An overview discusses the nature and extent of the problem of school safety and the elements of effective approaches. An article on the Federal Government's role notes that its major program designed to help local school districts create safe, disciplined, and drug-free learning settings is defined by the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994. An analysis of school uniforms noted the issues that must be addressed in developing a policy and presented the results of the policy of mandatory school uniforms in all 70 public elementary and middle schools in Long Beach, Calif. A discussion of the School Safety Program established in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (N.C.) School District in 1994 notes that it emphasizes problem-solving techniques and has achieved positive results so far. Schools for Peace (SFP), a school-based program for reducing and preventing violence among middle-school students, is discussed with respect to its content and processes and the factors that hinder or promote its implementation. The national nonprofit organization Cities in Schools, Inc. (CIS), is discussed in terms of its organization, its school-based model for providing services to youth at risk of dropping out, characteristics and perceptions of participating youth, and program elements consistent with efforts to improve school safety. Effective initiatives to address gang-related crime and violence in a large urban school district and a large suburban school district in Ohio are described, with emphasis on their implications for other school districts. Tables, notes, and chapter reference lists