What Every School Needs to Know About Active Shooter Drills

In the wake of increasing school shootings across the United States, school safety is no longer a secondary concern—it’s a fundamental expectation. Across school districts of all sizes, families want to know their children are safe when they attend school, educators want to feel supported in protecting their classrooms, and administrators must balance complex legal requirements, real-life risks, and the emotional well-being of students and staff members.  

Active shooter drills in schools have become a cornerstone of emergency preparedness. But as the frequency of mass shootings rises, so too do the questions: Are lockdown drills effective? When did they start? And are we doing enough to truly keep students and teachers safe? 

This blog explores the what active shooter drills in schools are, how they’ve evolved, and what best practices look like today, while highlighting ALICE Training® as a proactive, trauma-informed program that empowers communities through knowledge choice, and preparation. 

What Are Active Shooter Drills in Schools?

Active shooter drills in schools are structured practice scenarios designed to help students, teachers, and staff prepare for the possibility of an armed intruder, or violent critical incident, on campus. These drills allow participants to rehearse response options under controlled conditions, so they are better prepared in a real-life emergency. 

During drills, students and staff may practice actions such as:  

• Securing or barricading classroom doors
• Turning off lights and reducing visibility
• Communicating critical information
• Evacuating when safe to do so  

Traditional lockdown drills often rely on a single response: lock the door and hide. While this approach is widely accepted, it does not reflect the wide range of scenarios that can occur during an active shooter event.  

However, according to guidance provided by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 3000® for active shooter and hostile event response (ASHER), schools benefit from training that provides multiple response options rather than a one-size-fits-all.  

ALICE Training®, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate, equips schools with layered, situational strategies so individuals can make informed decisions based on what is happening around them.  

When Did Active Shooter Drills Start in Schools?

The use of active shooter drills in schools can be traced back to roughly 1999, after the Columbine High School shooting. Prior to that tragedy, emergency preparedness in K-12 schools focuses primarily on fires, severe weather, and medical emergencies.  

Columbine, and later incidents such as Virginia Tech in 2007, changed how school districts, police officers, and policymakers viewed internal threats. Over time, state agencies and the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance encouraging or requiring emergency drills related to violent intruders.  

While these mandates increased preparedness, they also sparked concerns about:  

• Student anxiety and trauma
• Age-appropriateness for younger learners
• Lack of consistency across school districts  

As a result, many schools began re-examining not just whether drills should occur, but how they are conducted and communicated.   

Do Active Shooter Drills Work?

Research and after-action reports consistently suggest that students and staff tend to rise to the level of their training in emergencies. When implemented correctly, drills help normalize procedures and enable students and staff to react more effectively during high stress situations.  

The benefits of well-designed active shooter drills in schools include: 

• Faster, more coordinated responses
• Improved communication protocols among staff members
• Familiarity with emergency exits, classroom layouts, and school building vulnerabilities
• Reduced chaos and confusions during real life incidents 

However, these benefits aren’t guaranteed. Poorly executed drills, especially those conducted without warning or explanation, can increase fear and undermine trust. This is why training quality and deliver matter just as much as the drill itself.  

Are Lockdown Drills Effective?

Lockdown-only drills remain common in many K-12 schools, but they offer limited flexibility. The traditional lockdown model (lock the door, turn off the lights, and hide in silence) assumes that hiding silently is always the safest option, which is not always the case.  

Passive lockdowns can leave students and teachers without any options. If a threat is already inside the classroom or nearby, remaining hidden may not even reduce risk. Additionally, lockdown-only procedures often lack real-time information, leaving occupants unsure whether it is safer to evacuate or take other protective actions.  

Modern best practices recognize that active shooter incidents are dynamic. A response that saves lives in one situation may not be appropriate in another.  

This is why more school districts are adopting multi-option, situational response models, like those taught in ALICE Training®.  

With ALICE Training®, participants learn to:  

• Recognize early warning signs
• Share critical information quickly
• Lock down and barricade when appropriate
• Evacuate when it is safe
• Use last-resort counter strategies only when unavoidable 

Trauma-Informed Alternatives to Traditional Drills

One of the most important conversations around active shooter drills in schools is their potential impact on student and staff mental health, particularly for younger students, high school students, or those with prior trauma.  

A trauma-informed approach doesn’t abandon preparedness. Instead, it prioritizes:  

• Age-appropriate language and instruction
• Transparent communication with students and families
• Emphasis on empowerment over fear 

ALICE Training® is built around these principles. Lessons are adapted so students can learn without being exposed to graphic scenarios or surprise simulations. Schools are encouraged to communicate with parents and caregivers ahead of time, recognizing that a family member may have concerns about how drills are conducted.  

As one ALICE-certified instructor explains, “We don’t want students to feel afraid to come to school. We want them to feel confident that they know what to do, just like we teach fire drills.” 

Best Practices for Implementing Effective Active Shooter Drills

Effective safety drills support safety while preserving trust in the learning environment. They should never feel deceptive or punitive, and they certainly shouldn’t ever feel like a surprise attack. When implemented thoughtfully, they help students and staff feel prepared, not panicked. 

Best practices include: 

• Communicate openly with parents and caregivers about the purpose and format of drills.
• Debrief after drills to address questions, concerns, and areas of confusion.
• Integrate drills into broader emergency plans, including medical response, reunification, and threat assessment.
• Train regularly, updating protocols based on feedback, new evidence, and community input.

Want to see these best practices in action? See how one Florida school district empowered students, staff, families, and local responders with trauma-informed active shooter training. Learn more!

How ALICE Training® Supports Safer School Communities

ALICE Training® has been a leader in school safety for over two decades, offering a more adaptable, research-backed alternative to passive lockdown-only drills.

• Multi-option response model that adapts to evolving situations
• Blended delivery through in-person, online, and hands-on instruction
• Certified trainers who understand school dynamics and trauma-informed instruction
• Trauma-informed, age-appropriate design that prioritizes empowerment over fear
• Community-wide approach including students, staff, parents, and local law enforcement

Many students report feeling more confident and prepared after completing ALICE Training®, especially when the approach is age-appropriate and trauma-informed.

ALICE doesn’t teach fear. It teaches agency, and that makes all the difference in a real emergency.

Safety Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

As concerns around gun violence in schools continue to amplify, the conversation around school drills must evolve. Checking a box is not enough. Students deserve training that prepares them without harming their well-being. Staff members deserve clear guidance. Families deserve transparency   

Lockdown-only drills are no longer sufficient on their own. 

Multi-option, trauma-informed strategies, like what ALICE Training® teaches, provides schools with a better path forward, one that supports safety, confidence, and collaboration, so students can attend school ready to learn.