National School Safety News

6/29/24 - Frequent gun violence near school grounds harms millions of kids, analysis finds - From 2014 to 2023, communities across the U.S. saw more than 188,000 shootings within 500 yards of a school, an average of 57 shootings per day, according to a new analysis by The Trace.

6/1/24 - Threat Assessment In K-12 Schools Can Detect Early Warning Signs Of Violence - Threats or actual incidents of school violence have become a standard element of K-12 students’ educational experience. I have written two recent articles addressing the impact of ongoing school violence on students and school staff and statistics regarding the increasing trends in school shootings. This final third article explores organizations established to help keep K-12 schools and communities safe.

5/31/24 - Study reveals increase in violence against teachers from students, parents post-pandemic - Teachers across the country are reporting an increase in physical violence and verbal harassment by students, according to a new study released Thursday by the American Psychological Association.

5/30/24 - Study shows violence against teachers increased after pandemic restrictions lifted - Violent incidents against teachers and other school personnel jumped after schools reopened after the pandemic, according to a new study.

4/17/24 - US School Violence Fast Facts - (CNN) — Here is a list of incidents of elementary, middle and high school violence with at least one fatality, from 1927 to the present. Suicides, gang-related incidents and deaths resulting from domestic conflicts are not included. If a perpetrator was killed or died by suicide during the incident, their death is not included in the fatality totals.

4/15/24 - With School Security Upgrades, Avoid Knee-Jerk Reactions - The following practices will help your district take a careful and intentional approach to implementing school security upgrades.

4/12/24 - About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into 'gun-related lockdown' last school year - About 15% of teachers say a gun-related lockdown happened once during the 2022-23 school year, and 8% said it happened more than once, according to findings from the Pew Research Center.

4/11/24 - Most Teachers Worry a Shooting Could Happen at Their School - After years of efforts by administrators and policymakers to improve school safety, a majority of teachers are at least somewhat concerned about a shooting occurring at their school, and 7 percent say they are “extremely” worried.

3/29/24 - School Shootings in US Reach Highest Recorded Levels - Almost 800 school shootings occurred between 2017 and 2022, which is 135 more shootings than took place during the previous 15 years combined.

3/11/24 - 804 People Have Been Killed by Guns at U.S. Schools - More than 800 people have been killed by guns in American K-12 schools in the last 58 years, according to one analysis.

3/11/24 - School Shooting Deaths Have Increased 500% in 53 Years - A study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows the number of school shootings each year has increased more than 12 times since 1970.

3/8/24 - U.S. School Shootings Have Risen 12-fold Since 1970 - During the past half-century, the United States’ annual number of school shootings has increased more than twelvefold, a new study finds.  What’s more, children are now four times more likely to be a school shooting victim, and the death rate from school shootings has risen more than sixfold.

3/4/24 - Confronting School Shootings in America: The Pediatrician’s Role - In this issue of Pediatrics, Rapa et al present trends in kindergarten through 12th grade school shootings from 1997 through 2022. 

3/4/24 - School Shootings in U.S. Reach Highest Recorded Levels - — Fatality rate of school mass shootings also has increased

3/3/24 - Who is accountable for a mass shooting? It’s no longer only the person who pulled the trigger - attorneys are increasingly seeking to hold responsible people – and companies – who didn’t pull the trigger

3/1/24 - WHAT THE CONVICTION OF A SCHOOL SHOOTER'S PARENT COULD MEAN - While it's unlikely that the recent conviction of a Michigan mother in her son's school shooting will be a watershed moment for parental liability, it underscores the role of safe storage and Child Access Protection laws in preventing gun violence, a Johns Hopkins expert says

3/1/24 - How Crisis Intervention Informs Proactive Security in Schools - Target-hardening at schools has been a hot topic in the United States, especially as mass shootings continue and school administrators take on a more active role in security. Schools started adding bulletproof windows and desks, stronger locks on doors, alarm systems that directly communicate with law enforcement, and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled camera systems, among other target hardening techniques. They have conducted drills and established better emergency response plans. 

