The horrific school shootings in Florida and elsewhere in 2018 sparked new rounds of questioning across the country about how to prevent such tragedies and keep students safe. Expert authors in this issue of NASBE’s State Education Standard explore how to foster student safety and how to promote their physical, mental, social, and emotional health and the quality of their learning environment. Authors note the lasting effects that policies to support the whole child can produce.
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Lessons Learned from Columbine
Education leaders in Colorado lean on relationships to face challenges of crisis response.
By Jane Goff
Creating Healthy Schools: Students, Educators, and Policymakers Name Priorities
Mental health support and school climate top the list.
By Deborah A. Temkin, Bonnie J. Solomon, Emily Katz, and Heather Steed
The Science and Practice of Social and Emotional Learning: Implications for State Policymaking
Experts offer guidance to state policymakers interested in taking SEL to scale.
By Stephanie Jones, Rebecca Bailey, and Jennifer Kahn
Policy and Practice for Trauma-Informed Schools
Pervasiveness of childhood trauma calls for school-based response and state help.
By Sharon A. Hoover
State Leaders on Student Wellness
Examples of what state education leaders are doing to support the well-being of children.
By Megan Blanco
Designing for Safety, Designing for Learning
Architects can help.
By Brian G. Minnich
School Buildings: The Foundation for Student Health and Success
Schools’ indoor environmental quality too often gets short shrift.
By Erika Eitland and Joseph Allen
The Role of Health Education
State boards can address wellness by shoring up its natural curricular home.
By Susan Goekler, M. Elaine Auld, and David A. Birch
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