Preventing School Shootings: Developing a National School Security Framewor

Gun free school zones have become an increasingly popular target for mass shootings for a number of reasons. These violent crimes against defenseless children have highlighted the problem of inadequate security plans and measures currently employed to prevent or respond to mass school shootings. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to provide an understanding of the beliefs of public school stakeholders and security experts about the inadequacy of school security measures capable of preventing or responding to mass school shootings. School administrators, faculty, and parents of students from an anonymous Midwest school district, as well as school security experts from the sheriff's office with jurisdiction over the participating school district were interviewed to gather their perceptions of current school security trends and ideas for future improvements. The collected data was used to create a security framework proposal with real world applicability anywhere in the United States.