Don’t end programmes that support students

Sarah Lindstrom Johnson, Tribune News Service

On April 15, another school shooting rocked Texas; four students were wounded before the 17-year-old shooter surrendered. Shockingly, the shooting occurred at the same Dallas high school where a student was shot in the leg by another student a year earlier. According to the K-12 School Shootings Database, 95 school shootings have already occurred so far in 2025, through May 13. While still far too many, this number, representing half a school year, is on trend to be lower than in recent years, which saw more than 250 incidents annually. One factor contributing to this decline might be a law passed by Congress in 2022 in response to the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act invested in school safety, including grants to help schools hire mental health care providers who support student well-being. A 2024 report from the Center for American Progress credited “new gun laws and accountability measures” included in the act as one reason for a decline in the summer surge in gun violence rates.

Yet, President Donald Trump’s US Department of Education just canceled $1 billion in funding for school mental health programs tied to this law. Now, many jobs created by the act will be lost. The Trump administration, in ordering this funding cut, argued that the program ran afoul of its aversion to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming, though policy experts and education leaders have disputed that reasoning. What’s not in dispute: Students will pay the price. In 2021, the year before the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, 88% of school administrators felt they couldn’t effectively provide mental health services. The Act addressed an important need for an essential goal — building a safe school environment where students feel supported.

School safety is about much more than preventing shootings. It’s about fostering a sense of security and belonging that enables students to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. It’s about being free from bullying and having support systems in place when life — inside and outside of the classroom — gets tough. Research shows that feeling connected to school is a crucial factor in long-term student success, from academic achievement to mental health. Indeed, emotional safety is just as urgent a concern as physical safety. And yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 40% of adolescents report feeling “so sad or hopeless for the past two weeks that they have stopped doing some of their usual activities.”

Fortunately, many states are recognizing the importance of mental health. As of 2019, 40 states required assessments of school climate, a concept the Department of Education defines as encompassing safety, student engagement and a supportive school environment. Most state education departments and schools embrace a model known as a multi-tiered system of supports, or MTSS, which provides a framework for addressing students’ academic and behavioral needs. MTSS offers programs and curricula that promote development for all students, as well as additional services for those students who require extra help. However, despite evidence that MTSS improves outcomes and is cost-effective, schools still face challenges in identifying students with additional needs, implementing evidence-based programs and connecting students to external resources when necessary.

The biggest barrier? A lack of trained staff. Student safety and mental health programs are funded by a patchwork of federal grants, state programs and district allocations. The temporary nature of this funding means that schools must continually compete with each other for limited resources. Smaller and rural schools, with less administrative capacity, often lose out. This is why the loss of these grants is such a blow. A 2024 study of school mental health professionals found that their activities each day include spending time responding to crises, engaging with student discipline, supporting school climate, safety planning and threat assessment and referring students and families to outside services. These professionals are doing essential work, often with far too few resources.

So the question remains: Given that school shootings are down after three years where over 300 incidents happened, is now really the time to pull back support? The answer should be clear: If we want safe schools, we must invest in what makes them safe.