1/25/24 - U.S. Department of Education Issues New Resource for School Administrators on Importance of Safe Firearm Storage - Safe storage of firearms is an important prevention tool that can be used to help keep schools, homes, and communities safe from gun violence. To build further awareness of this important strategy, today the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), is releasing a new resource that schools can use to communicate with parents and families about the importance of safe firearm storage, and encourage more people to take preventive action by safely storing firearms.

1/22/24 - How to Strengthen the Safety and Security of Your School - Guidance to help school leaders feel empowered to address school safety

1/17/24 - 'Say Something' tip line in schools flags gun violence threats, study finds - A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics Wednesday, evaluated the tip line as it was used by one southeastern state — North Carolina — to see how successful it was at catching firearm-related threats.

1/14/24 - The crisis of disturbed and violent students - Pure terror unfolded in Perry, Iowa recently, when a student did the unthinkable. Lives were lost, people were injured, and everyone is devastated.

1/12/24 - Lessons Learned from Past School Shootings - Two experts are working together and collaborating on new ways school campuses can develop a proactive and comprehensive security plan.

1/11/24 - US School Shooter Emergency Plans Exposed in a Highly Sensitive Database Leak - More than 4 million school records, including safety procedures, student medical files, and court documents, were also publicly accessible online.

1/11/24 - Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $6 Million in New Grants to Address Community Violence and its Impacts on Student Mental Health - The funding is being awarded to seven school districts across the country as part of the Project Prevent grant program.

1/10/24 - Bullying is linked to school shootings. What do schools need to know? - Bystander education and setting schoolwide expectations can play a crucial component in bullying prevention efforts, according to child psychology experts.

1/10/24 - US School Violence Fast Facts - (CNN) — Here is a list of incidents of elementary, middle and high school violence with at least one fatality, from 1927 to the present. 

1/2/24 - 5 critical ingredients in a school safety plan - Understandably, student and school safety is a top priority for school leaders as they seek to ensure reassuring learning environments

1/1/24 - New Gun Laws Take Effect in Five States Today - Gun violence has become a major concern across the nation, with mass shootings in schools, nightclubs and homes more prevalent. There were 656 mass shootings in 2023, versus 646 in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as a single event in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are shot or killed.

12/29/23 - School Shootings in 2023: Fewer Injuries and Deaths While Gun Violence Continues - Fewer people died or were injured in school shootings this year than in the previous two. But the overall number of school shooting incidents in 2023 was the second-highest for any year since Education Week began tracking them in 2018.

12/26/23 - 13 Predictions for Campus Safety and Security in 2024 - From emotional safety to AI-enabled technologies, practitioners and solutions providers offer predictions on where the industry is headed.

12/22/23 - Rising Violence in Schools: Teachers under Threat from Students and Parents - It’s a disturbing trend that’s gaining momentum – incidents of violence against teachers are on the rise.

12/22/23 - Experts advise false alarm planning as swatting, hoaxes trend in 2023 - Coordinating with local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, could help school systems minimize disruptions.

12/20/23 - 5 Key School Safety Conversations for Districts - For the general public, conversations about school safety are typically sparked by frightening events, like shootings. But for district administrators, school safety is a year-round conversation that is complex, emotional, and oftentimes logistically complicated.

12/20/23 - Another record high: Counting school shootings in 2023 - Varying — and in some cases lacking — definitions and data make the issue hard to track, as experts continue to pursue solutions for both prevention and recovery.

12/20/23 - 'Broken windows' policy needed to combat violence in schools, says expert - Senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Naomi Schaefer Riley on the need to restore better discipline in schools to respond to increase of violent behaviors.

12/17/23 - This AI code that detects when guns, threats appear on school cameras is available for free - A software company is offering a free artificial intelligence system that can help security detect weapons at schools in an effort to combat school shootings.

12/16/23 - It’s time for a ‘broken windows’ policy for schools - What will it take to bring back a semblance of order to our schools?

12/6/23 - Teachers are quitting in droves because they’re scared of student violence — and a lack of punishment -  70% of teachers, principals and district administrators agreed the problem is only getting worse in an April survey by EdWeek.

