A recent nationwide survey by the RAND Corp. has put a spotlight in the opinions of educators on the topic of arming teachers in schools, with results showing that only one in five educators believing arming teachers would make schools safer.
According to a news release on the RAND website, more than half of teachers surveyed said arming teachers would make students feel less safe, with data also showing about 550,000 of the nation’s more than 3 million K-12 educators would elect to carry a gun if allowed to do so. This provided some interesting perspective, according to Heather L. Schwartz, senior policy researcher of RAND, a non-partisan, nonprofit research firm.
“Despite the prevalence of anti-bullying programs, everyday school violence is a concern for teachers,” she said in the news release. “Bullying, not active shooters, was teachers' most common top safety concern, followed by fights and drugs."
In total, 54% of those responding believed arming teachers would make schools less safe, while 20% said it would make schools safer, according to the release, and 26% said it would make no difference.
According to the RAND news release, its researchers also offered several suggestions for additional study and action stemming from its study, including a review of schools or districts that have already adopted policies to arm teachers and examining in detail the costs and benefits of these efforts. The release added that risks should also be considered to determine the safety for teachers.
Moreover, the news release expressed a necessity to review how safety concerns drive turnover among educators, impact on enrollment, academic performance and attendance and how policies impact security, safety strategy, school climate and students.
The survey, according to the news release, also suggested seeking input from all stakeholders, including parents, students, teachers and administrators for a meaningful dialogue on safety measures, examining data demographically to understand the issues in school.
