The new school year has barely even started, and already we have woken up to the news of another school shooting. This time, the shooter was a 14-year-old boy. Let me repeat that. It was a 14-year-old boy who killed two students, also 14, and two teachers, and injured nine others at Apalachee High School in Barrow County outside of Atlanta.

Even as the details of this tragic crime trickle out, it’s abundantly clear that our nation’s students are not OK. While mental health was a concern before COVID, the pandemic has caused mental health to soar to historic highs among nearly all students. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 4 in 10 (42%) students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health in 2021. This month, the CDC released the results of their biennial Youth Rick Behavior Survey noting that there have been some improvements in 2023, but the number of students experiencing sadness is only down by 2%. Meanwhile, school-based mental health services and supports have dwindled — at a time when students need them the most.

Now, as pandemic relief funds, known as ESSER, are set to expire at the end of September, district leaders are going to have to make hard choices as to what services to cut and which to keep.

EdTrust firmly believes that students’ social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) should be prioritized so that programs that holistically support students’ needs continue to be funded.

In a new brief, we outline recommendations for school leaders to consider adopting programs and policies that help, not harm, students, which in turn also creates safe schools.

While the urge to add school hardening measures like metal detectors and more police in school may prompt some school leaders to make knee-jerk reactions, they shouldn’t react so quickly or severely. Research shows that this tactic does more harm to students than good — and don’t do anything to increase school safety. School discipline policies affect not only school climate, but students’ mental health and well-being. These policies should be looked at through an equity lens to ensure that subjective infractions such as talking back and tardiness aren’t seen as major violations, especially when they’re targeted toward Black and Latino students and students with disabilities.

There is a way forward. First, of course, is gun control legislation — which we know is a long and tenacious battle in Congress. However, there are ways for local leaders to create safer schools without resorting to treating schools like penitentiaries. Last fall, we conducted a mixed-methods case study of two urban school districts where leaders reformed both policy and practice to support student safety. So, it can be done.

Children should feel safe and supported at school. They shouldn’t have to mourn the loss of their classmates and teachers. Together, let’s create positive learning environments that affirm students and give them the mental health supports they need.