The essential actions for school safety are predicated on these guiding principles:
- A balanced approach to enhance safety and security in the learning environment
- A holistic approach that reflects physical safety, mental health, and personal connections to the school community
- A multidisciplinary approach that involves school personnel—including teachers, administrators, counselors, mental health professionals, and support staff such as janitors and school bus drivers—as well as law enforcement, other first responders, community-based resources, and families
- A focus on attack prevention via intervention rather than solely victim mitigation
These guiding principles reflect the working group’s consensus that strategies for protecting students must be holistic. That is, they must be comprehensive and involve multidisciplinary planning and implementation. Comprehensive school safety and security plans address prevention, response, and recovery from mass casualty attacks and other dangerous incidents.
Download the Ten Essential Actions to Improve School Safety
