2026 School Safety Trends

National data, emerging trends, and real-world insights shaping safer schools

Built from more than 346,000 wearable panic button alerts collected during the 2025–2026 school year, the 2026 School Safety Trends Report provides a comprehensive look at how K-12 schools are improving emergency response, strengthening preparedness, and enhancing campus safety nationwide through clarity.

What You'll Learn

• How Schools Are Responding Faster in Emergencies - Explore how wearable panic buttons, dynamic mapping, and campus-wide communication technologies are helping districts improve coordination and reduce response times.
• Where Incidents Are Happening Most Often - Learn why more than half of school safety incidents occur outside the classroom and why campus-wide coverage and precise location information are critical.
• The Reality of Everyday School Safety - See how schools are using safety technology to respond to medical emergencies, student behavioral incidents, elopements, fights, and other daily situations requiring immediate staff support.
• How Data Is Improving Preparedness - Discover how districts are using safety data and real-time visibility to improve planning, allocate resources more effectively, and strengthen emergency response coordination.
• The Impact of Safer School Environments - See how schools focused on safety are supporting broader district goals like improving staff confidence, reducing absenteeism, and creating better learning environments.
• The Legislative Trends Impacting K-12 Safety - Understand how Alyssa’s Law expansion, school mapping legislation, and rising community expectations are influencing school safety strategies nationwide.

Key Report Highlights

• 346K+ Alerts analyzed from the 2025–2026 school year
• 31% Increase in CrisisAlert wearable panic button usage compared to 2024-2025
• 58% Incidents that occurred outside traditional classroom settings
• 94% Staff that said wearable panic buttons help them feel safer

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