According to a 234-page report recently released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), active shooter drills — while intended to make schools safer for students and staff — can cause mental, emotional and behavioral harm for the very populations they seek to protect. As a result, NASEM has made several recommendations to reduce those negative impacts, including trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate practices, as well as policies that prohibit high-intensity or hyper-realistic simulations.
According to the report, about 95% of schools conduct active shooter drills as part of emergency response training, but they’re lacking in both standards for practice and research into their effectiveness. In addition, research into their mental health impacts is also limited. Likewise, the variety of practices being used and the wide-range of related terminology is contributing to the confusion about active shooter drills.
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