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Violence in the Schools: How America's School Boards Are Safeguarding Your Children

NCJ Number
157000
Date Published
1993
Length
115 pages
Annotation
This document reports the results of a survey of United States school districts to determine the extent to which violence was a problem, types of violence, and causes of violence. The districts were also asked to highlight efforts they have taken to address the problem and to discuss activities that were not successful.
Abstract
More than four out of five of all school districts responding to a National School Boards Association survey believe that the problem of school violence is worse than it was 5 years ago, with 35 percent believing that school violence has increased significantly. In addition to a section on The Epidemic of Violence in the Schools, which includes school districts' opinions, statistics, and suggestions, this document contains more than 750 specific descriptions of ways school districts are combating the problem of school violence. The suggestions are organized into 30 categories: (1) Alternative programs or schools; (2) Closed campus for lunch; (3) Closed-circuit TV; (4) Collaboration with other agencies; (5) Conflict resolution/mediation training/peer mediation; (6) Dress Code; (7) Drug-detecting dogs; (8) Safe havens for students; (9) Expulsion; (10) Gun-free school zones; (11) Home-school linkages; (12) Law-related education programs; (13) Locker searches; (14) Mentoring programs; (15) Metal detectors; (16) Multicultural sensitivity training; (17) Parent skill training; (18) Classroom phones; (19) School board policy; (20) Search and seizure; (21) School security personnel; (22) Specialized curriculum; (23) Staff development; (24) Student conduct/discipline code; (25) Student photo ID system; (26) Support groups; (27) Suspension; (28) Volunteer parent patrols; (29) Work opportunities; and (30) Other. There is a section containing information about school districts that responded to the survey. Figures, footnotes