The article “A Call to Prioritize Safety in STEM and CTE: Addressing Overcrowded Classes and Other Critical Safety Issues” was recently published in the open access journal Laboratories (access the article for free at https://doi.org/10.3390/laboratories1010003). This short practitioner-focused article, co-authored by Drs. Tyler Love, Sandra Sturdivant West, and me, provides a detailed overview of some of the most pertinent health and safety issues from the literature and recent safety studies (e.g., overcrowding and occupancy load), with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and career and technical education (CTE) instructional spaces. In addition, the article provides important and relevant information for policymakers, state departments of education, teacher preparation programs, school systems, school administrators, curriculum directors, science educators, technology and engineering (T&E) educators, STEM educators, CTE educators, and other stakeholders to use when making data-informed decisions to improve safety in P–12 STEM education and CTE programs.

This article was very timely given the current expectations to engage students in crosscutting, hands-on practices related to these subject areas. Authentic hands-on learning experiences are essential for applying content and practices in STEM education and CTE. Valuable and necessary hands-on learning opportunities can also involve some level of potential safety hazards and resulting health and safety risks. Although some progress has been made over the decades regarding aspects of STEM and CTE program safety, numerous safety issues and barriers unfortunately still exist. 

The article begins by describing two recent accident cases (one involving science education and the other related to T&E education or CTE) from schools and showing how safety issues affect everyone. It then addresses specific safety issues, starting with occupancy load levels in instructional spaces. This is one of the major safety issues that studies show teachers have to deal with in STEM and CTE teaching/learning spaces. Teachers and leaders should be aware that studies have continually found that the greatest safety concern reported by STEM and CTE teachers is overcrowding (referred to as occupancy load). This is not surprising, as Love and Roy’s recent national study found that 57% of participating educators teaching STEM or CTE courses reported having class enrollments exceeding the research-supported student-to-teacher ratio of 24:1, while only 26% of those educators were teaching in facilities that met the required net square footage to legally facilitate laboratory-based instruction for more than 24 occupants. (Love, T. S., and Roy, K. R. 2022. Safer Engineering and CTE Instruction: A National STEM Education Imperative. What the Data Tells Us. International Technology and Engineering Educators Association: Reston, VA. https://www.iteea.org/Safety).

The legal Occupant Load Factor is based on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code. It specifies that all “labs, shops, and other vocational spaces” in schools (e.g., STEM, CTE, and makerspace areas) [NFPA. 2024. NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 2024 ed.; National Fire Protection Association: Quincy, MA] must provide 50 net square feet per occupant. Current research discovered that even when STEM and CTE areas have the net square footage (>1,200 net square feet) to facilitate more than 24 occupants, accident rates significantly increase once a student-to-instructor ratio of 24:1 is breached. [Love, T. S., Threeton, M. D., and Roy, K. R. (2024). A safety study on educators of technological and engineering design-based instruction in K–12 STEM-related courses. Journal of Technology Education. 35 (1). 32–52. https://doi.org/10.21061/jte.632]. Teachers and administrators/supervisors must be aware that non-compliance by school systems and administrators who either knowingly or unknowingly continue to perpetuate overcrowding and dangerous occupancy load levels creates situations that impede safer STEM and CTE teaching/learning. This can result in shared liability among the instructor, building administrator, and supervisor.

The article also addresses other prevalent STEM and CTE safety issues. For example, engineering controls including ventilation systems, patented SawStop table saw safety technology, fire protection equipment (e.g., fire extinguishers), eyewash stations, master shutoff switches, lockable flammable cabinets, non-skid strips and/or rubber matting on the floor near machines, and safety zones around potentially hazardous machine operator zones and laboratory activity areas were each found to be significantly correlated with accidents [Love, T. S., Roy, K., and Sirinides, P. 2023. A national study examining safety factors and training associated with STEM education and CTE laboratory accidents in the United States. Safety Science. 160, 106058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.106058]. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as appropriately sanitized eye protection for all occupants (e.g., safety glasses with side shields or indirectly vented safety goggles that meet the American National Standards Institute/International Safety Equipment Association (ANSI/ISEA) Z87.1 D3 standard), is a safety feature shown to be lacking in many STEM and CTE courses in the United States [Love, T. S., and Roy, K. R. 2022. Safer Engineering and CTE Instruction: A National STEM Education Imperative. What the Data Tells Us. International Technology and Engineering Educators Association: Reston, VA. https://www.iteea.org/Safety].

The final area the article addresses is safety training. Once safety hazards and health and safety risks are determined, safety actions must be taken. These actions involve engineering controls, safety protocols, PPE, and safety training. Helping teachers learn the necessary safety skills and provide the support needed to address this issue is a shared responsibility among university/college teacher preparation programs and school systems. For example, the article mentions one study that found educators who completed coursework covering safety topics and safer pedagogical methods during their undergraduate teacher preparation experience were 83% less likely to have had an accident occur in the STEM courses they taught. [Love, T. S., Threeton, M. D., and Roy, K. R. 2024. A safety study on educators of technological and engineering design-based instruction in K–12 STEM related courses. Journal of Technology Education 35 (1). 32–52. https://doi.org/10.21061/jte.632]. Training on safer classroom management strategies provided by school systems has also been shown to help improve safety.

Research results about the significant association between accident occurrences and the safety factors mentioned in Love, Roy, and West’s paper should be carefully reviewed and addressed by policymakers, state departments of education, teacher preparation programs, school systems, laboratory instructional space teachers, administrators/supervisors, school curriculum directors, school counselors, and educators. Ignoring these better professional safety and instructional practices published by reputable STEM and CTE safety scholars in top-tier peer-reviewed journals places stakeholders at risk of potentially being negligent or reckless in the event of an accident. Teachers are urged to download this free access article based on solid research and share it with their school system so the recommendations can be adopted to improve safety in their teaching/learning instructional spaces (e.g. laboratories, classrooms, field activities, etc.). Help protect your students, help protect your school, and help protect yourself!

"A Call to Prioritize Safety in STEM and CTE: Addressing Overcrowded Classes and Other Critical Safety Issues" by Tyler Love, Ken Roy, and Sandra West. Free access at https://www.mdpi.com/2813-8856/1/1/3.
 

Multiple publications focused on different aspects of STEM education and CTE safety have resulted from Love and Roy’s recent STEM and CTE study. The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association’s (ITEEA) Safety web page provides the links to many of these publications under the heading Additional Safety Resources. https://www.iteea.org/safety.  

Submit questions regarding health and safety issues in science/STEM instructional spaces to Ken Roy, NSTA Chief Safety Compliance Adviser, at safersci@gmail.com. Follow Ken Roy on X: @drroysafersci.