School Safety: Ensuring students’ physical and emotional safety and security

Students, parents, teachers, and administrators have the right to expect their schools to be safe havens of learning. Several important strategies and resources can be used to create safe, positive, and secure school environments: the quality of relationships between staff and students and their families; adequately trained staff; support from the community, including law enforcement and social service agencies; and safe physical buildings and grounds.

Below is an archive of Partners for Public Education web posts about school safety.

May 2018

Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers are working to finalize the 2018-19 state budget, a spending plan in which the governor has made school funding a top priority. Gov. Wolf is pushing hard to increase funding for public schools and reverse the nearly $1 billion in funding cuts enacted in 2011.

April 2018

On the eve of the 19th anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine High School, members of organizations representing families, educators, school administrators, school boards, and law enforcement joined parents, students, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for a town hall meeting on school safety issues.

March 2018

There’s one thing on which we can all agree: Every school must be a physically and emotionally safe learning environment.

October 2017

One out of three U.S. students say they have been bullied at school. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of PA is one of several lawmakers in Washington who wants to do something about it.

October 2017

The rise of social media and texting has led to new and more sophisticated ways for bullies to reach their victims. No longer is bullying confined to face-to-face encounters.

October 2017

It is important to understand what bullying is and what it is not. With that knowledge, you will be better equipped to recognize the warning signs when a child you love is involved in bullying 

October 2017

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a great time for all of us to acknowledge this problem and do our part to end it in our schools and our communities.

December 2016

The digital world is teeming with opportunities to learn in new ways and connect with friends. It can also be a dangerous place for kids and teens in the age of cyber bullying.

October 2016

Thousands of school children are staying home from school each day to avoid bullies, and that's unacceptable to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. He is advocating for legislation intended to curb bullying in schools and on social media.

October 2016

In October, the PA Department of Transportation is partnering with the State Police, local law enforcement, school districts, intermediate units, and school bus drivers to educate motorists about the laws of the road when it comes to school buses. It's part of a project called Operation Safe Stop.

October 2016

When we send our kids off to school each morning, we count on school employees to watch out for all students as they travel on the bus, learn in the classroom, and interact with friends in the cafeteria and school yard.

August 2016

When your kids head for the bus each morning, you want to know that they will be safe throughout the day. Here are some tips to keep in mind as a new school year gets underway.

January 2016

The face of bullying has changed with more and more students facing round-the-clock cyber bullying and harassing text messages and social media posts. Last summer, a new law went into effect making cyber harassment of a child a third-degree misdemeanor in Pennsylvania.

January 2016

Crisis Text Line was created to connect people by text with crisis counselors. In less than two years, it had responded to 6.5 million text messages.

January 2016

Every 12 minutes, one person in the U.S. dies by suicide, and nine out of every 10 of those individuals have a diagnosable mental health disorder.

January 2016

If you are a parent who has concerns about your child, how can QPR help?

January 2016

Nobody likes to think about young people taking their lives, but suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-24. The good news is that there is a technique much like CPR for people of all ages who are considering suicide. It's known as QPR — short for Question, Persuade, and Refer.

December 2015

Children and teens have many opportunities to connect with friends and learn in new ways with digital technology. This is mostly a good thing, but parents and other caring adults should know what signs of trouble to watch for when the children in their lives log on.

October 2015 

Students learn best and achieve their full potential when they feel safe and secure at school, on the bus, and at home. Bullying is not only a threat to a child's safety and wellbeing; it's a threat to his or her education. 

February 2015 

Pennsylvania's new Child Protective Services Law requires any unpaid, adult volunteer who has direct contact, routine interaction, or responsibility for the welfare of children in public schools to provide a series of background checks.

January 2015 

Teens with parents who monitor and set rules for driving "reported fewer risky driving behaviors and half the crash risk in the last year as teens who described their parents as less involved," according to TeenDriverSource.org.

January 2015 

Did you know that an analysis of 30 school shootings found the attackers had told others about their plans in advance four out of five times? Imagine if more people spoke up about threats of violence before they happened.

January 2015 

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between 10 and 19 years of age. The good news is parents, teachers, and friends are in key positions to identify the warning signs in young people and to get them help.

January 2015 

In the young adult novel The Misfits, four friends struggle to survive 7th grade in an environment of vicious taunts and name calling. The 2003 book has inspired an annual event in schools across the country, known as "No Name Calling Week," celebrated Jan. 19-23 this year.

January 2015 

With more than 38 million children and adolescents participating in sports in the United States, there are bound to be some injuries. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the most common types of sport-related injuries among children are sprains, muscle strains, bone or growth plate injuries, repetitive motion injuries, and heat-related illness.  

October 2014 

When you kiss your children goodbye each morning as they head out the door to school, you want to know that they will be safe throughout the day. For most children, the school day starts on the way to the bus stop.

April 2014 

Advances in technology over the past two decades have brought about new obstacles for parents, educators, and law enforcement.  Parents and teachers cannot let their guard down when our children are in the classroom, library, or using the internet in their homes.

July 2012

Bullying has become a hot topic in the media and schools recently as bullies find new ways to target and intimidate their victims. The consequences of their actions have been felt in communities across the country.