More Than One-Third of Public Schools Agreed Traffic Patterns Around Schools Pose a Threat to Student Safety

Washington (June 12, 2024) -- Thirty-eight percent of public school leaders reported they moderately or strongly agreed that traffic patterns around their schools pose a threat to students’ physical safety while commuting to school, according to data released today from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The new data also shed light on public school emergency preparedness and safety procedures. Eighty-five percent of public schools have a behavioral threat assessment team or other formal group to identify students who might be a potential risk for violent or harmful behavior toward themselves or others, an increase from 82 percent in the 2022–23 school year.