[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 422 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 422

 To provide grants to reduce the number of homicides and the incidents 
    of violence by students, ages 13 to 21, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

Mr. Towns introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to 
        the Committees on Education and Labor and the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide grants to reduce the number of homicides and the incidents 
    of violence by students, ages 13 to 21, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Youth Homicide Violence Reduction 
and Mediation Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to establish education, behavior 
modification, conflict negotiation programs with community and parental 
participation--
            (1) to reduce the incidence of homicide and violence of 
        students ages 13 to 21;
            (2) to reduce the use of guns by such age group; and
            (3) promote anti-gun education.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
may make grants to local educational agencies to provide assistance to 
such agencies most directly affected by crime and violence.
    (b) Priority.--The Director shall give priority consideration to 
local educational agencies in urban areas in which the homicide rate 
for youth has increased by more than five percent in comparison to the 
preceding year or exceeds the State or national homicide rate for youth 
by more than seven percent.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY.

    To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, a local 
educational agency shall give assurances that it has developed, or is 
in the process of developing, violence reduction and peer counseling 
programs as part of the educational curriculum at each school.

SEC. 5. USES OF FUNDS.

    Grants made by the Director under this Act may be used--
            (1) to fund training programs for teachers and counseling 
        staff to assist students in the effective use of interpersonal 
        and negotiation skills, with priority given to minority 
        teachers and counselors and to teachers and counselors who work 
        with a diverse ethnic student population or in a school with 
        repeated violence problems;
            (2) for counseling programs for victims and witnesses of 
        crime in schools;
            (3) to develop programs for conflict resolution and peer 
        mediation counseling for students, teachers, and other 
        personnel in regular contact with students at school; and
            (4) to train parents and community members in effective 
        techniques that reduce violence and promote mediation.

SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant under 
this Act in any fiscal year, a local educational agency shall submit an 
application to the Director in such form and containing such 
information as the Director may reasonably require.
    (b) Requirements.--Each application under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a request for funds for the purposes described in 
        section 5;
            (2) a description of the schools and communities to be 
        served by the grant, including the nature of the crime and 
        violence problems within such schools;
            (3) a plan that describes how to reduce violence and 
        minimize the number of repeat offenders;
            (4) assurances that Federal funds received under this Act 
        shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds 
        that would otherwise be available for activities funded under 
        this Act; and
            (5) statistical information in such form and containing 
        such information that the Director may require regarding 
        violence, violent threats, and homicides within the schools 
        served by such local educational agency.

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

    (a) Report.--Local educational agencies that receive funds under 
this Act shall submit to the Director a report not later than July 31 
of each year in which grants are made available under this Act that 
describes progress achieved in carrying out the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The Director shall submit to the Congress 
a report by August 31 of each year in which grants are made available 
under this Act which shall contain a detailed statement regarding grant 
awards, activities of grant recipients, a compilation of statistical 
information submitted by applicants, and an evaluation of programs 
established under this Act.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act--
            (1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Bureau 
        of Justice Assistance;
            (2) the term ``local educational agency'' has the same 
        meaning given such term under section 1471(12) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
            (3) the term ``youth'' means individuals age 13 through 21.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for 1994 and 
1995 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1996 to carry 
out this Act.

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