The Safe Schools Project

08/03/2026

Commentary: There are no shortcuts to solving the youth mental health crisis
By Glen Weiner

I’m not alone in feeling powerless when I hear another heartbreaking story about a young person struggling with anxiety, depression or loneliness. First, ask yourself, “What happened?” Then, “What can I do about it?”

When the challenges are this serious, it is understandable that we are drawn to simple solutions. If one thing is causing the problem, then removing that one thing should fix it. That kind of thinking is appealing because it offers certainty in a moment that feels anything but.

However, parenting has taught that very few shortcuts actually work. Raising healthy, resilient kids has never depended on one decision or one rule. It comes from hundreds of small choices, caring relationships and environments that help children grow into confident adults.

That is why I have become increasingly convinced that we cannot ban our way out of the youth mental health challenge.

Technology and devices certainly play a part and need to be looked at. Recent developments in Australia offer an important reminder that complex problems rarely have simple answers.

Australia became the first country to prohibit most social media accounts for children under 16. Early research suggests that many teenagers continue to access social media despite the law, often by working around age restrictions. Researchers also found little evidence that the policy has substantially changed adolescent social media use. The lesson is not that protecting kids is impossible but that government mandates by themselves cannot solve a challenge so deeply rooted in many parts of children’s lives.

If we focus all of our energy on one policy, we risk overlooking everything else that contributes to young people’s well-being. Parents get this. In research conducted by the Coalition to Empower our Future, three-fourths of parents agreed that such a narrow approach could have unintended negative consequences.

Just think about how childhood has changed over the past generation. Many kids spend less time outside than previous generations. Opportunities for unstructured play have become harder to find. Sports and other organized activities are wonderful, but they often leave little room to explore the neighborhood, build a fort, ride bikes with friends or use imagination without adults directing every moment.

Academic expectations have also intensified. Students face increasing pressure to perform, prepare for college and build resumes before they have even finished middle school. For many children, there is a constant sense that they are being evaluated.

At the same time, many families are carrying enormous financial stress. Parents working multiple jobs, unstable housing, food insecurity and limited access to mental health care all affect children's emotional well-being.

When we talk about youth mental health, all of these factors matter. If we want healthier kids, we should make it easier for families to spend time outdoors. We should create more opportunities for creative play and meaningful connection. We should ask difficult questions about the pressures we place on students. We should strengthen support for families facing economic hardship. We should improve access to high-quality mental health care.

None of these ideas alone is a silver bullet. Together, though, they begin to look like the kind of comprehensive approach that our children deserve.

That is why I am grateful for the conversations our Coalition to Empower our Future is fostering. The goal is not to defend the status quo or dismiss legitimate concerns. The goal is to resist the temptation of false choices.

We do not have to choose between online safety and stronger families. We do not have to choose between appropriately equipping children to use technology safely and providing better support for schools. We do not have to choose between protecting children today and helping them build resilience for tomorrow.

The youth mental health challenge is too important and complex for quick fixes. Raising a child teaches that meaningful change usually takes patience. It takes listening. It takes collaboration. Most of all, it takes a willingness to recognize that children are unique and shaped differently by every part of the world around them.

Glen Weiner is the executive director of Coalition to Empower our Future, an organization dedicated to a conversation on youth mental health. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

07/15/2026

The Committee on Children is pleased to announce the tentative schedule for our 2026 Fall Public Hearings. We anticipate keeping these dates and locations as listed below, pending final venue confirmations. Additional details, including venue information, will be shared as they become available.

Conway | Wednesday, September 16 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Upstate | Tuesday, September 29 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Charleston | Wednesday, September 30 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Rock Hill | Wednesday, October 7 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Columbia | Wednesday, October 14 | 2:00 – 7:00 PM

To register, please click on the hearing location you plan to attend. Whether you plan to testify, attend as a listener, represent the media, or are a legislator, we encourage you to register in advance. While walk-in testimony may be accommodated, opportunities for same-day registration and testimony will be limited.

The Committee is accepting written testimony through October 21. Written comments and any questions regarding the hearings, registration, or accommodations may be submitted to [email protected].
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and suggestions with the Committee on Children. We look forward to hearing from communities across South Carolina about the challenges facing our children and families, as well as opportunities to improve outcomes for all South Carolinians.

Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children
Children’s Law Center
1600 Gervais Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
(803) 777-4350 (T)
sccommitteeonchildren.org
childlaw.sc.edu

07/06/2026

Meet the April Teacher of the Month: Carissa Carr.

06/17/2026

06/09/2026

South Carolina heads to the polls today: What to know about voting in the 2026 primary
By Caitlin Byrd [email protected] 39 mins ago


A South Carolina resident picks up an “I voted” sticker after casting a ballot. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. for the state’s 2026 primaries on June 9, 2026.

