This brief, based on findings of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) Projects, presents five components of a comprehensive approach to school safety.
In this fact sheet, the Department of Justice (DOJ) National Institute of Justice (NIJ) summarizes five key findings of the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) Projects. The findings from these CSSI projects to help schools identify and implement the components of a comprehensive framework for school safety, reflecting the diversity of programs and practices available for school safety and the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing them in America’s schools. The findings are (1) a comprehensive framework for school safety balances evidence-based strategies for addressing school climate, student behavior, and physical security with consideration for the school’s unique needs and resources; (2) a positive school climate benefits multiple student- and school-level outcomes, including academic achievement, behavior, and physical safety; (3) a continuum of responses to student behavior problems should seek to address the underlying causes of misconduct, aggression, and violence, not just the symptoms; (4) research on the effectiveness of physical security technologies in schools is limited, but there are several widely accepted physical security technologies and practices for schools; and (5) due to schools’ limited resources and capacity, the implementation of school safety programs and practices often differs from guidelines, diminishing their impact. Over the last 25 years, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have consistently recognized the need for a comprehensive approach to school safety. However, identifying the key components of a comprehensive approach and the ideal way to balance and implement those components has proved challenging. To address this challenge, the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) awarded approximately $246 million in grants from 2014 to 2017 to support nearly 100 research projects on school safety.