The Federal Commission on School Safety was established in March 2018 to examine the issues and incidents that compromise the safety of students in U.S. schools. The Commission worked to understand the complexity of the problem of school safety by organizing field visits and meetings with organizations and individuals committed to establishing safer schools.

In the ‘Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety’ presented to the President of the United States and released this month, the Commission details decades of school shootings that have been a “persistent problem” since the 1980’s. The Commission also acknowledges the difficulty in developing policies that will universally apply in all schools and districts. In this report, the Commission provides recommendations for improving school safety, building off existing security practices in state and local communities, as well as the insights and expertise of the many individuals they consulted. These recommendations encourage all members of a community to work together to protect our children, including schools, houses of worships, families, law enforcement, health care providers, and government:

Only by working together at all levels and in communities nationwide, can we truly make a difference. For the sake of America’s schools and America’s students, may that work continue.

Some of the links in this report require institutional access, click here to read the full report.

More resources and reports on School Violence in the U.S. can be found at the Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL).

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