CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS — Two years ago, after participating in a lockdown drill in his kindergarten class in Lamar, Texas, Britt Kelly’s son experienced nightmares and wet the bed. Now 8 years old, he can only sleep with a light on.
In August, Mary Jackson’s kindergartener daughter in Leander requested that her mother install a “special lock” on her bedroom door in response to a different lockdown drill.
Clay Giampaolo, a high school senior with special needs, stated that he uses the special education room to “cool down” following school drills in Plano.
As the nation reevaluates its gun regulations, training for violent threats in K-12 schools has grown both gruesome and routine. More than 40 states mandate that students be prepared to respond to an attack on campus. Nearly every kid in the United States participates in at least one or more of these drills year, despite the fact that their efficacy has been vigorously contested by state legislators, school personnel, safety experts, and parents.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, almost 98% of public schools taught pupils lockdown procedures before the epidemic. Their justifications are apparent: According to the NCES, 93 school shootings with fatalities occurred during the 2020-21 school year, the greatest amount in two decades. Although school shootings are uncommon, their effects are catastrophic.
However, the preparations for major events can also be costly. “The literal trauma they produce is horrible,” said Giampaolo.
Anxiety, tension, and sadness increased by 39% to 42% among K-12 children following lockdown drills, according to a study published in the journal Nature in December that analyzed social media posts. The exercises, particularly those involving simulations, increased children’ anxiety about the likelihood of a school shooting and made them feel insecure at school. The more realistic the exercise, the more terror it instills. According to safety experts, students with special needs like Giampaolo and those who have suffered trauma in the past are among the most affected.
At least one state is attempting to strike a balance between school safety and student wellness. A semester after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, new Texas regulations require schools to guarantee that active-shooter drills do not imitate actual shootings. This modification is intended to minimize stress to participants.
Nicole Golden, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, an advocacy group that supports the bill, stated, “If some children are left traumatized or if we exacerbate existing trauma, then we are not moving in the right direction.”
Texas requires schools to do two lockdown exercises annually. Democratic state representative Claudia Ordaz Perez, who proposed the measure that was passed during the 2021 legislative session, said there was misunderstanding and a range of interpretations over how they should be handled.
According to Jaclyn Schildkraut, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Oswego who has argued in favor of drills, there is no way to determine which schools are following best practices despite the growing body of research on how to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.
Schildkraut stated, “There is no national standard, no national direction, and no tracking system.”
In extreme circumstances, schools replicate shootings by having officers brandish weapons or imitate gunshot sounds, which she deems unnecessary upsetting for children and faculty. Schildkraut stated, “We do not set schools on fire to practice fire drills.”
The Texas regulations now differentiate between lockdown drills, which are mandatory, and active-threat drills, which are optional and may involve simulating components of a shooting.
An exercise does not include simulated injuries or gunfire sounds. Students instead discuss what to do or practice tasks such as turning out the lights, locking the doors, and remaining silent and away from windows.
In order to prepare first responders, active-threat exercises may include realistic renderings of injured students or loud noises. According to Kathy Martinez-Prather, director of the Texas School Safety Center, they allow officials in different jurisdictions to coordinate their reaction. She stated that schools must properly plan these simulations without forcing student participation.
The new standards mandate that schools customize drills and exercises to kids’ ages and stages of development, but they are primarily concerned with establishing guidelines for active threat exercises. The participation of students in exercises is not prohibited, contrary to the wishes of some gun safety and parents’ organisations. However, the regulations instruct schools to conduct them when no kids are present. In addition, they mandate that all participants receive enough notice before an exercise and that a public announcement be made immediately beforehand, so that no one mistakes a simulation for an actual shooter.
The policy, which also requires school districts to engage mental health professionals when preparing exercises to minimize possible trauma to children and employees, was in force throughout the previous school year. But guidelines were not finalized until this year by the Texas Education Agency.
The clarifications are made as schools recommit to safety. “Especially in light of all that came out of Uvalde, this law is more crucial than ever before,” said Ordaz Perez.
The proposal is a sign of incremental progress, but it is not complete, said Blair Taylor of Moms Demand Action in Texas, a non-profit organization dedicated to stopping gun violence. She desires that the Texas lawmakers do more to prevent school shootings from occurring.
Taylor stated that these are “Band-Aids for bullet holes.” We are not tackling the actual issue of easy gun access and toxic gun culture.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers is designing posters to ensure that teachers are aware of the new regulations so that they can register complaints with school districts. However, the Texas standards do not define any penalties for districts that fail to comply.
Doug Wozniak, the district’s director of safety and health services, stated that the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District has no plans to alter its drill procedures this year.
Once per semester, he explained, pupils are advised to hide in a corner while first responders “gently jiggle” classroom doorknobs. Officers then cry, “Open up, police!” Students with special needs are not excluded from these lockdown drills, he said, but officers strive to check on their classrooms first so they may continue class as soon as possible.
Students, professors, and first responders debrief in the cafeteria following the simulation.
Some experts believe that even jiggling doorknobs may be too similar to a simulation for many kids, especially those who are younger or who have experienced a past shooting.
Ms. Aurora Vasquez, vice president of state policy and engagement for Sandy Hook Promise, stated that when schools imitate any aspect of a school shooting, students may feel uncomfortable on school grounds.
“The fear begins to accompany kids to school on a regular basis,” she said.
Many claim that lockdown drills do not need to be conducted frequently, despite the fact that the state of Texas limits school districts to 16 drills of all types per school year.
David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, stated, “When you start running these exercises every month, as some school districts mandate, it begins to indicate that they are quite likely.” This is a negative perception among children.
According to numerous students, the way in which Texas schools currently conduct drills has a lasting effect. Daughter of Jackson is on the autism spectrum. Before August, she never feared an intruder in her bedroom. Jackson stated, “She has never had a fear of monsters or the dark.” Subsequently, this changed.
Giampaolo and many of his peers felt anxious at school this year due to the shooting in Uvalde and the frequency of drills, he added. “We simply want to go to school without fear of being shot,” he said.
Kelly stated that she understands the necessity of school shooter preparedness, but that her son has found it challenging.
She said, “I don’t even know the answer, and I think that’s why I feel so helpless in this fight.” The children are bearing the brunt of poor choices.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national news organization that produces in-depth health-related journalism. KHN, alongside Policy Analysis and Polling, is one of KFF’s three primary operating programs (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization that provides information on national health issues.