Students Are Taught to Hide in Closets and Under Tables if There Is a School Shooting – but Does Practicing for This Possibility Keep Kids Safe?

Students are taught to hide in closets and under tables if there is a school shooting – but does practicing for this possibility keep kids safe?

Most schools do lockdown drills, but there is not any federal guidance on the best approach to this practice. TW Farlow/iStock/Getty Images Plus There have been 63 school shootings – meaning any time there is gunfire on a school campus – so far in 2026. They happen so often that preparing for one has become normal. Students as young as 4 years old routinely practice for the possibility of a school shooting with lockdown drills – typically, hidin…

Students are taught to hide in closets and under tables if there is a school shooting – but does practicing for this possibility keep kids safe?

by James Densley, Metropolitan State University, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] There have been 63 school shootings – meaning any time there is gunfire on a school campus – so far in 2026. They happen so often that preparing for one has become normal. Students as young as 4 years old routinely practice for the possibility of a school shooting with lockdown drills – typically, hiding in the corner o…