File/Henry Taylor/Staff

More than 319,000 ballots have already been cast in South Carolina's 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries, shattering the state’s prior turnout record for early voting and setting the stage for Election Day.

Democrats outperformed Republicans by a margin of 188,000 to 131,600 during the two-week process.

Weather forecasters today are calling for mostly cloudy skies and humid conditions across much of the state as Republicans and Democrats prepare to pick which candidates they’d like to represent their interests on the ballot for the November general election.

In many races, the story on election night may not be about who wins their party’s nomination, but about who makes it through.

With crowded fields for governor, Congress and other statewide offices, many candidates face a more immediate challenge of clearing the threshold needed to avoid elimination, stay in their race and advance to a potential runoff June 23.

Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. statewide.

Here’s what you need to know about casting a primary ballot:

Who can vote?
South Carolina has an open primary system. This means any registered voter may cast a ballot in either party’s primary — but not both.

That’s important in case a contest goes to a runoff, which is widely expected in many of the state’s major contests this year due to the large candidate fields.

For example, if you vote in a Republican primary for Congress, you cannot vote in any potential Democratic primary runoff in the same contest two weeks later.

S.C. races to watch
The marquee contest is South Carolina's open governor's race, the first battle for the state's top job without an incumbent on the ballot in 16 years. A crowded five-way Republican field means the contest could be headed for a runoff. (Former candidate Josh Kimbrell dropped out last week). Democrats have three choices for governor to pick from.

Voters will also help shape races for attorney general, agriculture commissioner, Congress and several other statewide offices.

Plus, Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is seeking a fifth term in Washington, faces five GOP challengers.

Multiple races could advance to a runoff.

What is a runoff, and why does it happen?
For any race on the ballot, candidates must secure more than 50 percent of the vote to win the nomination outright.

If no candidate secures a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a June 23 runoff.

How can I look up my ballot?
To double-check the races that will appear on your ballot, visit the state Election Commission website at scvotes.gov. At the top of the homepage, click the word “Voters.” Then click “Get My Sample Ballot.”

Where do I vote?
Your voting precinct and polling place are determined by your address and should be listed on your voter registration card.

To check your voting location, visit the S.C. Election Commission website at scvotes.gov. At the top of the homepage, click the word “Voters.” Then click “Check Your Voter Registration” or “Find My Polling Place.”

You can also contact your county voter registration office directly.

What should I bring to vote?
To vote in the election, you will need one of the following forms of photo ID:

S.C. driver’s license

S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles ID card, which would include an S.C. concealed weapons permit

U.S. passport

S.C. voter registration card with photo

Federal military ID, which would include all Department of Defense photo IDs and the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits card

If you do not have proper photo ID but are registered to vote, you can cast a provisional ballot that will be recorded once your eligibility is verified.

What can I expect at the polls?
Most polling places are community hubs, like schools and churches.

On Election Day, these locations will be surrounded by campaign signs for various political races. You may also see people waving signs as you get closer to the polling site.

Sometimes, candidates or campaign staffers will be shaking hands and talking to voters. They are allowed to do that right up to the entrance.

However, any campaign signs or materials must be at least 500 feet from the polling entrance. Inside the polling place, no campaigning is allowed.

What did early voting in S.C. look like?
There are some 3.3 million registered voters in South Carolina. Voters in South Carolina do not register by party.

But when early voting ended on June 5, a total of 319,367 ballots had already been cast in the state primary.

In the 2024 statewide primaries, overall turnout was just shy of 14 percent, with about 4 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the Democratic primary and about 9 percent in the Republican primary.

When will we know who won?
It all depends on how quickly election officials can tally up the results. Polls close at 7 p.m. and election staffers will begin the process then.

If you are in line before 7 p.m. and have not cast your ballot, you still will be allowed to vote.

The Post and Courier will be covering the races all day and night. Check postandcourier.com for results and analysis.

06/02/2026

Districts Are Investing Billions in School Safety: Here’s What Actually Keeps Students Safe
PUBLISHED APRIL 28, 2026
Jennifer DePaoli, Senior Researcher Learning Policy Institute

American schools spend more than $4 billion every year on physical hardening measures, including metal detectors, surveillance cameras, and weapons detection systems, to try to keep students safe. But the evidence that these investments work is thin, and in some cases, evidence shows they may lead to greater harm. This spring, many U.S. school administrators will make purchasing decisions investing in further school hardening. Unfortunately, in the name of keeping students safe in school, they may unintentionally be doing the opposite: deploying technologies that erode the trust, belonging, and psychological security that researchers say are the actual foundations of a safe school.

Meanwhile, research consistently points to a different answer: The most successful strategies to prevent violence aren't hardware based—they depend on students feeling connected, trusted, and supported.

