Safety

Safety is one key component of creating a space conducive to learning — whether that space is in an elementary school or on a college campus. We are capturing state efforts to prevent and respond to safety concerns in a suite of resources that include information on various topics, from early identification and response protocols to safety plans to support systems and structures.

Recently Published Resources

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Policy Levers to Advance Credential Transparency

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Policy Brief

Student Health and Wellness at the State Level

Students have a number of existing and emerging physical and mental health needs that require specific approaches, and schools play a key role in supporting student wellbeing. Health and wellness […]

Governors' State of the State Addresses: Education-Related Proposals

Education Commission of the States tracks education-related proposals from governors’ annual State of the State addresses. Click on a state in the map below to view annual state-specific proposals. (Purple […]

State Policy Strategies to Improve Educational Equity

In 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) published its Monitoring Educational Equity report. In this report, a committee of researchers, policymakers and practitioners outlined a series […]

Ed Note Blog Posts

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Early Education (P-3)High School K-12 Postsecondary

How States Respond to Natural Disasters

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 1,833 people and causing $108 billion in damage. It devastated education in the region by destroying over 100 school buildings […]

How States Prepare Schools for Natural Disasters

In January, destructive wildfires spread across Los Angeles — displacing approximately 150,000 residents and causing serious damage to homes, businesses and school buildings. Over eight months later, the city is […]

High School K-12

An elementary school teacher with dark brown hair and a matching beard greeting a group of students standing in a line at the door to their classroom. The teacher high-fives the student standing at the front of the line.

Keeping Students Safe: Designing Policies and Practices That Work

A rise in the number of school shootings over time has increased focus on school safety, adding to other longstanding school safety concerns, like fighting or bullying. In addition to […]

Biden Administration Releases Proposed Rules for Transgender Athlete Participation

Last year, Education Commission of the states released a blog post detailing the landscape for transgender student athletes. Since then, the Movement Advancement Project has found that three more states […]

Postsecondary

State Bills Address Sexual Violence on College Campuses

Today is Denim Day — a yearly call during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to bring awareness to and prevent sexual assault, harassment and abuse. We’re continuing our coverage of this […]

K-12

What Can We Expect in the 2023 Legislative Sessions?

With new legislative sessions beginning, we can learn what education policy trends potentially await in the 2023 sessions by looking at which bills were enacted in 2022 and what early […]

K-12

2022 Data Privacy Legislation in Review

Data privacy and security continue to be a priority in education, especially among parents and students who wish to minimize risks of unintentional or malicious disclosures of student information. Our […]

K-12

Trends and Changes in Approaches to School Safety

In response to school shootings and other incidents of school violence, state policymakers have sought to protect students and improve school safety through steady legislative interest over the last several […]

K-12

Measuring Students’ Mental Health While Protecting Their Privacy

The COVID-19 pandemic’s full psychological toll on youth remains unknown, but alarming evidence of that toll — including a rise in suicide attempts — has education leaders scrambling to understand […]

K-12 Postsecondary

The Current Landscape for Transgender Student Athletes

Over the past few years, champion athletes and transgender women Cece Telfer and Lia Thomas have elevated discussions about transgender athletes’ participation in competitive sports. The conversations about transgender athlete […]

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