30+ Alarming School Safety Statistics

Schools, districts and governments use a whole range of different measures to keep students safe in schools.

Are the measures that schools implement enough to make sure that students are safe?

Considering the number of school shootings that we’ve been hearing about on the news in recent years, it’s safe to say that we should be worried. Being aware of school safety statistics can help us raise awareness around this terrifying issue.

For this reason, we should all be reading the latest data and facts on violence, bullying and safety in schools, on school campuses, and on the way to school.

This list can be of great help if you are looking to inform yourself about this issue.

Let’s look at some statistics!

School Safety Facts in the USA

It’s no secret that the USA has been experiencing a large number of incidents of violence and deaths in schools, much larger than most countries in the world.

What’s more, gun violence in schools has been a big cause for concern. How worried should students, parents, teachers, school administrations, districts, and the government be?

Let’s delve into the school safety data!

1. 15.2% of black students didn’t go to school because they felt unsafe.

(Statista)

The latest data available has shown that 15.2% of black non-Hispanic students didn’t go to school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way there. Hispanic students ranked second on the list with 13.7%, while only 11.1% of white students felt unsafe in school or on their way to school

What these school zone safety statistics may tell us is that racism might still be a problem in American schools.

2. Homosexual students are twice as scared as heterosexual students.

(Statista) 

Data from the latest surveys suggest that homosexual students are almost twice as scared as heterosexual students.13.5% of students who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual said that they felt unsafe to go to school. This percentage was only 7.5% for heterosexual students.

These statistics related to school safety tell us that despite the increasing awareness surrounding a person’s sexual orientation, homosexual students may still be experiencing violence in school. 

3. 9% of teachers stated that they’re worried about school shootings.

(Statista)

A survey was conducted to check how worried teachers are about school shootings. Teachers grades K to 12 were asked whether they were worried about being a victim of a school shooting.

This survey pointed out that 44% of teachers are not too worried. 20% are not worried at all, while 27% are somewhat worried. Only 9% of teachers expressed that they’re very worried about being a victim of a school shooting. 

Bearing these statistics on school safety in mind, we can safely assume that most teachers are not too worried or preoccupied about being a victim of a school shooting.

4. 63% of teachers are strongly against a special training that would teach them how to carry a gun.

(Statista)

After the increase in numbers that violence statistics have experienced, there was a proposal that teachers receive special training on how to carry a gun.

A recent survey asked teachers if they opposed or favored the proposal. A whopping number of 63% strongly opposed this proposal.

Moreover, only 11% strongly favored this special training proposal. 10% of teachers were somewhat opposed and 9% were somewhat in favor. 7% of teachers decided that they were neutral on this topic. We can say that the latest stats on violence in schools haven’t pushed most students into training on how to carry a gun.

5. The largest teachers unions urge against shooter drills in schools.

(TheGuardian)

Shooter drills are something that has become quite widespread in the USA. Teacher unions are strongly against them and they point out that these drills only spark the already-existing fears of school shootings that students have.

Even though districts consider these to be school safety tips for students, teachers say that they aren’t helping students in any way or at least in the way they are intended to help. A teacher who is a survivor of one school shooting thinks that these “active shooter” drills are obscene and perverse. Teachers further point out that these drills can have a traumatic effect on a student of any age and can stay with students as a traumatic experience for a long time. 

School Security Statistics

6. Recent data suggest that schools are careful with who can enter the school buildings.

(NCES)

The latest surveys show that 97.5% of primary schools, 94.7% of middle schools, and 91.4% of high schools control access to the school buildings during school hours. This includes locked or monitored doors. Most schools consider this to be a way of reducing the numbers of violence in schools stats.

7. The number of high schools and middle schools that have security cameras is bigger than the number of primary schools that have security cameras.

(NCES)

The most recent data available points to the fact that fewer primary schools have cameras, in comparison with middle schools and high schools. This percentage is 77.9% for primary schools, while it’s 91.5% and 93.6% for middle schools and high schools, respectively. 

8. 65.2% of high schools do random sweeps for contraband.

(NCES) 

Some school safety statistics suggest that 65.2% of high schools do random sweeps for contraband. In comparison, this percentage is 49.2% for middle schools and 7.6% for primary schools. These sweeps include locker checks and dog sniffs. Lockers are checked for contraband like drugs and weapons.

9. The number of schools that require school uniforms is less than 25%.

(NCES)

22% of primary schools require that their students wear school uniforms, according to the latest school uniform safety statistics. This number is 18% for middle schools and 10.4% for high schools. 

