Although fear for their children’s safety at school has gone down slightly in the last year, nearly 38% of parents with school-aged children say they are still concerned about safety at school, according to a recent Gallup poll.
In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting last year, concerns about school safety were at around 44%. The highest readings of concerns for school safety, according to Gallup’s research, were after the 1999 Columbine High School shooting at 55%.
Although parental concern for their children’s safety at school has dipped, Gallup reported that it is still a higher measure of fear than seen following the 2006 Amish schoolhouse shooting in Pennsylvania, the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut, and the 2018 Parkland High School shooting in Florida.
One in seven children, or 14%, has expressed feeling unsafe at school. While this number is also down from reports of 20% last year, this number exceed the historical average.
Gallup reported that higher percentages were seen in the direct aftermath of a school shooting.
The poll does not review shootings at colleges or universities.
Gallup’s annual Work and Education survey was conducted from Aug. 1-23, around the beginning of the school year, and were respondents were parents of K-12 school-aged children.
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