Contact: Don Langan 202) 401-1576
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today issued the following statement on data released today that show a drop in violence rates at elementary and secondary schools nationwide between 1992 and 1999. The data were released jointly by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice statistics in a report entitled Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2001:
The report on school crime and victimization released today offers promising evidence that the efforts of communities, schools, law enforcement officials, faith-based and youth-serving organizations, and other local partners can lead to reductions in school violence. Better awareness of the need for safe schools, stronger programs based on research, and tougher policies all have made a difference in our classrooms.
While the school crime trend is moving in the right direction, and the number of students bringing weapons to school in particular has dropped by 42 percent, we can't let up on our efforts. Our young people cannot learn if they don't feel safe, and our teachers must be able to teach in classrooms free of violence and disruption. We must continue to work hand in hand with local law enforcement agencies, parents, and community and religious groups to ensure that our schools are safe havens for our children and their teachers.
Through the pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we are working at the federal level to strengthen the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program by emphasizing accountability for results and the use of scientifically based programs, while allowing schools and districts the flexibility they need to provide for the safety of their students and teachers.
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