While prevention is the ultimate goal, ensuring that schools are safe environments is equally important. “The NEA remains committed to eradicating the devastating impact of gun violence,” said Pringle. Fifty-nine percent of adults or someone they know or care about has experienced gun violence in their lifetime. From January to May 2024, there have been at least 107 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 29 deaths and 61 injuries nationally, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Every day, more than 120 people are killed by guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded. The AFT is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities.

Guns in Public

Overall, the U.S. ranked 20th in its gun fatality rate that year, the study found. But it was much lower than in El Salvador (39.2 per 100,000 people), Venezuela (38.7), Guatemala (32.3), Colombia (25.9) and Honduras (22.5). The gun death rate in the U.S. is much higher than in most other nations, particularly developed nations. The states with the lowest gun suicide rates included Massachusetts (1.9), New Jersey (2.1), New York (2.2), Connecticut (2.8) and Rhode Island (3.0).

• The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused gun sales to rise and resulted in a conflict between the NRA and several states when gun and ammo shops were not included as essential businesses during stay-at-home orders.
• The number of gun murders fell from a record 20,958 in 2021 to 17,927 in 2023, a 14% decrease.
• A 1743 law inSouth Carolina required guns to safeguard against “insurrections and other wicked attempts of Negroes and other Slaves.” Other laws required immigrants to own guns in order to immigrate or own land.
• Regardless how a school shooting is defined, all of these events can have detrimental effects on a child’s well-being, development, and critical learning outcomes.
• Both states enacted Extreme Risk, background check, secure storage, and domestic violence laws, with New Mexico also limiting qualified immunity, addressing the Charleston Loophole, and adding a waiting period, and Nevada tackling ghost guns and prohibiting bump stocks.

Emergency Response Protocols: Rapid Detection and Coordinated Action for School Gun Safety

The U.S. Secret Service study of targeted school violence from 2008 to 2017 found that 100 percent of the perpetrators showed behaviors of concern and 77 percent of the time at least one person most often a peer knew about their plan (National Threat Assessment Center, 2019). Warning signs of school shootings, if appropriately identified, can offer an opportunity for intervention beforehand. In a study of targeted K–12 school violence from 2008 to 2017, the U.S. In contrast, commonsense gun laws are essential for saving lives.

The good news is that gun violence is preventable. According to Everytown, “2 in 3 incidents of gunfire on school grounds from 2013 to 2021 occurred in schools where one or more racial and/or ethnic minorities constituted a majority of the student population.” And we know that the long-term effects of toxic stress can change the brain and body’s makeup, particularly for children, severely affecting both physical and mental health. As President Biden, who finally passed the most comprehensive gun safety legislation in 30 years, said, “We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn to read and to write instead of learning how to duck and cover in a classroom.” Ideally, this guide will be used for planning and advocacy that should already be taking place in Pre-K–12 schools and institutions of higher education. House Committee on Oversight and Reform in testimony urging Congress to act to end gun violence, “Inaction means we are willing to accept what should be unacceptable to us all.”9NEA.

Gun Violence Intervention Curriculum Tier 3 Intervention

As educators know well, building authentic relationships with students in the first days and weeks of the school year is often the key to preventing issues with classroom management later in the year. Through the end of May 2024, there have already been 107 shootings on school grounds in the U.S., with 29 deaths and 61 injured. Earlier this year, the National Association of Secondary School Principals released new guidance for preventing school violence. She and her team have identified some NEA Gun Violence Prevention Guide of things schools can do to make their classrooms and hallways feel safer, including “anti-bullying training for staff and teachers, adult supervision, things like hall monitors, and mechanisms to anonymously report hostile behaviors.” Jackie Nowicki has led multiple school safety investigations at the U.S. “Our first preventative strategy should be to make sure kids are respected, that they feel connected and belong in schools,” says Odis Johnson Jr., of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools.

Firearms cause devastating injuries that leave a lasting impact on mental and physical health. A significant proportion – in some states more than half – of firearm deaths are caused by suicide and accidents. Join us for this much needed training program and help prevent violence.