Profiting from protecting kids is wrong. Halt active shooter drills.

In October, a Florida commission investigating the Parkland school shooting recommended the state’s schools reduce the frequency of active-shooter drills (currently mandated to be held once a month) because they might be traumatizing students.

Many child trauma experts, criminologists, and school administrators share this concern. Even President Trump has said he does not want his son Barron, 13, to participate in the drills.

But frequency is only part of the problem. The commission also recommended that the drills be realistic. Maybe for adults, but not for children. It’s time to call a halt to realistic drills in schools.

Under pressure to act in the wake of high profile school shootings, legislators in 42 states have mandated active shooter drills, yet there is little official guidance on what constitutes an effective drill.

Filling this vacuum is a cottage industry of school security companies — many with questionable expertise — that has grown to an over $3 billion industry annually. These companies, selling everything from drill training, to surveillance technology, to bullet-proof backpacks, are motivated as much by profit as a desire to protect our children.

The biggest of these companies, ALICE, provides active shooter drill training to over 4,000 elementary schools and 1,000 institutions of higher education. ALICE reportedly charges nearly $600 per training. Founder Greg Crane, a former police officer, says his company makes the drills as realistic as possible to produce an “adrenaline rush.”

But many child trauma experts disagree with the ALICE approach. They warn realistic drills (which can include masked shooters, fake blood, the sound of gunshots, and the element of surprise) are needlessly traumatizing to students and teachers alike. Further, realistic drills can be desensitizing, possibly causing children to ignore an actual emergency. And such drills can cause physical injury. In one recent drill, teachers were lined up against a wall and shot — execution-style — with plastic bullets. Lawsuits have been filed alleging emotional distress and physical injuries. There have been reports of children in fear for their lives writing farewell texts to their parents. It seems clear that realistic drills should be halted.

But what about drills that teach the necessary functional skills without the adrenaline rush? As a diplomat assigned to serve in Erbil, Iraq (the ISIS border was then 30 miles away), I participated in an active shooter drill in 2015. Admittedly, I was an adult serving in a war zone. But I appreciated the chance to learn — when my life wasn’t actually in peril — that I must first determine where the bullets are coming from before running for cover.

To get an educator’s perspective, I spoke to my sister-in-law, Lori Peck, a high school teacher who lives in Newtown, where the Sandy Hook shooting occurred. She provided examples of Sandy Hook students who survived because of their training and said she strongly believes functional drills teach skills that can save lives. “They build muscle-memory,” she explained. Accordingly, she takes the functional drills taught at Ridgefield High School seriously, as do her students. She discouraged ALICE training, saying she would opt-out if one were offered. And she emphasized that drills must be age-appropriate. But in Lori’s view, her students come to school already traumatized by news of the latest mass shooting. At least the drills help them plan how they will survive a shooting, whether at school or elsewhere.

For help developing age-appropriate drills that minimize trauma, the U.S. Department of Education’s Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center has a guide that advocates a multifaceted approach to preparedness using discussion and functional, not realistic, drills. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Association of School Psychologists also have helpful guides for schools and parents.

Prevention is key, as was demonstrated in a recent security video that captured a coach gently disarming a student in crisis, then hugging him until help arrived. In nearly every school shooting, the shooter was widely known to be troubled. That’s why programs that teach children to recognize and seek help for students in crisis can save lives. Sandy Hook Promise has a program called “Know the Signs.” Parents should urge their school to adopt this or a similar program, and to fund fully the mental health resources recommended by child trauma experts, including suicide intervention.

Finally, although school shootings are terrifying, it’s worth remembering that the likelihood one will take place at your child’s school is exceedingly small. Helping your child focus on family, friends, and community will promote a healthier, safer learning environment for all.

By Sarah C. Peck