School security remains a patchwork of tools and outcomes, and the latest forecasts underline how fast expectations are changing: global cybersecurity spending in education is projected to reach $38.6 billion by 2025. At the same time, day to day realities still vary widely, from student and staff perceptions to how consistently schools adopt practices like surveillance, threat assessment, and emergency planning. Pulling together the key statistics behind incidents, adoption rates, and funding gaps helps explain why some campuses feel safer than others even when the same safeguards are on paper.
Key Takeaways
- 6% of U.S. public schools reported experiencing at least one incident of school violence during the 2021–2022 school year.
- 91% of U.S. school districts reported that they have adopted at least one safety and security practice (2018–2022 district survey results compiled by RAND).
- 38% of school staff reported they were not confident in handling an active shooter scenario (survey finding).
- $2.5 billion is the estimated budget request (FY 2024) for school safety and related K–12 security priorities within U.S. federal discretionary education funding (as cited in U.S. Congressional budget documents).
- $13.5 billion is the estimated global public spending opportunity for physical security technology by 2030, reflecting government and education security procurement trends (per industry forecasting).
- $38.6 billion cybersecurity spending forecast in education sector globally by 2025 (research-based estimate used for security budgeting).
- $45.5 billion global market value for school safety solutions is forecast for 2028 (according to an estimate by market research firm).
- $63.5 billion global school security market size is projected by 2032 (forecast range provided by one market research report).
- $7.9 billion global school security market in 2023, with growth driven by access control and video analytics (per market research).
- 62% of K–12 administrators reported that they have implemented video surveillance systems (survey-based adoption).
- 47% of school districts reported adopting threat detection or threat assessment programs using structured protocols (district-level reporting compiled in a study).
- 61% of U.S. public schools reported using at least one type of surveillance camera system (NCES 2021–2022 Schools and Staffing data).
- 41% of students reported that they felt supported by school staff (school climate indicator from YRBS).
- 20% of public schools reported at least one incident involving a weapon on school grounds during 2021–2022 (NCES reported incidence rates).
- 81% of incidents studied in a U.S. Secret Service Safe School Initiative 2000 had a concerning communications component (peer-reviewed analysis summarized in official Secret Service report).
Only 6% of U.S. public schools reported school violence in 2021 to 2022, even as security spending rises.
Related reading
01 · Category
Policy & Compliance3 stats
01
6% of U.S. public schools reported experiencing at least one incident of school violence during the 2021–2022 school year.
02
91% of U.S. school districts reported that they have adopted at least one safety and security practice (2018–2022 district survey results compiled by RAND).
03
38% of school staff reported they were not confident in handling an active shooter scenario (survey finding).
Interpretation
Policy & Compliance Interpretation
Despite broad adoption of safety practices, with 91% of districts reporting at least one policy or security practice in 2018 to 2022, only 6% of schools reported school violence incidents in 2021 to 2022 and 38% of staff still said they were not confident handling an active shooter scenario, showing that policy compliance is not translating into preparedness.
02 · Category
Funding & Budgets5 stats
01
$2.5 billion is the estimated budget request (FY 2024) for school safety and related K–12 security priorities within U.S. federal discretionary education funding (as cited in U.S. Congressional budget documents).
02
$13.5 billion is the estimated global public spending opportunity for physical security technology by 2030, reflecting government and education security procurement trends (per industry forecasting).
03
$38.6 billion cybersecurity spending forecast in education sector globally by 2025 (research-based estimate used for security budgeting).
04
$1.9 billion in federal grants for school safety and education technology combined over FY 2019–FY 2023 (GAO-reported aggregate across relevant programs).
05
33% of school districts said they lack sufficient funding for safety upgrades (district survey finding reported by RAND/education leadership).
Interpretation
Funding & Budgets Interpretation
With only $1.9 billion in federal school safety and education technology grants over FY 2019 to FY 2023 and 33% of districts still saying they lack enough money for upgrades, the funding gap is stark even as the global market signals rapid growth to $38.6 billion in education cybersecurity spending by 2025 and a $2.5 billion U.S. FY 2024 federal budget request for school safety priorities.
03 · Category
Market Size9 stats
01
$45.5 billion global market value for school safety solutions is forecast for 2028 (according to an estimate by market research firm).
02
$63.5 billion global school security market size is projected by 2032 (forecast range provided by one market research report).
03
$7.9 billion global school security market in 2023, with growth driven by access control and video analytics (per market research).
04
11.0% CAGR for the global school security market is forecast for 2024–2030 (growth rate from an industry forecast).
05
$4.0 billion U.S. video surveillance market size in 2022, based on industry estimates for cameras and related systems.
06
$1.5 billion U.S. school safety equipment market in 2022 (industry estimate for barriers, access control, and surveillance equipment).
07
$6.4 billion global building access control market in 2023 (forecast and historical).
08
$9.5 billion global market for school surveillance software/analytics in 2024 (industry estimate).
09
$1.2 billion global market for school access control systems expected by 2025 (forecast).
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size outlook for school security is set to expand sharply, growing from $7.9 billion in 2023 to a projected $63.5 billion by 2032 with an 11.0% CAGR for 2024–2030, underscoring how fast investments in access control and video analytics are scaling within the broader school safety market.