11/27/23 - Most school shootings aren’t mass killings, study finds, and they’re often driven by community violence - (CNN) — Many Americans think of school shootings as mass casualty events involving an adolescent with an assault-style weapon. But a new study says that most recent school shootings orchestrated by teenagers do not fit that image — and they are often related to community violence.

11/26/23 - Fed up with horrible student discipline, states bring back suspensions, expulsions - As parents and teachers are getting more and more disgusted with student discipline — or the lack thereof — states are responding.

11/22/23 - School shootings in the US: Fast facts - There have been at least 77 school shootings in the United States so far this year, as of November 17. Twenty-seven of those were on college campuses and the remaining 50 were on K-12 school grounds. 

11/21/23 - The Many Ways We Have Failed Young People Amid the Gun Violence Crisis - Like so many universities across the country, we’ve also lost students to suicide, part of our country’s mental health crisis and epidemic of loneliness.

11/16/23 - School attendance: Blame game is easy but action is needed to stop classroom violence - When will we ever learn? You’d have to be living under a stone not to have noticed that there has been an outcry recently about the increasing numbers of children and young people not attending school.

11/15/23 - This school tried to keep kids safe. Then graduation ended in gunfire. - The Washington Post spent a year inside one Richmond high school trying a host of strategies to protect children from gun violence. Are they working?

11/10/23 - 2023 school shootings outpace record high from 2022 - School shootings — on the overall rise for decades — have broken last year’s record high at 306 shootings with just under two months left to go in the year.

10/10/23 - Guns are seized in U.S. schools each day. The numbers are soaring. - In the United States, where gun violence has soared since the pandemic began, Jaden’s experience is one shared by students of every age in every state throughout the school year — a bleak reflection of a society awash in firearms.

9/17/23 - U.S. surpasses 500 mass shootings in 2023 - There have now been 501 mass shootings in the U.S. this year.

9/16/23 - There is 'an alarming trend' of gun violence at high school football games this year - The worrisome trend of gun violence at high school football stadiums has national officials commenting on some disturbing numbers. Gun violence is on the rise at high school football games, and it is dimming what is special about Friday Night Lights.

9/13/23 - School shootings hit all-time high for second year in a row - There were 188 shootings with casualties at public and private elementary schools during the 2021-22 school year, according to new federal data. About two-thirds of them caused injuries. Fifty-seven led to deaths. 

8/20/23 - Violence-plagued schools hit reverse on post-George Floyd decisions to kick police off campuses - Political leaders who raced to kick police officers out of schools after the death of George Floyd three years ago are quietly bringing them back because of growing concerns about brawls, drugs and weapons on campuses.

8/14/23 - Want to make sure your child's school is safe? These are the questions parents should ask - With gunfire in schools at an all-time high, though still rare,back-to-school season begins this year with many parents more concerned than ever about school safety.

8/13/23 - A community's ills will be reflected in its schools - It should be cast in stone that whatever exists in the community to which the community chooses to turn a blind eye — be it open air drug use, petty crime, violence, distrust of the police, racism or gang related activity — those activities and attitudes are likely to find their way into the schools.

8/8/23 - Safety plans determine parents' and teachers' trust in schools - When developing school safety plans, security leaders should consider the feelings of families and staff.

8/7/23 - Keys to preventing school violence - There are a number of strategies that can be employed to keep students safe and help mitigate violence at school.

7/26/23 - How rates of mass shootings vary by state, mapped - Washington, D.C., and Louisiana had the highest rates of mass shootings per capita from 2014 to 2022, while Hawaii and North Dakota were the only two with zero.

7/26/23 - Research shows having police in schools results in fewer fights, but harsher discipline - Public schools routinely have a police officer in the building to deescalate and prevent violence. A new study led by faculty from the University at Albany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy examined how these school resource officers, or SROs, affect school and student outcomes.

7/26/23 - Opinion: Our K-12 Schools Need Dedicated Safety Personnel Now More Than Ever - Building a staffing model that brings a part or full-time crisis planning position into the K-12 organizational structure will better protect schools.

7/26/23 - School Violence Prevention and Response: Lockdowns and More - In this free training, attendees will learn how to address student and staff mental health issues, enhance school lockdowns, and respond to both critical events and active threats.

