This past November, the Virginia Department of Education gave out $12 million dollars in school security equipment grants, aiming to bolster security measures in almost 500 schools across Virginia. The $12 million included a catalogue of surveillance and communication technology items — items that would seem more at home in a prison than a place of learning. Much of the reasoning behind these decisions has been muddled by growing concerns over school safety. Last year alone, there were 331 incidents involving a gun on school grounds across the country. In Virginia, this past fall, there has also been a massive increase in the number of bombing and shooting threats. Unfortunately, these investments mimic similar ones from the past that failed to live up to their aspirations. While admirable in their sizable efforts to protect students, the efforts of the VDOE are misplaced.
These grants serve as funding for school districts to purchase equipment, and the conditions attached make clear their purpose. Among the equipment a school is eligible to purchase using these funds are professional school security assessments and gunshot detection systems. And while the state remains ambiguous about the level of safety it aspires to see in Virginia’s schools, the framework for these grants is being pushed to heavily curtail violent offenses on school grounds. Coincidentally, this is the same year that Virginia experienced a marked uptick in credible violent threats.
The theoretical basis for large scale investments in school security, despite being widely accepted, are increasingly challenged by research finding. Research has shown that increased security measures in school do little to make them safer, with the presence of an armed guard resulting in three times as many people dying on average. The reasoning behind this data is that a student familiar with the security theater is significantly more likely to bring in more weaponry. Moreover, a police officer on campus may not act as a deterrent, but rather as an incentive to operate as quickly as possible. New facial recognition systems and bulletproof doors impress parents, satisfy board members and placate concerned citizens, yet they do little to curb gun violence in schools.
A recent incident in Newport News can serve as a stark reminder of how our illusions regarding school safety can impede actual progress. In 2023, a 6-year old student shot their teacher despite the presence of a part-time school security officer. The tragedy unfolded after repeated warnings from a variety of educators and counselors that intervention was desperately needed in the behavior of the child. Although Newport News has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for school safety, the situation was worsened when officers were unable to enter the classroom due to a faulty door buzzer. Moreover, the grand jury’s findings pointed to the lack of a permanent school officer as the cause and suggested that all Newport News schools have automatic doors. This shooting, and innumerable similar ones, clearly indicate that the answer lies not in more security theater.
The drawbacks of these increased security measures permeate beyond the realm of school safety, having a proven negative effect on the quality of education. Students of color are often disproportionately disciplined, and face higher rates of truancy and absenteeism when compared to their white counterparts, a phenomenon that is exacerbated with increased security measures. On a larger scale, researchers have concluded that students do not believe the addition of such security theater will substantially improve their safety. On the contrary, studies have found that the introduction of this security theater can corrode the educational environment by implicitly labeling students as untrustworthy and incentivizing rigid disciplinary policies to maintain order. This enormous investment in school security continues to grow, despite little evidence indicating its usefulness and a wealth of studies indicating its inadvisability.
The biggest issue with these school security measures is that they are a proverbial band-aid over the bullet-wound. Adding more stringent security measures will not solve the underlying issue, which is that schools must do more to invest in students’ mental health. Time and time again, reports come out about patterns of violent or antisocial behavior being exhibited well before the shooting occurs, such as the Newport News shooting, Sandy Hook and others. With the proper support, these early warning signs can be nipped in the bud, stemming the flow of violence from the source. The $12 million listed earlier, if invested in support programs for at-risk students, would do more to curb violence in schools than metal detectors that break down within a decade. This time around, the VDOE wrongfully identified the issue they were trying to solve. Next time around, schools would do well to advocate for increased resources for mental health support, and similar endeavors.
It would be unwise to continue funneling money into what has proven to be a fruitless endeavor. Instead, focusing on supporting students in need of counseling is the path to safer schools. Measures have been taken in recent years, such as a 2024 investment by Virginia state legislators in an attempt to improve the availability of resources for youth mental health. A continuation of this positive momentum is necessary to ensure that investment in youth mental health becomes commonplace not only across the Commonwealth but across America. This will only be possible if an ideological shift occurs — from an insistence upon security theater, to a realization that emotional and mental support is the way forward.
Conall Castagno is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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