Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Sept. 19, 2024
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What Teachers Think About Active Shooter Drills and School Safety
One in six K12 teachers works in a school district that has been touched by gun violence in recent years. To prepare for school shootings and other acts of violence, many schools have implemented active shooter and lockdown drills. What do educators think about these exercises--and about school safety in general?
The results of a new RAND survey provide some insights:
- Teachers are split on whether participation in drills makes them feel more prepared to respond to active shooter incidents: Slightly less than half said that drills make them feel more prepared, and half perceived drills as having no impact on preparedness.
- A slight majority of teachers (54 percent) reported that drills make students feel more prepared to respond to active shooter incidents.
- Most teachers (69 percent) said that participating in active shooter drills has no impact on their perceptions of safety at school, and only one-fifth said that drills make them feel more safe.
- Teachers reported more concern in 20232024 about being victims of an attack at their schools--and were even more concerned for their students--than in the previous school year.
So, while safety drills do not appear to be lowering teachers' perceptions of preparedness, drills are also not raising these perceptions as much as one might expect, given their frequency and ubiquity. This suggests that more work is needed to understand the impact of drills on staff and students--and what schools can do to better support their well-being.
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'Stunning' Explosions Targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon
Waves of devices exploded across Lebanon this week--first pagers, then walkie-talkies--in what has been widely viewed as a coordinated Israeli attack on members of Hezbollah. "On a purely technical and tactical level, this is a pretty stunning level of sophistication," RAND's Raphael Cohen said of the blasts. All eyes are on how Hezbollah responds. The group's leadership doesn't want to look weak, but it also doesn't want an all-out war. Back-channel negotiations could help tamp down the risk of escalation, says Cohen.
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The Economy, Jobs, and Inflation Explained
Will AI take Americans' jobs? What's the difference between inflation and an increase in prices? How could income tax policies change? RAND's Jeffrey Wenger and Melanie Zaber recently discussed these topics and more to size up the current U.S. economic landscape. When asked what might be done to help make the "American Dream" attainable for more people, Zaber said that it's not just about building "ladders," such as supporting postsecondary education and providing access to capital for entrepreneurs. It's also about protecting people from the "chutes," such as sudden unemployment, health complications, or incarceration.
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** RAND Recommends
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- RAND's Khrystyna Holynska wrote about how Ukraine's bold incursion into Kursk is challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin's war narrative.
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- A new study led by RAND researchers examines how Latina parents engage with telehealth services for breastfeeding support.
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- The United States faces multiple challenges when it comes to the Korean Peninsula. RAND experts recently broke down what Americans need to know.
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** Events
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Policy Lab: New Evidence for the Effects of U.S. Gun Policies
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Online)
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What Happens to Veterans Who Leave the Military Under Other Than Honorable Conditions?
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Online)
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All Elements of National Power: The Way Ahead for the Next National Defense Strategy
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Washington, D.C., and Online)
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