Earlier this month, the federal government launched the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse website: SchoolSafety.gov. The website offers several resources for school administrators, teachers, parents, and law enforcement to assess school safety and security.
SchoolSafety.gov includes:
- The School Safety Readiness Tool, an assessment which helps users evaluate their school’s safety posture across ten “foundational elements” of school safety. Once a user completes the assessment, they are given an action plan with task prioritization, options for consideration, aligned resources, and grant opportunities specific to the school’s needs;
- A Secure Information Sharing Platform for designated school personnel to share school safety ideas, practices, plans, and tactics in a protected environment; and
- A plethora of resources and best practices on key school safety topics to promote safety awareness and build capacity to respond to incidents in schools.
SchoolSafety.gov was created after a recommendation by the Federal Commission of School Safety to provide school safety strategies and serve as a central location for federal resources. The website provides K-12 school administrators with free information, guidance, best practices, and other tools that promote and help develop safety initiatives in schools. The Department of Education stated that more content will be uploaded to the site in the future.