PROVIDING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT: President Donald J. Trump’s Commission on School Safety examined ways to make our schools safe for all students and teachers.
- President Trump’s School Safety Commission (Commission) is releasing its report and recommendations on how to address school safety and violence.
- The President established the Commission following the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida, and placed it under the leadership of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
- The President directed the Commission to make a comprehensive assessment of the issue of school violence and to make policy recommendations to keep our schools safe.
- The Commission listened to students, parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, law enforcement, mental health professionals, security personnel, and others.
- The Commission hosted meetings, field visits, and listening sessions across 8 States and the District of Columbia and reviewed more than 1,500 comments from the public.
- Understanding that each community has a unique set of school safety needs without a one-size-fits-all solution, the Commission offered recommendations, to be adopted as appropriate.
PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE: The Commission offered a number of recommendations to improve school cultures and help prevent acts of school violence.
- Schools and communities must take a comprehensive approach to making sure school campuses are safe places for learning and growth.
- The Commission’s report emphasizes the importance of improving access to mental health services as a vital means of reducing school violence.
- This includes identifying youth at risk for mental illness and connecting them with needed treatment, services, and support.
- The Commission advocates the development of model State legislation on compelling treatment for individuals with serious mental illness.
- One analysis found that up to 25 percent of mass shooters had been treated for mental illnesses, and more than 75 percent had prior symptoms of mental illness.
- The Commission endorses Extreme Risk Protection Order laws, which give authorities a temporary way to keep those who threaten society from possessing or purchasing firearms.
- The Commission encourages media to consider adopting the principles of the “No Notoriety” campaign, which calls on media coverage to not use names or photos of killers.
PROTECTING STUDENTS: The Commission laid out recommendations to improve the physical security of schools and ensure trained personnel are in place to respond to threats.
- While all schools have different needs for physical security, there are common principles that should be applied, such as identifying security gaps and using layers of security.
- The primary responsibility for the security of schools rests with States and local communities, which are best able to tailor solutions to fit their own unique needs.
- The Commission supports a number of methods to fund training, planning, personnel, and equipment to improve school security.
- The Commission recommends that the Federal Government develop a clearinghouse to assess, identify, and share best practices related to school security measures.