However, when it comes to wearing badges and ID cards, the situation is the other way around. High schools have the biggest percentage (17.6%), while this number is lower for middle schools (13.2%) and elementary schools (6%).

10. 61.5% of middle schools in the USA have dress codes.

(NCES)

School violence stats imply that dress codes are seen as a means of improving school safety and lowering the rates of school violence. More than half of the middle schools and high schools in the USA have dress codes—61.5% of middle schools, and 55.9% of high schools. This percentage is 42.6% for elementary schools. 

11. There has been a decrease in drug availability in schools.

(NCES)

National school safety statistics seem to show that there has been a decrease in drug availability in schools. 

In 2001, the percentage of students in grades 9-12 who said that illegal drugs were made available to them on the school grounds was 29%. These numbers were lower for 2019 (22%).

School Violence Statistics 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have interrupted the terrible rise in the number of school shootings. The fact that most students attend online school helped the situation.

But what did the numbers look like before the pandemic? What did they look like during it, and what will they look like after everyone goes bak to school? 

12. As per school safety statistics 2020, only ten school shootings have been recorded in 2020.

(EdWeek, EdWeek)

It seems that something good came out of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, and that was the lowered number of school shootings.

In the United States, there were 10 registered school shootings in 2020. This number was significantly higher in 2019 (25) and even higher in 2021 (34). 

13. 8 people were killed in school incidents in 2019.

(EdWeek)

2019 was a year in which 25 gunfire incidents occurred on the territory of the USA. In those 25 incidents, 8 people were killed and 43 injured. In 11 incidents, gunfire started during or right after the end of a school event such as sporting events.

14. Over 30 school shootings were recorded in 2021.

(EdWeek)

Reports and school safety facts point out that in 2021, there were 34 shootings on school grounds. Most of them, 24, occurred after schools opened for in-person schooling. Believe it or not, those 24 shootings equal the combined number of shootings in the last three years. 

15. 2021 started with school shootings.

(EdWeek)

Data tells us that there were three shootings up to March 2021. The first school shooting of 2021 happened on February 27th in New Orleans, Louisiana. A police officer that was working as security at a high school basketball game was shot and killed.

On the first day of March, a student shot a fellow student, and the victim died two days later. This happened in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Statistics on school violence show that another registered shooting incident happened on March 8th in Chesterfield, South Carolina.

So far in 2022, there have been four school shootings with injuries and deaths, with five people killed or injured overall. 

16. A total of 11 shootings resulted in the deaths of four or more victims.

(ABCNews)

Even though there have been numerous school shootings, 11 shootings resulted in deaths of four or more victims. A 15-year-old shooter shot and killed three people at Marysville Pilchuck High School before turning the gun on himself. School violence facts show that five victims were killed at Northern Illinois University by a graduate student.

17. The deadliest school shooting happened in 2007.

(ABCNews)

School shootings are part of a hard, sad and terrifying reality in the USA. Moreover, this is even more terrifying when most people consider schools to be the safest place on the planet. 

The deadliest school shooting happened in 2007 on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState in Blacksburg, Virginia. This appalling event took the lives of 32 people. Other 23 people were injured, after which the killer committed suicide.

18. Nearly 1,370 school shootings have occurred since 1970.

(SandyHookPromise, World Population Review)

School safety in America statistics seem to point to the fact that school shootings are a big problem in the USA.

Since 1970, the USA has faced 1,369 school shootings, and the numbers of multiple-victim shootings have been rising since the horrifying school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Moreover, people are urging the government for better gun control, especially after all of the terrifying school shootings that have happened in the last 10 years.

19. A study has shown that, in most shootings, at least one person has prior knowledge of the attacker’s plan.

(SecretService)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did extensive research into the rising number of school shootings that have been happening on the territory of the USA. They concluded that in 4 out of 5 school shootings, at least one person had prior knowledge of the attacker’s plan.

This points to the fact that some students may consider these plans as just words, instead of what they are, plans. These stats on school safety are not only terrifying but extremely alarming and petrifying. 

20. Statistics point that school shootings are not as big of a problem worldwide.

(CNN)

The data analyzed by CNN puts forward the fact that school shootings are not as big a problem worldwide as they are in the USA. In fact, school children worldwide don’t fear school shootings because they don’t happen in their country.

School violence statistics worldwide indicate that numbers aren’t even close to those of Canada, Germany, France, Japan, the UK, and Italy. 

School Safety Statistics & Shooting Facts

21. School shooters want to get back at those who hurt them.

(Alfred)

A recent survey asked respondents to rate possible reasons why someone would start a school shooting. The respondents were asked to rate 16 different reasons on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). 

