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Research Report

School Safety, Security, & Emergency Preparedness: Understanding and Acting on How Students Experience Safety

Overview

A sense of safety and security is foundational to students’ learning, belonging, and healthy development. Yet creating and maintaining schools where students feel truly safe is a complex and ever-shifting challenge, spanning protection from violence and bullying to emotional wellbeing, and disaster preparedness. At a time when investments in school safety are growing and security products are expanding, this report offers a reminder that safety cannot simply be purchased—it requires a deep understanding of, and investment in, the daily work of tending to a healthy school culture.

  • A hand drawn magnifying glass over a sheet of paper in dark blue.

    Finding 1: Students feel safer when their safety concerns are heard

    Fifty-six percent of secondary students (grades six through twelve) say they feel safe during school. That means nearly half of young people move through the school day without the sense of safety that learning and well-being depend on.

  • A hand drawn magnifying glass over a sheet of paper in dark blue.

    Finding 2: Students’ sense of safety varies across school spaces, with classrooms feeling safest and school buses among the least safe

    Bathrooms and buses stand out as the least safe spaces—only half of secondary students feel safe in school bathrooms, and just 25 percent feel safe on school buses. Seventy-nine percent of elementary students do not feel safe on school buses.

  • A hand drawn magnifying glass over a sheet of paper in dark blue.

    Finding 3: Safety anxiety is widespread, and some students carry a heavier emotional burden than others

    Safety anxiety is highest in middle school, declining from 26 percent in sixth grade to 20 percent by eighth grade. The worry is also not experienced equally. Clear gaps emerge across race, language background, and LGBTQ+ identity.

  • A hand drawn magnifying glass over a sheet of paper in dark blue.

    Finding 4: Perceptions of whether students are safe from violence differ across race, gender, and LGBTQ+ identity

    Fewer than half of middle and high school students agree students are generally safe from violence at their school. This perception of safety from violence at school remains remarkably low across grades six through twelve: no secondary grade reaches the 50 percent threshold.

  • A hand drawn magnifying glass over a sheet of paper in dark blue.

    Finding 5: School staff feel prepared for security threats and natural disasters, but many students do not

    Clear safety instruction helps students feel less worried, yet many still feel unprepared for emergencies at school—especially for natural disasters. Staff, by contrast, report high levels of emergency preparedness, revealing a serious disconnect.

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By the numbers

  • Locations where secondary students report feeling safe

    • On the school bus
      25%
    • In the bathrooms at my school
      50%
    • In the hallways at my school
      57%
    • On school property outside my school building
      59%
    • During my classes
      67%

  • Percent of secondary students who worry often about their safety at school by race

    • Black or African American
      26%
    • American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous
      24%
    • Hispanic or Latina/o/x
      20%
    • Asian or Asian American
      16%
    • White
      14%

  • Percent of secondary students who worry often about their safety at school by language background

    • English Language Learner
      27%
    • Non-English Language Learner
      16%

  • Percent of secondary students who worry often about their safety at school by LGBTQ+ identity

    • LGBTQ+
      25%
    • Non-LGBTQ+
      16%