Anonymous reporting systems (ARS) have been widely implemented in schools across the United States as a violence prevention strategy. The current study systematically reviewed the published literature on ARS in U.S. schools (including public and private k-12 schools, colleges, and universities) over the past 25 years to examine the effectiveness…

Preventing mass shootings in the United States, particularly those occurring in school settings, is an important priority for families, government leaders and officials, public safety agencies, mental health professionals, educators, and local communities. What does the evidence say about how to detect, prevent, and respond to these tragic events?…

In "Organizational Betrayal," educational researcher Charol Shakeshaft advocates a system-wide approach for safeguarding K-12 students against educator sexual misconduct. She shows that practical interventions such as simply asking questions can advance the safety of children. Based on decades of inquiry into cases of student abuse in…

Discretion is ubiquitous in both public and business administration. Public programs, laws, regulations, and rules cannot be self-implemented, and their implementation usually involves the exercise of discretion. Research on discretion in public administration, to date, has focused predominantly on normative considerations, particularly, the…

The surveillance and securitization of schools has transformed over the last decade to include predictive analytics and algorithms. In Florida, for example, the Pasco Sheriff's Office used school record data sets to identify and monitor youth they believed were "destined for a life of crime." Yet the extent of big data policing as a…

The purpose of this study was to determine if groups of educators differed in their ability to adequately recognize and report cases of child abuse. Furthermore, if there were any differences in the perception of preparedness level (pre-service training and in-service training) among the educators. This study applied a quantitative method which…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine and discuss common challenges associated with obtaining the correct school meal benefits level from the National School Lunch and School Breakfast program application process. The findings provide insights and policy recommendations for improving school meal processes and reducing the…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized in 2015, includes a provision to help protect students from sexual abuse and misconduct. ESEA Section 8546 requires states to adopt laws or policies that prohibit K-12 employers from assisting or aiding and abetting school employees, contractors, or agents in obtaining a…

In 2015, Congress added a provision in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to help protect students from sexual abuse and misconduct in schools. ESEA Section 85461 requires states to have in place laws or policies that prohibit schools, local school districts, or state education agencies (SEAs) from…

Accountability mechanisms and processes have evolved with changes in statute. State Education Agency (SEA) accountability systems may exhibit characteristics of compliance- and/or improvement-focused systems in light of requirements under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" (ESEA) and its reauthorizations under the…

A cybersecurity incident is an event that actually or potentially jeopardizes a system or the information it holds. When a student's personal information is disclosed, it can lead to physical, emotional, and financial harm. Organizations are vulnerable to data security risks, including over 17,000 public school districts and approximately 98,000…

Teachers are assigned a multitude of responsibilities they do not want, for which they are poorly suited, and that disrupt their primary roles. One such responsibility is the obligation to serve as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse and neglect. Joan Goodman reviews the history of this duty, its current parameters, the harmful…

This guidance applies to all schools and colleges and is for: headteachers, teachers and staff governing bodies, proprietors and management committees It sets out the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges. It is divided into five parts: (1)…

Bullying is a significant school problem. Policies have been developed to reduce bullying, yet little is known about their implementation, which must occur for these policies to have an effect. This study examines associations between the overall implementation of a state anti-bullying policy and implementation of specific components outlined in…

Child exploitation and victimization occur in numerous ways and affect young people of all ages, races, backgrounds, socioeconomic situations, and geographic locations. It is a difficult but important subject for educators, who interact with students more directly and for more hours in a week than most other adults in students' lives. But armed…