[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1125 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1125
To help local school systems achieve Goal Six of the National Education
Goals, which provides that by the year 2000, every school in America
will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined
environment conducive to learning, by ensuring that all schools are
safe and free of violence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17 (legislative day, June 15), 1993
Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mrs. Kassebaum, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Jeffords, and
Mr. Pell) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To help local school systems achieve Goal Six of the National Education
Goals, which provides that by the year 2000, every school in America
will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined
environment conducive to learning, by ensuring that all schools are
safe and free of violence.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be
cited as the ``Safe School Act of 1993''.
safe schools program authorized
Sec. 2. (a) With funds appropriated under subsection (b)(1), the
Secretary shall make competitive grants to eligible local educational
agencies to carry out projects designed to achieve Goal Six of the
National Education Goals by helping to ensure that all schools are safe
and free of violence.
(b)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $100,000,000 for fiscal year
1995, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1996 and each
of the two succeeding fiscal years.
(2) The Secretary is authorized each fiscal year to reserve no more
than 5 percent of the amount appropriated under subsection (b)(1) to
carry out national leadership activities described in section 6.
eligible applicants
Sec. 3. (a) To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, a
local educational agency shall demonstrate in its application under
section 4(a) that it--
(1) receives assistance under section 1006 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (hereinafter
referred to as the ``ESEA'') or meets the criteria of clauses
(i) and (ii) of section 1006(a)(1)(A);
(2) services an area in which there is a high rate of--
(A) homicides committed by persons between the ages
5 to 18, inclusive;
(B) referrals of youth to juvenile court;
(C) youth under the supervision of the courts;
(D) expulsions and suspension of students from
school;
(E) referrals of youth, for disciplinary reasons,
to alternative schools; or
(F) victimization of youth by violence, crime, or
other forms of abuse; and
(3) has serious school crime, violence, and discipline
problems, as indicated by other appropriate data.
(b) For the purpose of this Act--
(1) ``the term local educational agency'' has the same
meaning given in section 1471(12) of the ESEA;
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Education.
applications and plans
Sec. 4. (a) In order to receive a grant under this Act, an eligible
local educational agency shall submit to the Secretary an application
that includes--
(1) an assessment of the current violence and crime
problems in the schools to be served by the grant and in the
community to be served by the applicant;
(2) an assurance that the applicant has written policies
regarding school safety, student discipline, and the
appropriate handling of violent or disruptive acts;
(3) a description of the schools and communities to be
served by the grant, the activities and projects to be carried
out with grant funds, and how these activities and projects
will help to reduce the current violence and crime problems in
the schools and communities served;
(4) if the local educational agency receives funds under
Goals 2000: Educate America Act, an explanation of how
activities assisted under this Act will be coordinated with and
support its systemic education improvement plan prepared under
that Act;
(5) the applicant's plan to establish school-level advisory
committees, which include faculty, parents, staff, and
students, for each school to be served by the grant and a
description of how each committee will assist in assessing that
school's violence and discipline problems as well as in
designing appropriate programs, policies, and practices to
combat those problems;
(6) the applicant's plan for collecting baseline and future
data, by individual schools, to monitor violence and discipline
problems and to measure its progress in achieving the purpose
of this Act;
(7) an assurance that grant funds under this Act will be
used to supplement and not to supplant State and local funds
that would, in the absence of funds under this Act, be made
available by the applicant for the purposes of the grant;
(8) an assurance that the applicant will cooperate with,
and provide assistance to, the Secretary in gathering
statistics and other data the Secretary determines are
necessary to determine the effectiveness of projects and
activities under this Act or the extent of school violence and
discipline problems throughout the Nation; and
(9) such other information as the Secretary may require.
(b) In order to receive funds under this Act for the second year of
a project, a grantee shall submit to the Secretary its comprehensive,
long-term, school safety plan for combating and preventing school
violence and discipline problems. Such plan must contain--
(1) a description of how the grantee will coordinate its
school crime and violence prevention efforts with education,
law-enforcement, judicial, health, social service, and other
appropriate agencies and organizations serving the community;
and
(2) if the grantee receives funds under the Goals 2000:
Educate America Act, an explanation of how the grantee's
comprehensive plan under this subsection is consistent with and
supports its systemic education improvement plan prepared under
that Act, if such explanation differs from that provided in the
grantee's application.
grants and use of funds
Sec. 5. (a) Grants under this Act may not exceed--
(1) two years in duration; and
(2) $3,000,000 for each year.
(b)(1) A local educational agency may use funds awarded under
section 2(a) for one or more of the following activities--
(A) identifying and assessing school violence and
discipline problems, including coordinating needs assessment
activities and education, law-enforcement, judicial, health,
social service, and other appropriate agencies and
organizations;
(B) conducting school safety reviews or violence prevention
reviews of programs, policies, practices, and facilities to
determine what changes are needed to reduce or prevent violence
and promote safety and discipline;
(C) planning for comprehensive, long-term strategies for
combating and preventing school violence and discipline
problems through the involvement and coordination of school
programs with other education, law-enforcement, judicial,
health, social service, and other appropriate agencies and
organizations;
(D) community education programs involving parents,
businesses, local government, the media, and other appropriate
entities about the local educational agency's plan to promote
school safety and reduce and prevent school violence and
discipline problems and the need for community support;
(E) coordination of school-based activities designed to
promote school safety and reduce or prevent school violence and
discipline problems with related efforts of education, law-
enforcement, judicial, health, social service, and other
appropriate agencies and organizations;
(F) developing and implementing violence prevention
activities, including--
(i) conflict resolution and social skills
development for students, teachers, aides, other school
personnel, and parents;
(ii) disciplinary alternatives to expulsion and
suspension of students who exhibit violent or anti-
social behavior;
(iii) student-led activities such as peer
mediation, peer counseling, and student courts; or
(iv) alternative after-school programs that provide
safe havens for students, which may include cultural,
recreational, and educational and instructional
activities;
(G) educating students and parents about the dangers of
guns and other weapons and the consequences of their use;
(H) developing and implementing innovative curricula to
prevent violence in schools and training staff how to stop
disruptive or violent behavior if it occurs;
(I) supporting ``safe zones of passage'' for students
between home and school through such measures as Drug- and
Weapon-Free School Zones, enhanced law enforcement, and
neighborhood patrols;
(J) counseling programs for victims and witnesses of school
violence and crime;
(K) minor remodeling to promote security and reduce the
risk of violence, such as removing lockers, installing better
lights, and upgrading locks;
(L) acquiring and installing metal detectors and hiring
security personnel;
(M) reimbursing law enforcement authorities for their
personnel who participate in school violence prevention
activities;
(N) evaluating its project under this Act;
(O) the cost of administering its project under this Act;
and
(P) other activities that meet the purposes of this Act.
(2) A local educational agency may use no more than--
(A) a total of 33 percent of its grant for activities
described in paragraph (1)(K), (L), and (M); and
(B) 5 percent of its grant for activities described in
paragraph (1)(O)
(3) A local educational agency may not use funds under this Act for
construction.
national leadership
Sec. 6. To carry out the purpose of this Act, the Secretary is
authorized to use funds reserved under section 2(b)(2) to conduct
national leadership activities such as research, program development
and evaluation, data collection, public awareness activities, training
and technical assistance, and peer review of applications under this
Act. The Secretary may carry out such activities directly, through
interagency agreements, or through grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements.
effective date
Sec. 7. This Act shall take effect upon enactment.
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