RESOURCES
Stand with Parkland is 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.
Teachers, administrators, law enforcement, lawmakers, and concerned citizens all have a role to play to make sure solutions are implemented in our schools.
Stand with Parkland recommends the following resources to those seeking to improve school safety in their community.
For more opportunities to get involved in the fight for safer schools, join Stand with Parkland today.
K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit
Together we are key to violence prevention in schools – when we all pitch in, our communities are safer.
“Improving School Safety Through Bystander Reporting: A Toolkit for Strengthening K-12 Reporting Programs” offers simple strategies and guidance K-12 schools and school districts can use to implement and enhance safety reporting programs and encourage bystander reporting among students and other members of the school community.
Highlights from this guide include the following tips:
- Make reporting accessible and safe for the reporting community.
- Create a positive climate where reporting is valued and respected.
- Make reporting a part of daily school life.
- Encourage bystanders to report concerns for the wellness and safety of themselves or others.
- Follow-up on reports and be transparent about the actions taken in response to reported concerns.
Stand with Parkland – The National Association of Families for Safe Schools was proud to have been among the advisors for this project. The guide is designed to help school leaders create tailored, customized approaches that meet the needs of their unique communities and is applicable to schools and school districts at various levels of maturity in their approach to reporting.
The Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center’s Analysis of Averting Targeted School Violence 2021
“Threat Assessment is the best practice for preventing targeted school violence. The averted attacks in this report confirm what the National Threat Assessment Center’s research has found on school attacks, specifically that students display a variety of observable concerning behaviors as they escalate toward violence. In order to identify, assess, and intervene with students who may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others, schools and communities should develop multidisciplinary threat assessment programs…”
Some highlights in this report:
- Targeted school violence is preventable when communities identify warning signs and intervene.
- Students are best positioned to identify and report concerning behaviors displayed by their classmates.
- School resource officers (SROs) play an important role in school violence prevention.
- The role of parents and families in recognizing concerning behavior is critical to prevention.
SchoolSafety.gov
A collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education built with input from the Stand with Parkland families, SchoolSafety.gov provides one-stop access to federal school safety resources, programs, and actionable recommendations to create a safe and supportive learning environment where students can thrive and grow. SchoolSafety.gov aims to help schools prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergency situations.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission Reports
On March 9, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act into law. This comprehensive legislation focuses on identifying and addressing issues surrounding the tragedy that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
A key component was the establishment of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission to specifically analyze information from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and other mass violence incidents and provide legislative recommendations and system improvements to help mitigate the impacts from and prevent future school shootings.
Click below to read the first report published in January 2019 and the following report released in November 2019.
The Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center’s Analysis of Targeted School Violence
The U.S. Secret Service has a longstanding tradition of conducting threat assessments as part of its mandate to ensure the safety of this Nation’s highest elected officials. Their National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) is dedicated to expanding the field of violence prevention by closely examining the targeted violence that affects communities across the United States. As part of this mission, NTAC has maintained a particular focus on the prevention of targeted school violence. For 20 years, the Center has studied these tragedies, and their report, titled Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence, supports past Secret Service research findings that indicate targeted school violence is preventable.
The Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety
In March 2018, President Donald Trump appointed U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to lead the Federal Commission on School Safety. The Commission was charged with providing meaningful and actionable recommendations to keep students safe at school. These recommendations include a range of issues, like social-emotional support, recommendations on effective school safety infrastructure, discussion on the minimum age for firearms purchases, and the impact that video games and the media have on violence.
The Columbia Protocol
Suicide PreventionThe first step in suicide prevention is awareness — knowing when someone is in crisis. That’s often not obvious, because many people suffer in silence or give no sign that they might harm themselves. As a family member, friend, neighbor, or colleague, you can make a difference by using the Columbia Protocol — also known as Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) — to help determine when someone is at risk for suicide and how to help.
A Parent’s Guide to Raising Digitally Responsible Youth
Families must recognize technology is here to stay, whether we like it or not. The reality of today’s students is that their digital reputation or how they choose to represent themselves online is being evaluated and assessed by everyone, including college admissions departments and future employers. The team at Safer Schools Together created this parent guide to help introduce the major social media platforms and games that are either being used already or have the potential to be used by our children.
Responsible Firearms Ownership – Tips for the Safe Storage of Firearms
Please exercise responsible firearms ownership. Whether firearms have been in your family for generations or a recent addition to it, be sure to educate yourself and your entire family regarding firearm safety. Please take the time to make certain your firearms are safely stored where they are not likely to be stolen and where your children cannot access them. COVID-19 measures and the unprecedented closure of schools and daycares means children are staying home and likely feeling a little bored. Responsible firearms ownership will help prevent new tragedies from occurring while America’s students remain at home and parents return to work.
More Information on School Resource Officers
School resource officers (SROs) are an important piece of the puzzle for safe and secure schools. They help coordinate and implement safety plans, provide guidance to struggling students, serve as role models, and establish positive relationships between law enforcement and the community. They are the last line of defense for students and teachers when attacks occur.
SROs are vital, and most effective when they are part of a behavioral threat assessment team that brings school officials, mental health professions, and law enforcement together to proactively prevent tragedy and get students help before they resort to violence.
We’ve curated resources to show the positive impacts of SROs on the school community.
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If you are ready to get involved in our mission of safer schools for America’s students and staff, join Stand with Parkland today.
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