Missouri, Do Your School Shooting Drills Have to Be So Graphic?

  • by: Susan V
  • recipient: Missouri Department of Education

In the past year, a Missouri school district has staged 13 super-realistic shooter drills, using fake blood, blanks and student actors. But are these drills causing serious and unnecessary trauma for kids?

The volunteer actors are recruited mostly from school drama classes, and while some seem thrilled to be playing the part of a victim, others say they’re doing it for the extra credit or to look good on a college application, even though it puts them on edge.

Many schools began having shooter drills after Columbine. Then after Sandy Hook, MO and other states made some form of drill mandatory. However no school is required to take the simulation to the level Lincoln County has. An NBC News report notes that the drills aren’t really for the kids anyway; they’re meant to “ramp up the realism for the teachers.”

Being prepared makes total sense, but even basic lockdown drills can create a lot of stress for some kids.

Ask MO to consider whether its ultra-realistic shooter drills are causing more trauma than they’re worth and if these drills have to be so graphic.

We, the undersigned, say Missouri schools should reconsider how they conduct mandatory shooter simulation or lockdown drills.

Taking proper safety precautions and being prepared for these types of emergencies of course make perfect sense. But some kids are already traumatized just from the basic lockdown drills. One parent reported her 7-year-old having nightmares, and one older student admits getting “jittery” when he participates in Missouri’s more realistic shooter simulations. One teacher at the Lincoln County school admitted she wouldn’t want her own kids terrified in this way.

Also the students participating in the Lincoln County staging are sent home for the rest of the day, apparently to recover from the trauma. And, according to the NBC report, children are being included as actors in drills mostly to help law enforcement craft strategies and “ramp up the realism for teachers” who saw the earlier drills without student actors as too stilted.

But what is the cost to the students, and do the benefits of super-realism outweigh the risks of harm?
Considering that trauma is known to be one of the major triggers of distressing emotional thoughts and behavior, it seems it would make more sense to conduct these necessary school drills in a way that creates as little trauma as possible.


Another issue to consider is the new John Hopkins study on the effects of Missour'si repeal of its permit-to-purchase (PTP) handgun law in 2007. It found that about 60 more people were murdered each year since the state relaxed its background checks on gun purchases. Maybe MO should put more time into preventive measures that don't require children's participation.

We ask that Missouri consider whether its realistic simulations of school shootings are necessary for safety, or are they creating more trauma, especially for the children, than they’re worth? And aren't there better ways to prevent school shootings?

Thanks for you time.

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