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| Coalition for Safe Schools | |
|---|---|
| Name | Coalition for Safe Schools |
| Formation | 2014 |
| Type | Nonprofit advocacy coalition |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Leader | Executive Director |
Coalition for Safe Schools is an American nonprofit advocacy coalition formed to promote student safety and well-being in primary and secondary educational settings. It engages with policymakers, civil society organizations, law enforcement, public health agencies, and school administrators to influence policy, practice, and funding related to school safety. The coalition operates through research, training, litigation support, and public campaigns to address campus security, mental health resources, and emergency preparedness.
The coalition emerged in the aftermath of high-profile incidents that prompted national debates involving Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Columbine High School massacre, Virginia Tech shooting, and Parkland school shooting stakeholders. Founders included former staff from Department of Education (United States), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and advocacy groups such as National PTA, American Civil Liberties Union, Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Giffords. Early supporters included officials from Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Association of School Resource Officers, and policy researchers from Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The coalition coordinated with legal experts from American Bar Association and educators from National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers to draft model guidance. Major milestones included participation in hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and consultations with the White House task forces and state legislatures such as Florida Legislature and California State Legislature.
The coalition's stated mission references collaborative work with public health agencies like World Health Organization regional offices, research bodies such as National Institutes of Health, and safety standards organizations like National Fire Protection Association. Objectives emphasize promoting best practices validated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies, coordinating with Department of Homeland Security preparedness frameworks, and advancing policy recommendations cited by think tanks including RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, and Hoover Institution. The coalition lists goals that align with recommendations from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reports, guidance from Federal Emergency Management Agency, and model codes from International Code Council.
Membership comprises representatives from civil rights groups like American Civil Liberties Union, youth organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America, mental health nonprofits like National Alliance on Mental Illness, trauma specialists from American Psychological Association, and security professionals affiliated with International Association of Chiefs of Police. The governance board includes former officials from Department of Education (United States), academics from Harvard University, Columbia University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University, and private-sector partners including firms formerly contracted by GDIT and Booz Allen Hamilton. Regional chapters liaise with state-level bodies such as New York State Education Department, Texas Education Agency, and Illinois State Board of Education. Advisory councils assemble jurists from Supreme Court of the United States circles, litigators from Legal Aid Society, and researchers from Pew Research Center.
Programs include training modeled on curricula used by National Incident Management System trainers, mental health initiatives coordinated with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and threat assessment protocols influenced by Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center publications. Initiatives range from campus hardening pilot projects in partnership with Federal Protective Service to restorative justice programs developed with Restorative Justice Project affiliates. The coalition runs data analysis partnerships with National Center for Education Statistics, evaluation collaborations with Mathematica Policy Research, and communications campaigns using social marketing tactics practiced by Ad Council. It also supports research grants administered through intermediaries like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and works with journals such as Journal of School Violence and American Journal of Public Health to disseminate findings.
Advocacy efforts have targeted federal statutes and state measures, engaging with lawmakers from United States Congress, committee chairs from United States House Committee on Education and Labor, and state governors such as those in Florida, California, and Texas. The coalition submitted policy memos to the Congressional Research Service and provided testimony in hearings convened by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Its recommended standards influenced grant criteria at the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and informed model bills drafted by the National Conference of State Legislatures. International outreach included briefings at United Nations offices and collaboration with education ministries in countries represented at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The coalition partners with organizations including Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, American Civil Liberties Union, National PTA, National Association of School Resource Officers, and research institutions like RAND Corporation and Brookings Institution. Funding sources reported in organizational disclosures include philanthropic foundations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, corporate philanthropy from entities once contracting with Booz Allen Hamilton, and government grants from Department of Education (United States] and Department of Justice. In-kind partnerships feature collaborations with FEMA, CDC Foundation, and technology providers in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ecosystem.
Critiques have come from civil liberties advocates at American Civil Liberties Union, privacy scholars at Electronic Frontier Foundation, and criminal justice reform groups like ACLU Foundation and Brennan Center for Justice over measures perceived as expanding surveillance in schools. Some educators represented by National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers raised concerns about resource allocation and the potential militarization of campuses linked by opponents to contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies. Legal challenges referenced precedents in cases heard by the United States Supreme Court and filings with state courts in Florida and California contested aspects of threat assessment protocols. Debates also involved public health perspectives from American Public Health Association and privacy counsel from Electronic Privacy Information Center.