Student and School Safety

Firearm violence is a leading cause of death for youth in the United States and poses a specific threat to students at risk of bullying, suicide, and other threats to their safety at school and in their communities.

Project Highlights

Tip Lines to Promote School Safety

Tip lines are a promising strategy for promoting school safety by creating a structured system where students, staff, parents, and community members can anonymously report safety concerns. With funding from the National Institute of Justice, RTI conducted the National Assessment of School Safety Tip Lines. This study generated a National Portrait of Tip Line Use in schools, assessed whether the adoption of a tip line is associated with improvements in school safety, and also included a case study of the implementation of the SafeOregon school safety tip line. Results highlight the importance of training students on how to use tip lines effectively, including describing leakage events clearly and with as much detail as possible.

Comprehensive Culturally Responsive Behavior Intervention

RTI has recently collaborated with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to evaluate the implementation, outcomes, and cost-benefit of a unique whole-school program called the Comprehensive Culturally Responsive Behavior Intervention designed to reduce disparities in discipline and improve school safety.

CDC's Suicide Prevention Technical Package

RTI is collaborating with the Prevention Institute to update CDC’s Suicide Prevention Technical Package to make the package relevant during catastrophic events, like the COVID-19 pandemic. The RTI team will also support the Prevention Institute in disseminating modules that will assist communities in using the new Suicide Prevention Package within the infrastructure disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever due to social isolation, suicide prevention efforts and support from the community are crucial.