Giving Compass' Take:

• A mother of one of the Sandy Hook victims discusses her efforts to prevent gun violence in schools.  She does not recommend putting firearms in classrooms but instead offers other suggestions for preventative measures to increase school safety. 

• How can donors help progress the policy discussion on school safety?

• Read about the relationship between school safety and emotional health. 

Since my son, Dylan, was murdered in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School six years ago, I have made it my life’s mission to protect other families from experiencing the excruciating pain that I endure every day as a result of his preventable death.

I met with President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos along with school shooting survivors and other victims’ families after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I am pleased to know that our recommendations to invest in prevention efforts were heard in the public listening session, as well as in private sessions and meetings, and that the Federal Commission on School Safety was authorized.

Many of the preventative measures recommended in the report — such as creating a school culture of inclusion, monitoring social media as a source for threats, implementing anonymous reporting systems paired with training for students and educators, and establishing multidisciplinary threat assessment teams in schools — support the value of and need for prevention programs, such as those offered by Sandy Hook Promise.

While I agree with many of the recommendations for improving prevention measures that are outlined in the commission’s report, I am appalled by the suggestion that we put more firearms in our schools. There is no evidence to support the arming of teachers as an effective prevention method or response in an active shooter scenario. And there is zero demand for it from the education community. This tactic was not supported in the listening sessions, nor is there any evidence that it is a sensible solution.

Instead, stronger preventative measures like Extreme Risk Protection Orders, also highlighted in the report, are the best ways to combat the escalation in incidents of gun violence.

Read the full article about the epidemic of school shootings by Nicole Hockley at The 74