[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.

                                 <all>