TDNet Discover

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether the presence of formalized school safety structures was associated with differences in reported serious violent incidents in public schools. Understanding how organizational safety systems function in schools is important as educational leaders continue to implement structures intended to prevent violence while maintaining supportive learning environments. The study was conducted using data drawn from the 2019-2020 School Survey on Crime and Safety, a national survey administered to public schools in the United States. Instrumentation was based on the principal questionnaire within the School Survey on Crime and Safety, which collects information related to school safety practices and reported incidents within schools. Statistical procedures were used to examine whether variation in formalized safety structures corresponds with differences in reported incidents of serious violence. Analytical procedures included the examination of statistical assumptions followed by quantitative tests designed to evaluate relationships between the organizational structures, threat assessment teams and crisis response plans, and the occurrence of serious violent incidents. The results indicated the presence of coordinated safety structures was not associated with a statistically significant reduction in reported serious violent incidents. These results suggested the existence of formal safety structures alone may not correspond with measurable changes in incident occurrence. Further research is recommended to explore how implementation quality influences the effectiveness of school safety systems.