7/24/23 - 5 Ways Schools Can Encourage Students to Report Threats - CISA and the U.S. Secret Service share new guidance on how K-12 schools can encourage student bystander reporting of threats and other concerning behaviors.

7/23/23 - 14 Months After Uvalde School Shooting, Survivor's Mom Shares His Mental Health Battle: 'Lives with His Scars Daily' - Daniel “Tres” Ruiz Garza lives with PTSD, anxiety and survivor's guilt, his mother says: "He feels it’s not fair that he gets to smile"

7/22/23 - The Question After Every Mass Shooting: How Much Do We Deserve to Know? - A court in Nashville may decide whether releasing the musings of a killer could help prevent future losses, despite adding to survivors’ pain.

7/17/23 - The Legal Case Against a School Shooter’s Parents - Will charges of involuntary manslaughter incentivize parents to control weapons?

7/16/23 - Drug called ‘Tranq’ considered new rising drug threat across the country - The threat surrounds a dangerous combination of Fentanyl and Xylazine, also known as ‘Tranq.’

7/16/23 - Children born in pandemic have poorer communication skills, study finds - Researchers conclude lockdown babies are lagging behind after limited interaction during Covid restrictions

7/11/23 - Educators’ Views on School Safety, in Charts - In a survey of educators, principals, and district leaders conducted by the EdWeek Research Center last month, 41 percent of respondents said their sense of safety at school has decreased compared to 2019.

7/6/23 - Guns In America: How Schools Can Mitigate Violence and Subsequent Teacher Turnover - Four out of 10 teachers are considering quitting because they don’t feel safe at work, and 82% of them would like to change jobs within the next six months.

7/5/23 - 7 Signs a Weapon Is Being Concealed - Attacks involving firearms have taken place at and near schools, hospitals and institutions of higher learning. In a number of tragic instances, students have entered K-12 schools, universities, and hospitals undetected while concealing rifles and shotguns before committing multiple-victim homicides.

7/4/23 - July has already seen 11 mass shootings. The emotional scars won't heal easily - These are among the 11 mass shootings — defined as acts of gun violence injuring or killing at least four people — that have occurred this month, and 346 mass shootings since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

7/4/23 - How a threat assessment team tracks students of concern - "In reality, in the 2020s, if we are not looking at the digital footprint of a student of concern, we are really not doing a comprehensive threat assessment."

7/2/23 - PERSPECTIVE: Securing our schools - According to the Washington Post, there have been 386 school shootings in the United States since the massacre at Columbine and more than 356,000 students have experienced school gun violence.

6/22/23 - Preventing and addressing violence in schools: 4 priorities as educators plan for next year - A major contributing factor to this rise in violence in schools is the chronic underfunding of public education and the social service sector. 

6/17/23 - "Mass killers practice at home": How domestic violence and mass shootings are linked - As rates of gun violence increase in the United States, experts have identified a disturbing, decades-long trend: There's a clear intersection between mass shootings and domestic violence toward family members.

6/16/23 - Republican states arm teachers, fortify buildings in another year of school shootings - Gun safety advocates and education experts say more guns in schools make children less safe

6/10/23 - How can we stop school shootings in America? - Strategies should include reporting the signs, anonymous tip lines and behavioral threat assessments

6/4/23 - ‘There Were Fists Everywhere.’ Violence Against Teachers Is on the Rise. - Assaults ratchet up since return to in-person learning, adding to broader concerns about safety in schools

5/31/23 - Teachers are calling it quits amid rising school violence, burnout and stagnating salaries - (CNN) — Most educators leaving the field aren’t retiring or being laid off — they’re quitting.

5/23/23 - A troubling reaction to school violence compounds the crisis - Among US high school students, the decision to carry a weapon to school is tied to experiencing violence at school, reports a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

5/7/23 -  Schools Are Pouring Millions Into AI-Powered Weapons Detection Systems. Do They Work? - As school shootings proliferate across the country — there were 46 school shootings in 2022, more than in any year since at least 1999 — educators are increasingly turning to dodgy vendors who market misleading and ineffective technology.

