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1.Student Disability
“The requirement for inclusion in the classroom and in emergency preparedness is not just fanciful suggestion, but the law" (Smith, 2019, p.5).
The Department of Homeland Security has outlined current active shooter response plans in three steps Run, Hide. Fight. However, this response approach is not realistic for everyone, including students with disabilities. Students with disabilities can be more vulnerable during school threats (Smith, 2019).
In 2020–21, the number of students ages 3–21 who received special education services (under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.2 million, which is 15% of students (Smith, 2019).
Katie Shelley works on the fourth floor of a building on her college campus in Northwest Ohio. In January 2018, the fire alarm had gone off and Katie had to figure out how to safely get out of the school as a wheelchair user. NO plans were in place for her evacuation. After the Columbine shooting she worried for safety in the event of an emergency. Katie reflected on when she was younger and her school decided to designate a classroom as a refugee area as a solution. Katie states "I just (in theory) had to wait in a burning building until someone came to get me. Even at 10 years old, I knew this was a horrible plan and I was not a fan” (Smith, 2019, p.3).
More examples of schools that failed to accommodate students with disabilities in the event of an emergency:
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The city of Alexandria, Virginia school board was sued twice regarding evacuation and safety of students.
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In 2017 there was another lawsuit that reached a settlement in Newark, New Jersey after the school left a student with a disability in a classroom after a fire alarm went off. According to federal officials the school "did not have policies for evacuating students with disabilities" (Smith, 2019, p.4).
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A lawsuit in New Rochelle, New York, school district occurred when the school failed to evacuate two students during a fire and did not include students who used mobility aids in various drills.
The question comes to be why after all this time has there not been improvements to school emergency plans for individuals with disabilities. Even many years after the ADA was passed? It is unacceptable.
What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
This is a law that was passed in 1990 that prohibits the discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday life.
Organization:
What is Safe and Sound Schools?
It is a national nonprofit organization that was founded by two mothers who lost their children in the Sandy Hook shooting. This organization provides research based-tools and support for crisis-prevention, response, and recovery. (Safe and Sound Schools, 2022). Safe and Sound Schools recommend the use of Individualized Emergency and Lockdown Plans (IELP's) to help better accommodate for students with disabilities.
The recommendation highlighted above is a great step in the direction but is a missed opportunity for universal design. Universal design plans accommodate the needs of all individuals that use the space. This would ensure that all students were included and accommodated for (Smith, 2019).
2.Teacher Burnout
How has the pressure for the safety of their students caused teachers to feel burnt out?
What is Burnout?
What is Burnout?
"Feelings of emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of accomplishment at work" (Pene, 2015, p.3).
How Serious is Burnout?
How Serious is Burnout?
"In a National Education Association survey, published in February, 90% of respondents said that burnout is a “serious” problem" (Goldberg et al., 2022, p.2)
Teacher's have to manage way more than just their classroom responsibilities. Some have to take on the role of counselors because schools do not have the resources (Goldberg et al., 2022). On top of all these responsibilities, there is a fear of safety because of gun violence.
“I never had to think about mass gun violence [when I started teaching],” she said. “The fact that we've spent nearly 10 years in lockdown drills or improving our school safety [since Sandy Hook] continues to shock me” (Goldberg et al., 2022, p.2)
Statements made by teachers about burnout and school violence:
3.Mental Health
The concern of school safety impacts teacher's mental health greatly.
Teachers are leaving the profession and schools are experiencing staff shortages at an alarming rate. It was found that "there were 3.3 million public school teachers in the United States in the 2017-2018 school year. In the school year 2020-2021, that number decreased by 300,000" (Huberty, 2023, p. 6). There are many factors that play into this, but safety is a major part of the issue at hand. Now more than ever in the past, we see school shooting that are covered nationwide on the media. With each shooting, there becomes an increased fear of violence in schools. This causes added stress and anxiety which in turn affects teachers and leaves them feeling mentally exhausted (Huberty, 2023).
What Can be Done for Teachers to Feel Safer?
What Can be Done for Teachers to Feel Safer?
Improved Access to Mental Health Services Includes:
-Making sure there is a school counselor in each school.
-Providing more training on how to identify and support students with a mental illness.
-Offering mental health services to teacher's as well.
(Huberty, 2023)
Support From School Administrators Includes:
-Providing more feedback.
-Allow teachers to aid in decision making, let them know they are heard, and their opinions are valued.
-Show more appreciation for teacher's hard work.
(Huberty, 2023)
Improved Safety Infrastructure:
-"Multi-layered security approach" (Huberty, 2023, p.9)
-Safety measures that are already implemented like cameras, door blockers, and buzzer systems should be upgraded.
-A. I gun detection is a possibility but poses limitations.
(Huberty, 2023)
Organization:
What is Mental Health America?
What is Mental Health America?
It is an national non-profit organization, their mission is to "advance the mental health and well-being of all people living in the U.S. through public education, research, advocacy and public policy, and direct service" (Mental Health America, 2023,p.1).
Visit this link to learn more about mental health: Mental Health America
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