Extreme School Violence and Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: (How) Do They Intersect?

Mass school shootings in America are undoubtedly among the most unsettling and tragic events that have occurred in modern history. Following such an event, questions often arise about characteristics of the perpetrator. Assertions and speculation regarding the mental health status or special education disability status, specifically related to emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), flood media outlets and popular news sources. However, there are no data to suggest that children or youth with EBD pose a greater risk of committing a mass school shooting than do others. In this paper, we discuss assumptions related to mass school shootings and students with EBD and consider efforts for prevention and intervention. We discuss detrimental effects of a zero-tolerance approach, especially for students with EBD, and the use of threat assessment as a more effective, research-based model of prevention. We highlight in particular the potential benefits of a threat assessment model for students with or at risk for EBD. Finally, we discuss the need for future research to critically examine the effectiveness and potential side effects of lockdown drills and limitations on federally funded firearm research.