Arjun Sharda

A new piece by Arjun Sharda argues that Texas officials recognize students are essential to identifying danger in schools, but have been slower to include young people in decisions about how schools prevent and respond to threats. The essay calls for students to have a role alongside adults in shaping school safety policy. The argument is drawing attention in education discussions about student participation in safety planning.

Every Texas school district is required by law to form a safety and security committee, including school board members, law enforcement and medical professionals, a teacher, and parents. Writing in the Texas Observer, Arjun Sharda argues that students — the people most directly affected by school safety policies — are conspicuously absent from these required panels, and calls that exclusion a meaningful gap in how districts approach safety.