4/15/23 - FBI says threats against schools increased 60% nationwide in 2022 - The FBI says the threats are reported by students, parents, school administrators or local law enforcement. Although most of the threats don't materialize, ABC7 asked child psychiatrist Mitali Wadekar what effect these threats are having on children.

4/10/23 - Student violence reaching a breaking point in school districts nationwide - The issue is seemingly widespread, as schools of all demographics are fighting to create safer environments for their students and teachers. Individual communities differ on what they feel has prompted the surge, however, as national research suggests mental health challenges caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic may be a contributing factor.

3/29/23 - How 'swatting' calls spread as schools face real threats - A spate of threats and false reports of shooters have been pouring into schools and colleges across the country for months, raising concerns among law enforcement and elected leaders

3/29/23 - 74 people have been killed or injured by guns at American schools this year - In 2022, there were more school shootings than in any year since 1999, according to the Washington Post's tracker.

3/13/23 - Student Bullying and Suicide: Signs of a Toxic School - Alarming Trend of Toxic Schools.  The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.  Good teachers are leaving the profession, and many positions are being filled with warm bodies rather than those with a degree in education with an emphasis on child development.

2/15/23 - There have been 71 mass shootings in the US this year – in just 6 weeks - Nationwide, there have been a total of 71 mass shootings this year-to-date."There's not been any year that we've had 67 in six weeks" this early in the year, said Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday evening, the number of mass shootings reported and verified by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit formed in 2013 to track gun violence in the U.S, increased to 71.

1/26/23 - Educational institutions among 3 most common mass shooting sites - Educational institutions were the third most likely site of a targeted mass attack between 2016 and 2020, according to a five year study of 173 mass attacks published Wednesday by the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center.

1/16/23 - Gun violence in schools across U.S. strikes fear into parents - A disturbing video of a toddler brandishing a loaded gun played out on live TV during a reality show following police on patrol. NBC’s Maggie Vespa has more on the latest incident that has parents across the U.S. worried about children’s safety at home and in school. 

1/15/23 - Federal statistics show that schools are bolstering security efforts - More schools across the nation have installed security cameras, added locks inside classrooms and stepped up other security measures, according to new federal data.

1/10/23 - First Grader Who Shot Teacher in Virginia is Among the Youngest School Shooters in US History - David Riedman, creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database, discusses the rarity of school shooters under the age of 10

1/2/23 - A record number of America's kids were injured or killed by gunfire in 2022 - In 2022, more than 6,000 children and teens were injured or killed in shootings, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. That's the most in a single year since the database began tracking nine years ago.

12/30/22 - More School Districts Are Informing Parents of Firearm Storage Responsibilities - A pledge to ensure students’ families are continuously reminded about the importance of safely storing firearms is gaining significant traction in school districts across the country, according to a gun-safety advocacy organization.

12/30/22 - US Gun Violence Soars in 2022 - WASHINGTON — Across America, gun violence surged in many communities in 2022 as overall death rates from firearms rose to the highest level in nearly three decades.

12/29/22 - 2022 Trends That Will Impact Campus Security in 2023 and Beyond - Here are a few of the troubling trends that will most likely continue to affect education and healthcare security for the foreseeable future, as well as some links that can help you address these challenges.

12/28/22 - Leveraging Tech as a Response to School Security Threats - Technology cannot guarantee flawless defense against security breaches and threats, but it can help reduce the chance of a dangerous situation occurring.

12/26/22 - What SEL teaches us about safety - With SEL, we can foster emotional safety and mental wellness, and help reduce violence and risky behaviors among students

12/21/22 - School shootings reach unprecedented high in 2022 - There’s been an on-campus shooting ‘pretty much every single school day’ this fall, the founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database said.

11/28/22 - Federal authorities investigate a case about false threats of school shootings - One individual may be responsible for hundreds of false reports of active shooters across the U.S. The hoaxes have raised awareness of "swatting," and how it may be a national security threat.

11/23/22 - 12 recent mass shootings that gained national attention - While mass shootings are an anomaly when it comes to gun violence in America, this year has been rocked by horrific incidents, including several that unfolded in public, such as shootouts between multiple gunmen, targeted attacks or active shooter events.

