Michigan School Safety Report: Findings of a Statewide Needs Assessment and Landscape Analysis

Before developing a comprehensive training plan, the Michigan School Safety Initiative (MSSI) conducted a needs assessment and landscape analysis to understand the current state of school safety in Michigan. The resulting Michigan School Safety Report, available in three formats, offers valuable insights from members of Michigan’s school safety community. These insights have broad implications and can help the MSSI, other state agencies, law enforcement, district and school staff, community members, and families collaborate more effectively to enhance the safety of Michigan schools.

Background

Survey

• MSSI sent a survey link to all principals and superintendents of Michigan PreK-12 schools. Principals were asked to forward the survey to their staff.  The survey link was also distributed to law enforcement and other school-related professionals through various newsletters.
• We received 951 survey responses from December 2023 to March 2024. Respondents included: school administrators, instructional staff, district staff, law enforcement, non-instructional staff, and other school personnel.
• Measures on the survey included current school safety activities implemented, safety priorities, implementation barriers, safety planning and preparedness, partnerships, training topic interest, and demographic information.

Landscape Analysis

• From September 2023 to March 2024, 231 resources related to comprehensive school safety were identified through online searches.

Key Findings

Safety Activities

• Almost all respondents indicated their school communities are implementing state-mandated safety activities: school safety drills (98%), building/campus security (89%), coordination with first responders (87%), and school safety assessments (84%).
• Fewer than half of respondents reported they are implementing more community-oriented activities, such as safe transitions to and from school (46%), student involvement strategies (40%), and community violence intervention strategies (27%).
• Just less than a third of respondents (30%) indicated they are implementing social media monitoring.

Safety Priorities

• The most important safety priorities reported are related to the psychological safety of staff and students: student mental health, student social-emotional skills, bullying, social media, teacher mental health, and early detection.
• Physical and community school safety concerns ranked at the bottom of importance across the state: robbery, vandalism, community violence, safe transportation, and student possession of weapons.

Partnerships

• Almost all respondents (89%) reported partnering with local law enforcement on school safety activities. The next most frequently reported partnerships were other school districts (45%), local government agencies (44%), and local mental health agencies (40%).
• Approximately one-third of respondents (31%) reported partnering with Michigan State Police.
• Fewer than a quarter of respondents indicated partnerships with parents, the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, federal agencies, universities, and other state agencies.

Implementation Barriers

• The top implementation barriers reported were insufficient funding, structural/building features, and staff retention and turnover. 
• Respondents from the Southern and Central regions of the Lower Peninsula identified insufficient funding as the primary implementation barrier, while in the Northern Lower Peninsula, the main barrier reported was staff shortages and turnover. Comparatively, the Upper Peninsula identified structural/building features as the top implementation barrier.

Requests for Training

• Mental Health was the most frequently selected training topic (48%), followed by Staff Wellness (34%).
• Social Media Monitoring was the third-most-frequently selected topic, with 25% of respondents.  

Implications

The Michigan School Safety Initiative is developing extensive training resources that are informed by the results of this needs assessment and landscape analysis. MSSI School Safety Specialists are available to coordinate support in these areas and all other areas of comprehensive school safety. Although this report was initially intended to guide MSSI’s training plan, it may serve a broader audience. The results of this report can also help other agencies across the state in their training efforts. Together, these agencies and MSSI can help Michigan schools and districts create safer learning environments.

Explore the Michigan School Safety Report in the format of your choice.