Mass School Shootings and the Short-Run Impacts on Use of School Security Measures and Practices: National Evidence From the Columbine Tragedy

• In Event: 77.041 - Mass Shootings, Education Policy, and School-Level Practices: The Challenges of Keeping Students Safe and Treating Students Fairly

Abstract

In the wake of several high-profile tragedies, mass school shootings have once again taken on a prominent position in policy debates around school security. Few prior studies have explicitly examined the impact of such events on schools' immediate security responses. This study uses national data and exploits arguably random variation in the timing of school administrator surveys that happened to occur both before and after the Columbine shooting to explore the impacts of Columbine on schools' security approaches. We find that after Columbine, schools were more likely to report locking exits but made few other immediate security changes. Implications for school responses to more recent school shootings are discussed.

Authors

• Chris Curran, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Benjamin W. Fisher, University of Louisville

• Samantha L Viano, George Mason University