144 Should Teachers Carry Guns in Schools? An Emergency Department Survey of Parents’ Opinion and Potential Solutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine parents’ opinion of threats and probable solutions to school gun violence in two diverse populations. Parents of school-aged children visiting EDs of two large trauma centers in Upstate New York (UNY) and New York City (NYC), between January 2019 to December 2020, were surveyed. Questions included parental perceptions of school safety, experience with firearms, violence and probable solutions including arming school staff, and hiring security officers. Responses were compared by ED site, and by parents’ experience with firearms and concern for school safety employing t-tests and Chi-square tests. A total of 302 participants completed the survey, 202 from UNY and 100 from NYC. Respondents from NYC on average, were significantly younger by about 6 years (95% CI: 4.17, 7.80), and were primarily Latino (81%); whereas the majority of respondents at UNY were White (67.5%), more likely to be female (75% vs 60%), have more college education (25% vs 0%) and less likely to be residing in an urban location (25% vs 100%). Although 64% of all respondents feared a shooting incident could occur at their child’s school, UNY respondents were significantly less likely to report moderate to extreme concern (46.5% vs 99% respectively, p<0.001). This was also reflected in response to “how safe the parents felt for their children at school” with UNY respondents significantly more likely to report moderate to extreme safety as compared to NYC (75.3% vs 7%, p<0.001). UNY respondents were significantly more likely to report feeling safer if guns were available to teachers (22.3% vs 6%, p <0.001). Majority of the respondents at both sites agreed on the need for an armed police presence at school with a minimal difference by site (76.73% vs 74%, p=0.11). Overall, of the 193 participants who indicated they were concerned about a shooting at their child’s school, 25.7% indicated they would feel safer if guns were available to teachers in schools versus only 11.92% of participants who are not concerned (p=0.002). When provided with potential solutions to make schools safer, a majority of the respondents agreed that each choice would make schools safer. However, the degree of agreement differed by site. For each potential solution respondents from NYC were almost unanimously supportive as compared to UNY, whose support ranged from 52% for metal detectors to 84.5% for controlled entry points. Demographics, perception of child safety in schools, and reported experiences wpith guns vary significantly by location, but majority of parents agreed on potential solutions. Less than a quarter of parents would feel safer if teachers had guns in school. For those who feel safer with school staff carrying guns in school, the majority feel security officers should be the ones with firearms. About three-fourths of parents surveyed believed that armed police should be present in schools.