![[Table of Contents]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081120142536im_/http://www.ed.gov/icons/up.gif){kind=icon}
Annual Report on School Safety--October 1998
1. Provide leadership for school crime prevention.
As concern about school safety increases, elected officials are taking a leadership role in solving this pressing problem. Elected officials can:
Introduce and/or support legislation that will promote school safety.
Hold town meetings or conferences to raise awareness of school crime issues.
Attend school and community events for violence prevention.
Educate the public about crime prevention in speeches and press releases.
Endorse official reports and initiatives on school crime.
2. Support school crime prevention research.
Unfortunately, a great deal of the information available on the potential impact of existing violence prevention strategies is unscientific and unreliable. Quality evaluations need to be well designed and adequately financed. Public officials can promote the conduct and use of evaluations by establishing national or regional research centers, allocating funds for research projects, and focusing research dollars on the most promising strategies.
3. Encourage all schools to monitor and report crime.
Having a computerized monitoring and reporting system provides school staff with data on their own local needs to inform their choice of prevention strategies, build public support for crime prevention efforts, and identify troublesome areas on the campus which need to be redesigned or better supervised. Elected officials can support this effort through their advocacy role, legislation, attaching requirements to the receipt of program funds, or other means.
4. Begin a discussion of key legislative issues in school violence prevention.
These are the questions to consider when drafting new legislation:
Who should receive comprehensive risk screening and in what grades?
What type of data should be required of schools in a common reporting system?
What type of information should be shared between and among law enforcement agencies and schools?
What type of penalties should be assessed to a student who commits a crime or carries a weapon at school and should that student receive separate education services?
Should laws that require expulsion of firearm-possessing students include provisions for alternative educational placements and support services?
5. Build collaborations between and among local, State and Federal agencies to pool resources and maximize the use of effective approaches to school safety.
Law enforcement officials at the Federal, State and local levels can work with each other and with schools to enhance approaches to school safety.
Social service agencies can provide support to schools to improve and expand mental health services for children.
Juvenile justice organizations and courts can work with school officials to ensure children are receiving proper service and to support at-risk youth.
San Diego Unified School District San Diego, CA School Safety Focus:
Demographic Information:
Contact Information: The San Diego Unified School, in San Diego County, the sixth largest school district in the Nation. In the last decade, the County experienced an increase in juvenile violence and crime, especially in weapons charges. In response, the San Diego Unified School District developed a comprehensive approach to reduce youth violence and increase students' educational success. The district provides a race/human relations team which proactively deals with discrimination and gang issues, the Life Skills Program to prevent substance use and teen pregnancy (for more information about the Life Skills Program, refer to chapter 3, Model Programs), counselors and nurses in every elementary school, and multifaceted health, physical education, and wellness programs. The district has one of the oldest zero-tolerance policies in the country for guns and drugs in schools. Police officers, juvenile judges, and probation officers work with the schools to ensure that youth who break the law are held accountable, but also effectively diverted from leading a life of crime. Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) operate alternative educational environments for students who have been expelled for violence, weapon possession, and drug and alcohol violations. The district also protects its students with a variety of security measures including: school police; closed campuses; undercover police to detect drug use; a crisis team; an emergency operations center connected to all sites by radio; and emergency plans at each school. Positive outcomes include: less crime and truancy during the school day; students feel safe at school; tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use has decreased by 50 to 75 percent; use of multiple drugs has declined by as much as two-thirds; dropout rates have decreased; attendance has increased; and teen birth rates are down. |
[Model Programs]