The school safety technology used in schools today has expanded well beyond metal detectors and security cameras. Districts are now purchasing visitor management systems, weapons scanners, drones designed to stop attacks, AI systems that claim to identify weapons before they enter a building, and software that continuously monitors everything students type on school devices. Most of these tools have limited or no documentation on their effectiveness in making schools safe, and several have already led to damaging outcomes for students, including suspensions, expulsions, arrests, and wrongful police confrontations. AI systems have been at the center of some of these concerning incidents, including:

AI-Integrated Weapons Detection Systems. Some have sparked wrongful arrests of students in several states. One middle school in Florida was shut down and police dispatched to the scene after the surveillance system flagged the presence of a suspected weapon "being held in the position of a shouldered rifle," which, upon further review, turned out to be a clarinet. Another incident saw a Maryland high school student confronted at gunpoint and handcuffed by police after his school's AI detection systemmisidentified a bag of chips as a weapon. There is little to no empirical evidence that AI systems actually prevent shootings.

License Plate Readers. Some U.S. police departments search a national license plate reader database that includes data gathered from AI surveillance and school district security cameras to assist federal immigration enforcement. The practice raises serious concerns about whether school surveillance technology purchased for student safety is being repurposed to target students and families without school districts' knowledge or consent.

AI Monitoring of Students' School Accounts. Two federal lawsuits have been brought by students and parents in Arizona and Kansas challenging their school districts' use of Gaggle, an AI platform that continually monitors students' school-issued accounts, violating their privacy rights. In one of these lawsuits, plaintiffs claim the software deleted student photography and artwork after incorrectly flagging them as indecent. Both lawsuits allege violations of students' constitutional rights.

What Works in School Safety

As school, district, and state leaders confront growing concerns about student safety, these technologies can appear to offer simple, tangible solutions. Yet mounting evidence raises serious concerns about their impacts, while research demonstrating their effectiveness remains limited. As investments in unproven safety technologies continue to grow, it is critical that leaders understand the potential harms these tools can pose to school communities and instead prioritize research-backed strategies to improve school safety.

What works? The evidence behind various school safety approaches is compelling. Overwhelmingly, it indicates that the best way to keep students safe in schools is not just to attend to students' physical safety, but to ensure their psychological sense of safety as well. This means focusing on evidence-based strategies, including the following:

Build Trusting Relationships. Positive, stable relationships between students and school staff can help prevent physical violence and bullying. A major national study of more than 36,000 secondary students found that school connectedness reduced the rates of school absenteeism, substance abuse, and violence. Research also shows that positive relationships significantly enhanced the odds of students communicating potential threats to adults. Notably, student bystanders who came forward with knowledge of a threat were more likely to have a trusting relationship with one or more adults in the school.

Create Positive School Climates. Successful violence prevention strategies include the use of comprehensive school safety plans grounded in providing environments where students feel a strong sense of belonging. The National Institute of Justice's school safety framework names school climate as one of three core components for effectively preventing school violence. A research synthesis found compelling evidence linking a positive school climate to school safety, highlighting increased feelings of connectedness and positive perceptions of physical and emotional safety among students, as well as decreased negative behaviors, including aggression and violence.

Provide Mental Health Supports in Schools. Effective school counselors can reduce disciplinary incidents and disciplinary recidivism and improve students' academic achievement and teachers' perceptions of school climate and student behavior, especially for boys. However, schools' ability to provide the needed support is strained. On average, public schools have only one counselor for every 372 students and only one school psychologist for every 1,071 students. Just under half of all schools offer mental health treatment services.

Implement Restorative Practices and Programs. Such programs consistently improve school safety, reduce the use of exclusionary discipline, decrease rates of student misbehavior, and improve school climate. High rates of student exposure to restorative practices at school also increased achievement and reduced mental health challenges. While 60% of schools reported using some form of restorative practices in 2019–20, studies confirm implementation challenges that require more intensive investments in professional development.

American schools spend over $4 billion annually on physical security technologies like AI weapons detection and surveillance, yet evidence for their effectiveness is thin and some have caused student harm. Research consistently shows that safety is better achieved through trusting relationships, pos...

05/06/2026

The Charleston County School District is marking Mental Health Awareness Day with new resources for students and families. See the support available across local schools ⤵️

05/06/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month 💚

Taking care of our mental health is just as important as caring for our physical well-being. That’s why our district is proud to offer a series of sessions designed to support students, staff, and families.

From stress management to building healthy habits, these sessions provide valuable tools and resources to help our community thrive—both inside and outside the classroom.

Let’s work together to break the stigma, start conversations, and support one another.

📅 Check out upcoming session dates and details below!!

05/06/2026