The State of Student Safety: 2020–21 School Year

Each year, we share our findings from the most recent school year in our annual Through the Gaggle Lens: The State of Student Safety report. When the 2020–21 school year began last year, none of us knew what to expect. We knew that some students would return to the classroom, some would learn at home, and others would engage in a hybrid model. But we didn’t know just how unpredictable the year would be, how the pandemic would progress, or what we would see in terms of student safety. As we continue with the 2021–22 school year, we still don’t know how unpredictable this new year will be or how the pandemic will progress, but Gaggle’s data can offer insight into the state of student safety. 

During the 2020–21 school year, Gaggle analyzed more than 10.1 billion email messages, chats, and files produced on school-provided devices and platforms—a 63% increase in student content from the previous school year. Within this student content, Gaggle discovered more than 360,000 student safety incidents that required district attention and intervention. Compared to the 2019–20 school year, student safety incident rates increased significantly in the five main categories Gaggle flags:

• Suicide & Self-Harm increased by 87% (from 148 to 276 incidents per 10,000 students)
• Violence Toward Others increased by 104% (from 88 to 179 incidents per 10,000 students)
• Nudity & Sexual Content increased by 151% (from 46 to 116 incidents per 10,000 students)
• Drugs & Alcohol increased by 134% (from 21 to 50 incidents per 10,000 students)
• Harassment increased by 55% (from 32 to 50 incidents per 10,000 students)

Our annual report includes our findings based on data collected from July 2020 through June 2021, offering K-12 educators greater insight into harmful student behavior as seen through the Gaggle lens. Access the report today to learn more about what Gaggle saw during this unusual year, how student safety trends compare in different regions across the country, and what experts have to say about the state of student safety and well-being.