Response & effectiveness
Which panic-alert system features are associated with faster law-enforcement response times? What implementation conditions distinguish systems that perform from those that don't?
Research & Insights
The evidence the field needs — and doesn't yet have
We fill critical knowledge gaps with multi-state implementation studies, then translate the findings into tools practitioners and policymakers can act on.
Our Research Agenda
Questions we're built to answer
School safety has plenty of products and mandates but too little evidence on implementation quality and outcomes. These are the questions we prioritize.
Balance & prevention
How do schools balance technology investments against preventive mental-health and behavioral supports — and what mix produces the best outcomes?
Training & fidelity
What training protocols ensure appropriate use without false alarms, and how do we maintain fidelity across schools of very different sizes and capacities?
Equity implications
What are the equity effects of emergency-alert and surveillance systems in schools serving predominantly Black and Latino students?
Insights
The policy landscape, in brief
A snapshot of the moment NISSP is built for — drawn from our ongoing analysis of the school-safety field.
The Alyssa's Law wave
From New Jersey's 2019 panic-alarm requirement to Texas's classroom-level alerts to law enforcement and health departments, requirements vary widely. We map what implementation looks like state by state.
Funding without frameworks
States are allocating millions and setting hard compliance deadlines — but rarely pairing dollars with implementation capacity. We track where the gap is widest and most urgent.
Beyond the patchwork
Federal bills in committee aim to set national standards. We examine how to harmonize requirements without erasing the local adaptation that makes implementation work.
Measuring what matters
Output, outcome, and impact metrics that funders demand — from districts served and resources developed to response times, climate, and reductions in disparities.
Integration, not addition
How to connect panic alerts with threat-assessment teams, mental-health supports, and emergency operations plans — so safety is a system, not a stack of disconnected tools.
More on the way
Our research library grows as the institute launches. Want early access to briefs and toolkits as they publish?
Get updates →
How We Measure Impact
Three tiers of accountability
We hold our work — and the practices we support — to the standard of evidence, tracking results at every level.
Outputs
Districts served, resources developed, training participants reached.
Outcomes
Implementation-fidelity scores, emergency response times, equity-impact assessments.
Impact
Fewer violent incidents, improved climate, reduced disciplinary disparities, stronger cost-effectiveness.
Partner on the research that shapes the field
Funders and research partners help us answer the questions that determine whether billions in safety spending actually protect students.