Aggression against people working with schoolchildren has been increasing steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a spike in workers compensation claims even though claims are rarely filed for injuries stemming from such violence, experts say.
Violence and aggression against educators, which was on the rise pre-pandemic, rebounded “sharply” after 2022, with 56% of teachers reporting physical violence from students in the post-COVID school year, up from 42% pre-pandemic, according to a 2024 study led by the American Psychological Association.
In that study, 80% of teachers said they experienced verbal or threatening aggression — up from 65% before the pandemic.
Students aren’t the only perpetrators: 26% reported post pandemic physical violence from parents.
In a separate study, half of 1,100 educators and school staff surveyed in Colorado reported that they had been injured by a student, according to a report released in June by the Colorado Office of School Safety. Seventy-four percent had seen a student try to hurt them or another adult.
The numbers revealed a “significant” problem with violence in schools, “contrary to prior limited data suggesting only isolated incidents,” said The Confluence Policy and Strategy Group, which conducted the survey.
Claims data, while spiking, doesn’t show such a surge encompassing anywhere near half of all educators, according to experts.
Gallagher Bassett has been monitoring student-on-teacher violence claims. While they decreased last year, the number for the 2024-2025 school year rose by more than 35% compared with the previous year, aligning with pre-pandemic figures that indicate school violence is on the rise, said Greg McKenna, the company’s Rolling Meadows, Illinois-based national practice leader for the public sector.
The most recent tally for the last school year is 1,030 “assault” claims nationwide for K-12 schools, costing employers $7.4 million. The claims run the gamut in terms of severity and often include a mental health component, Mr. McKenna said.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which has data only for private schools, has noticed a slight uptick in claims, said Sandra Kipust, senior practice leader and actuary with the Boca Raton, Florida-based organization. Teacher claims historically are for slips, trips and falls, she said, but the new trend, classified as “struck by” an object or person, has appeared in recent years, representing a significant number of claims. The NCCI is studying workplace violence overall, and the uptick in school claims stood out in the data, Ms. Kipust said.
Christine Harms, director of the Lakewood, Colorado-based state Office of School Safety, said the results of that state’s survey — which are required by a state law passed in 2023 — were “surprising,” as there was “very little data” on school injuries, she said.
But even with the increase, many violence-related injuries in schools never become workers comp claims. Less-serious injuries historically seldom turn into workers comp claims, as some in education have believed that aggression against them is part of the job, according to Gallagher Bassett’s Mr. McKenna, who compared the sentiment to that of health care workers, who are prone to violence committed against them.
In education, the issue is complicated by the vulnerability of the perpetrators — students — who are often protected by the institutions that serve them, he said. That some students have special needs and are prone to aggression also complicates the issue, he said.
“It’s the nature of a teacher who got into education to have done so for the benefit of students, so, oftentimes, they are giving the student the benefit of the doubt or understanding that there are a number of factors that may be affecting that student,” Mr. McKenna said. “Potentially reporting a claim like this may have some adverse effect on that student’s education or their trajectory, or their ability to be in school.”
If all injuries to K-12 school staff were filed as workers comp claims, the numbers would soar, experts say.
The recent focus on workplace violence has spanned all industries, including education, and is leading to more safety training related to threat assessments and de-escalation techniques, experts say (see related story below).
Several factors can complicate claims and risk management for K-12 schools in particular, according to Matt Zender, Las Vegas-based senior vice president of workers compensation product management for AmTrust Financial Services.
“These include turnover, which can complicate training efforts, an aging workforce, which can compound injuries and frustrate recovery times, teacher shortages, which can place stress on available resources, and antiquated school facilities that have not been properly updated to reflect emerging exposures,” he wrote in an email.
K-12 schools could look to universities for best practices in violence prevention, said Hillary Pettegrew, Bethesda, Maryland-based senior risk management counsel for United Educators, which insures schools.
One area is reporting threats and concerns regarding students suspected of being violent or exhibiting threatening behavior, she said.
“Higher education has been doing this quite well for years,” she said.
Schools urged to prepare staff to help them defuse dangerous situations
Threat assessment and de-escalation training are among the top risk management practices needed for K-12 schools, according to experts.
A first step is often in identifying situations where a teacher is likely to be injured, said Renata Elias, Seattle-based senior vice president at Marsh, who trains organizations on crisis management, assailant response and de-escalation techniques.
What she called “mitigation strategy” should include clear plans for when there is a threat “and then making sure that staff and teachers are trained so that they understand the process,” she said.
Such training is “key,” Matt Zender, Las Vegas-based senior vice president of workers compensation product management for AmTrust Financial Services, said in an email.
“A properly trained individual will have a much higher chance of reducing or removing the situation,” he wrote. “Because of the collective concern for the safety of both teachers and students, facilitating safety protocols should have complete buy-in. This will help allow protocols such as physical safety measures, guards, cameras, searches, and (weapons) detectors to be implemented.”
Data and analytics also can play a “big role by helping to identify and counsel at-risk students and tracking trends and risks to ensure that the risk management protocols being implemented truly reflect the needs of the community,” Mr. Zender wrote.
This article was first published in Business Insurance