10/29/22 - School Shootings are Already at a Record in 2022 – with Months Still to Go - Records show that seven more people died in mass shootings at U.S. schools between 2018 and 2022 – a total of 52 – than in the previous 18 years combined since the watershed 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

10/29/22 - In a single week in America, 4 communities confronted the aftermath of different school shootings. Then, shots rang out in another school - There have been at least 53 school shootings at K-12 schools so far this year, more than in all of 2021 and nearly double as many as in 2018. In many cases, legal proceedings seeking justice can last decades, offering a national reminder every few months of the victims and the violence.

10/18/22 - About a third of K-12 parents are very or extremely worried a shooting could happen at their children’s school - School shootings have hit close to home for many U.S. parents. In a new Pew Research Center survey, roughly a third (32%) of parents of children in K-12 schools say they are very or extremely worried about a shooting ever happening at their children’s school.

10/15/22 - Halloween becoming a thing of the past in schools - Halloween is being canceled in schools throughout the nation, due to ongoing violence within schools.

10/9/22 - Youth Killed by Guns in US Equals Classroom a Day - The number of children and teens who die from gun violence in the United States on a given day could fill a typical high school classroom, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

10/7/22 - How to Prevent K-12 School Violence Using Behavioral Threat Assessments - This free webinar will help simplify the process of behavioral threat assessment and management, reduce anxiety, and increase skills and knowledge.

10/6/22 - Schools Face Increase in Gun Confiscations, Shootings and Hoaxes - Rise from prepandemic years reflects broader societal gun violence and student behavioral problems, school officials say

10/5/22 - School Shootings Reach Record Level, Data Show - There have been 35 school shootings that resulted in injuries or deaths so far in 2022, more than in any single year since Education Week began tracking the incidents in 2018.

9/30/22 - How do you determine if a school threat is credible?

9/21/22 - ‘Swatting’ Hoaxes Disrupt Schools Across the Country. What Educators Need to Know - The string of false shooting reports that have disrupted schools across the country in recent weeks has renewed attention to school safety and communication protocols and prompted the FBI and local law enforcement officials to investigate whether the incidents are connected.

9/19/22 - Rise in school shootings: 28 have occurred in US so far this year - Each day it seems innocent children are injured and killed in school shootings across the United States. A recent example is a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two adults — and marked the 27th school shooting this year.

9/18/22 - Schools across US hit with dozens of false shooting, bomb threats. Experts say it's a 'cruel hoax' - Across the country, dozens of schools went on lockdown. Students and teachers hid in classrooms. Police searched campuses. Parents panicked.

9/13/22 - ‘Stop the shooting’: Inside the effort to protect students from neighborhood gun violence - A growing movement is trying to end gun violence where students experience it most.

9/8/22 - Debunking Myths the Gun Lobby Perpetuates Following Mass Shootings - OPINION - The gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association (NRA), routinely deploys a series of common myths—designed to undermine legitimate arguments for commonsense gun reform—in the aftermath of high-profile mass shootings.

9/3/22 - A 4-year-old becomes second US child in a week to bring a handgun to school. Gun safety group warns of 'tremendous problem.' - Parents are failing to prevent their children from accessing guns, which can ultimately lead to suicides, school shootings, and unintentional shootings, Nichols said.

11/12/21 - The rise in school shooting threats is alarming — and a cry for help - Before a mass shooting, communication of intent to do harm is common, and about half of all mass shooters do so. The professionals who evaluate what is known as “leakage” try to separate the signal from the noise, the real threat from the hoax. They look for red flags such as mentions of a specific date and time, weapon, location and targets, and motive for the attack.

11/8/21 - 9 Common Traits of Autism SROs Should Know to Foster Positive Student Interactions - Common characteristics for individuals with autism include lack of eye contact, repetitive actions, and sensory issues, among others.

11/5/21 - Signs a Student May Have a Substance Abuse Issue -  Adolescents start using drugs for a variety of reasons. For example, they may want to impress peers, boost energy, ease stress, or self-medicate mental health conditions like social anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.  Over time, drug use can cause serious health problems, including addiction. As a campus safety professional, you can protect your students’ health by learning the signs of substance abuse.