occur in your community, please consider this. Two days before our tragedy, Parkland was ranked one of the safest communities in Florida. Places like Columbine and Sandy Hook were also considered very safe communities. Being ranked the safest place in Florida didn’t protect our loved ones. Parents must be active in partnering with their child’s school to ensure a safe environment for their child. The consequences for failing to do so are too high.
About Stand with Parkland
Stand with Parkland is a national organization representing American families. We are committed to advocating for practical public safety reforms focused on the safety of our children and staff at school, improved mental health support, and responsible firearms ownership. Personal responsibility and a desire for change are paramount to this effort, and it is the people involved at all levels that will make these goals a reality. Violence in our schools affects everyone. It is an American epidemic, and it is time that we all come together to do something about it.
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