School safety statistics show that the reason that ranked first was, “They want to get back at those who have hurt them,” with 87% agreeing.

22. School shooters were bullied.

(Alfred)

Respondents in the aforementioned survey thought that the other reason why someone would start a school shooting is, “Other kids pick on them, make fun of them, or bully them”, (86%).

Out of 16 possible reasons that respondents were supposed to rank, “They are bored”, landed in the last place (18%). These facts about school safety indicate that there is something that can be done to prevent school shootings from starting.

23. 95% of schools have “active shooter” drills.

(NPR)

An alarming number of schools (95%) have a variation of a drill where students practice what to do in case of an active shooter. Some schools have a “lockdown” drill where they practice how to stay put and where to hide if there’s danger on the premises. Others opt for an “active threat” drill where students are taught how to react if there’s an active shooter on the premises. Facts like these should certainly make us question decision-makers’ choices when it comes to safety in education.

24. 66% of public schools reported physical attacks or fights without a weapon.

(NIJ, NCES)

If you’ve been wondering: has school violence increased or decreased, the answer is — it has decreased. In fact, even though students face more nonfatal victimization at school than away from school, victimization has lowered over time.

25. Most schools report at least one incident involving violence.

(NIJ, The Hill)

As per the 2019 report from the National Center for Education Statistics, over 960,000 school violent incidents happen nationally over an academic year. 

Moreover, there are also around 3,600 firearm or explosive device incidents. Apart from school shootings, there is also much violence against teachers. 

26. Over half of recorded violent school incidents are reported to the police.

(NCES)

The public school safety statistics that are available note that out of the total 79.8% of violent school incidents, 46.9% were reported to the police. From the violent incidents that were recorded (70.7%), 32.5% were reported to the police. The percentage of violent incidents that were reported to the police was 14.9% out of 21.3%.

27. The types of incidents that are recorded are of different nature and fall in different categories.

(NCES)

Violence in school stats put different incidents in different categories. Violent incidents include physical attacks or fights without a weapon and threats of attacks without a weapon.

Serious violent incidents include rape, sexual assault, physical attacks or fights with a weapon, threats of attacks with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.

Incidents under the name of “theft” or “larceny” are incidents in which things worth over $10 were stolen, with or without personal confrontation.

Under the category “other” is the possession of a firearm or explosive device; possession of a knife or sharp object; distribution, possession, or use of illegal drugs or alcohol; inappropriate distribution, possession, or use of prescription drugs; and vandalism.

28. Data points to the fact that private schools are safer than public schools.

(RedefinedOnline)

Private school safety statistics seem to point to the fact that private schools are safer than public schools. A study found that private schools are more likely to expel students who show violent tendencies.

These numbers also show that private schools are more likely to enforce strict dress codes and wearing of school uniforms on the school grounds. Some studies think that this may increase safety on private school grounds.

School Bus Safety Statistics

29. The school bus is the safest vehicle to school.

(NHTSA)

Some parents choose not to let their kids get on the school bus and instead they take them to school by car themselves. Recent data points out the fact that the bus is the safest vehicle your kid can take to school.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as some recent school bus safety facts, suggest that students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely if they take the school bus instead of traveling by car. 

30. More and more states allow stop-arm cameras on the outside of school buses.

(NCSL)

Each year, more and more states in the USA are passing laws that allow school drivers to mount stop-arm cameras on the outside of the buses. The point of these cameras is to catch and punish motorists who pass stopped school buses.

Idaho, New York, Oklahoma, Maine, West Virginia, Indiana, and Tennessee passed laws to authorize stop-arm cameras in 2019. Furthermore, these cameras may help better the violence in schools statistics and help reassure parents that their children are safe on the school bus.

31. There has been a decline in students who walk to school

(Planetizen)

A recent survey has found that there has been a decline in the number of students who choose to walk to school. An informal survey points out that only 10% of the respondents said their children walk to school. Some walking-to-school safety statistics also show that there has been a change in students’ travel behavior. 

School Safety Statistics – The Bottom Line

The school grounds have always been considered to be a nurturing place worldwide. The fact that so many crimes have been happening on school grounds in the USA points to the terrible realization that the government may not be doing enough.

As lots of lives have been lost at the hands of school shooters, districts, states, and the government need to take the responsibility into their own hands and start doing more.

It is astonishing to think how epidemic gun violence has become in the USA overall, not just on school campuses. If you want to learn more, check the most shocking gun violence statistics.

Students have started choosing a college by how safe the city is where the college is located. Not only that, school safety statistics show that students have also started choosing colleges by how safe the college is, instead of what is the most fitting college for their needs and talents.

People Also Ask