Best School Safety Books of 2025

American Carnage: Shattering the Myths That Fuel Gun Violence is a collaboration between Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jaime in the Parkland shooting, and Thomas Gabor, an international gun policy consultant. The book debunks common myths surrounding guns and gun violence, providing evidence-based research to counter the misinformation spread by the gun lobby and extremists. It exposes slogans such as "an armed society is a safer society" and "guns don't kill people, people kill people" as false. The authors argue that gun law reforms could reduce the number of gun deaths per year, but political challenges stand in the way. American Carnage is a must-read for those interested in tackling gun violence in America.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men is a groundbreaking bestseller by Lundy Bancroft, a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men. Bancroft uses his knowledge to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued and find ways to get free of an abusive relationship. The book covers early warning signs of abuse, the nature of abusive thinking, myths about abusers, ten abusive personality types, the role of drugs and alcohol, what can be fixed, and what can't be fixed, and how to get out of an abusive relationship safely. This book is informative and useful for women who want to take control of their lives.

Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice is a practical guide for teachers and school leaders on how to replace traditional school discipline with a system based on restorative justice. Authors Nathan Maynard and Brad Weinstein provide real-world examples and strategies for reducing negative behaviors, building empathy and communication, and empowering students to take responsibility for their actions. This book is an important read for anyone looking to create a positive and productive school environment.

This book, Fostering Resilient Learners: Strategies for Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom, explores the impact of childhood trauma on learning and teaching. The authors, a mental health therapist and a veteran principal, offer proven strategies to help educators build strong relationships, create a safe space, and adopt a strengths-based approach to enable students to learn at high levels. Each chapter includes questions and exercises to encourage reflection and extension of the ideas in the book. Overall, this is an essential guide for educators seeking solutions to the impact of trauma in the classroom and building relationships that allow students to thrive and learn at high levels.

This book is a masterpiece of reportage, providing a definitive account of the Columbine massacre, its aftermath, and its significance. Dave Cullen, a journalist who followed the story from the outset, spent ten years on this book, which is widely recognized as the definitive account. Cullen draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings. He paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers, contrasting starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors. The book's expanded new epilogue illustrates how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the crime that sparked this plague.

Take Control of the Noisy Class: Chaos to Calm in 15 Seconds is an excellent resource for teachers who struggle with managing disruptive students. Author Rob Plevin, drawing on his 20+ years of experience in special education and mainstream settings, offers a six-step plan and powerful techniques for gaining trust and respect from difficult students, putting an end to power struggles, and achieving consistency. The book's standout feature is the "Clean Slate" method, which provides a step-by-step approach to starting over with a particularly challenging group of students. Overall, this book is a must-have for any teacher looking to create a more enjoyable and productive classroom environment.

Don't Suspend Me!: An Alternative Discipline Toolkit, second edition, is a user-friendly guidebook that helps educators use alternative discipline methods to create positive and long-term behavior shifts for students. The book provides an updated alternative discipline toolkit, methods for addressing traditional beliefs, and recommendations for bringing policy to practice. It also includes case studies, examples, and lessons learned from educators in the field who successfully used the first edition. This practical and effective guide is aligned with research, changes in educational law, and equity in school discipline.

The newly revised Second Edition of Lost and Found by Dr. Ross W. Greene provides a practical and compassionate approach to help educators deal with students who exhibit concerning behaviors. The author's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach focuses on identifying the root cause of the behavior and partnering with students to solve those problems. This book offers updated examples and dialogue suited to modern classrooms, and specific advice on eliminating punitive disciplinary procedures. Lost and Found is perfect for K-12 educators, professors, and parents who want to help students. It is a valuable resource for those who want to unlock collaboration and compassion to help vulnerable, misunderstood students.

The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools offers a fresh approach to teaching restorative justice practices through games, activities, and simulations. The book provides an in-depth understanding of restorative pedagogy and experiential learning strategies, making it an ideal handbook for educators, trainers, consultants, and community leaders. The chapters cover topics such as building a restorative learning community, designing games for teaching restorative practices, and in-depth instructions for games and activities. This book is a valuable resource for those who strive to resolve conflicts and address harm in a restorative way.

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer is a heartbreaking but essential read that investigates a series of campus rapes that occurred in Missoula, Montana. The author takes the case study of this typical college town to demonstrate how sexual assault victims are often doubted and mistreated by the justice system. Through the experiences of five victims, Krakauer shows that acquaintance rape happens not because of mixed signals or attention-seeking but because of a terrible crime. This meticulously researched book is a call to action and a powerful reminder that we need to do better to protect and support victims of sexual assault.