04 · Category
User Adoption10 stats
01
62% of K–12 administrators reported that they have implemented video surveillance systems (survey-based adoption).
02
47% of school districts reported adopting threat detection or threat assessment programs using structured protocols (district-level reporting compiled in a study).
03
61% of U.S. public schools reported using at least one type of surveillance camera system (NCES 2021–2022 Schools and Staffing data).
04
36% of students reported being bullied at school at least once in the last 12 months (CDC YRBS 2021).
05
35% of schools reported using anonymous reporting tools (tip lines/apps) to improve threat reporting (survey statistic).
06
44% of school districts use threat assessment teams or threat assessment procedures (RAND survey reported share).
07
18% of educators reported being concerned about school shootings as a major safety risk (national survey statistic).
08
45% of school administrators reported that they have a threat assessment process in place at their schools (2019 survey).
09
7% of school districts reported using metal detectors at least occasionally (2019 survey of district safety policies).
10
46% of U.S. public schools reported using cameras for monitoring hallways (2022 school security survey of K–12).
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For the user adoption angle, security measures are being widely taken, with 62% of K–12 administrators reporting video surveillance adoption and 46% of public schools using hallway cameras, while lower adoption remains for more structured and broader safety responses such as threat assessment teams at 44% of districts and anonymous reporting tools at 35%.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics7 stats
01
41% of students reported that they felt supported by school staff (school climate indicator from YRBS).
02
20% of public schools reported at least one incident involving a weapon on school grounds during 2021–2022 (NCES reported incidence rates).
03
81% of incidents studied in a U.S. Secret Service Safe School Initiative 2000 had a concerning communications component (peer-reviewed analysis summarized in official Secret Service report).
04
4.2 minutes average time from threat statement to first intervention in threat-assessment cases evaluated by a field study (reported intervention-time metric).
05
21% of school shootings involved the shooter accessing the school through an unlocked or easily accessible entry point (analysis from a research review of incident cases).
06
72% of districts using threat assessment teams reported improved coordination among staff (survey-based performance outcome).
07
19% of students were involved in incidents of bullying or harassment during the 2019–2020 period in a nationally representative student survey (reported prevalence).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Overall performance in school security is mixed, with only 41% of students feeling supported by staff while serious incident risk remains measurable, including 20% of public schools reporting at least one weapon incident and 81% of studied threats showing concerning communications.
More related reading
06 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
28% of threats involved social media posts according to a systematic review of online threat communications tied to school safety events (peer-reviewed review).
02
6% of surveyed students indicated they would notify school staff if they saw a weapon, with variation by school climate in survey findings reported by researchers (peer-reviewed).
03
29% of security professionals said they use cloud-based video management systems for remote monitoring in education deployments (survey statistic from a security trade research).
04
47% of school security budgets are forecast to shift toward software/analytics rather than hardware by 2026 (forecast from a market advisory).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In the industry trends shaping school security, budgets are increasingly turning toward smarter software and analytics as 47% are forecast to shift that way by 2026, while 29% of security professionals already rely on cloud based video systems for remote monitoring.
07 · Category
Bullying & Climate2 stats
01
30% of students who reported being bullied said the bullying happened during the school day (2019–2021 HBSC data collected in participating countries).
02
22% of educators reported feeling unsafe at school due to violence threats (educator survey).
Interpretation
Bullying & Climate Interpretation
For the Bullying and Climate picture, bullying is most often happening during the school day with 30% of students reporting it occurs then, and educators reinforce this climate concern since 22% say they feel unsafe at school due to violence threats.
08 · Category
Staffing & Operations1 stats
01
67% of U.S. public schools reported having at least one full-time security staff member (2017–2018 Schools and Staffing Survey).
Interpretation
Staffing & Operations Interpretation
In the Staffing and Operations category, 67% of U.S. public schools reported having at least one full-time security staff member in 2017 to 2018, showing that a majority have dedicated security coverage.
09 · Category
Training & Policy2 stats
01
87% of surveyed school districts reported they have a written emergency operations plan (EOP) that is updated at least annually (district policy survey, 2019).
02
12,000+ schools participated in a national school safety program training and capacity-building activity during 2021–2022 (program participation reported in agency annual report).
Interpretation
Training & Policy Interpretation
For the Training and Policy category, the strong majority of districts 87% report an annually updated written emergency operations plan while 12,000 plus schools joined a national safety training and capacity building effort in 2021 to 2022, showing policy readiness is being reinforced with real-world training reach.
10 · Category
Technology & Infrastructure1 stats
01
19% of K–12 schools reported they experienced a cyber incident related to school technology systems in the last 12 months (survey-based estimate, 2022).
Interpretation
Technology & Infrastructure Interpretation
In the Technology & Infrastructure space, 19% of K–12 schools reported a cyber incident tied to school technology systems in the past 12 months, showing how common technology-related security risks are.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
David Kowalski. (2026, February 13). School Security Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/school-security-statistics
MLA
David Kowalski. "School Security Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/school-security-statistics.
Chicago
David Kowalski. 2026. "School Security Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/school-security-statistics.
Sources & references
44 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)