Reconsider Active Shooter Drills
Reconsider Active Shooter Drills
What does this solve?
95% of American public schools drill students on lockdown procedures. Yet, there is no strong conclusive evidence of the value of these drills for preventing school shootings or protecting the school community when shootings do occur.
Students, educators, and staff have experienced distress and sometimes lasting trauma as a result of active shooter drills. Everytown does not recommend these drills for students, and believes schools should carefully consider these impacts before conducting live drills that involve students. While only 0.2% of gun deaths a year occur on school grounds, drills to prepare students and staff to respond in the unlikely event of a shooting have become a near-universal practice in American schools today.
How it Works
Proactive school safety measures save lives.
In the absence of any strong conclusive evidence on drills’ effectiveness at ensuring safety during actual active shooter incidents, Everytown urges school decisionmakers to assess whether the potential but unproven benefits of these drills outweigh their known collateral consequences to school communities’ mental health and wellbeing.
A strong body of research affirms the value of proactive school safety measures, such as threat assessment programs, access to mental health professionals and social support, non-punitive disciplinary processes, and trauma-informed emergency planning for teachers in reducing a school’s risk of gun violence and mass shootings. As part of these efforts, schools must also work to develop a supporting and nurturing school environment, and be aware of and attentive to warning signs of potential violence. States should make funding available for schools to implement these programs, and lawmakers must pass common sense gun violence prevention policies such as background checks on all gun sales, Extreme Risk laws, and secure gun storage laws, which prevent prospective shooters from getting their hands on a gun.
By the numbers
40+
School-based drills are required in at least 40 states.
95%
In the 2015-16 school year, 95 percent of American public schools drilled students on lockdown procedures in the event of a shooting.
Additional Resources
All Resources
Reconsider Active Shooter Drills
All Resources
NEA School Gun Violence Prevention and Response Guide
We published the guide’s four sections—on prevention, preparation, response, and recovery—separately to facilitate their use. Each part includes material for Pre-K–12 schools and institutions of…
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How Can We Prevent Gun Violence in American Schools?
School leaders and policymakers must support and implement strong gun safety laws and school-based interventions.
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Cómo detener los tiroteos y la violencia armada en las escuelas: Un plan para mantener seguros a los estudiantes
Necesitamos acciones significativas para mantener nuestras escuelas y las comunidades circundantes seguras en los Estados Unidos.
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How To Stop Shootings and Gun Violence in Schools: A Plan to Keep Students Safe
We need meaningful actions to keep our schools safe, actions that address what we know about gun violence in America’s schools.
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The Danger of Guns on Campus
Guns on campus are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides, and suicides, and they’re unlikely to prevent mass shootings.
Fact Sheet
The Impact of Active Shooter Drills in Schools
Since the 1999 Columbine shooting, active shooter drills have proliferated in America’s school systems at an exponential rate.
Report
The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Teens
Children's exposure to gun violence has far reaching effects: An estimated three million children witness a shooting each year.
Fact Sheet