Following a review of statistics on the rise of violence and vandalism in schools, this document presents a checklist for assessing a school's security strengths and weaknesses. The discussion of a reporting system covers items that should be included in such reports, an offense classification system, and uses for the data. It also recommends developing an action plan to prevent situations from escalating out of control. Factors associated with school violence are identified, such as unfair enforcement of rules, the presence of nonstudent youth around the school, and lax administration. General prevention techniques that are especially effective during nonschool hours are also detailed, including controlling access to the school and repairing any damage immediately. An overview of security options available to school administrators begins with target hardening programs to make the school less physically vulnerable to damage. Areas considered include the perimeter, parking lots, playgrounds, landscaping, fencing, exterior lighting, building design, and visitor control. The section on building security addresses doors, windows, areas and items to secure, property identification, inventory, and key control. Basic, intermediate, and advanced security systems are described, with attention to alarms and security officers. References, building diagrams, and examples of school crime reporting forms are provided.