Through its School Safety research, the SAC collected 256 survey responses and identified that although most students feel moderately safe, nearly half experience incidents that make them feel unsafe every few months or more and are especially concerned about cellphone bans, uneven security protocols, and opaque safety communication. Recommendations include the State Board re-evaluating its stance on cellphone confiscation, applying safety policies consistently to staff and students, strengthening teacher/staff screening for safety concerns, and improving transparency and communication around SROs, guards, and incident responses. These recommendations do not yet map to specific policy changes or solutions, indicating a planning phase where DC may revisit safety frameworks, communications, and technology. This opens the door for school safety consultants, crisis communication and notification platform vendors, and security policy advisors to support needs assessments, stakeholder engagement, and updated safety plans that reflect student input while maintaining compliance and risk management.

OSSE previously presented a model cellphone policy for SY26-27 to the SAC, and SAC data now calls th...