[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 354 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 354

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 
                             school safety.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2007

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 
                             school safety.

    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 ``Safe Schools Against Violence in 
Education Act'' or the ``SAVE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of Education reports that--
                    (A) in 2003-2004, six States or outlying areas 
                (Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
                Puerto Rico, and Texas) reported a total of 47 schools 
                that were designated as persistently dangerous;
                    (B) in 2004-2005, four States or outlying areas 
                (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and South 
                Dakota) reported a total of 39 schools that were 
                designated as persistently dangerous;
                    (C) in 2005-2006, seven States or outlying areas 
                (Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, 
                Texas, and Puerto Rico) reported a total of 36 schools 
                that were designated as persistently dangerous; and
                    (D) in 2006-2007, seven States or outlying areas 
                (Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South 
                Dakota, Texas, and Puerto Rico) reported an original 
                finding of 34 schools that were designated as 
                persistently dangerous (a final finding is not yet 
                available).
            (2) In December 2006, the National Center for Education 
        Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics released a 
        joint report that contains the most recent data available on 
        crime and student safety, titled ``Indicators of School Crime 
        and Safety: 2006'' (the ``Indicators'' report).
            (3) The ``Indicators'' report is based on surveys, 
        research, and self-reported data; further it is not the most 
        current data available on K-12 school related crime.
            (4) The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) 
        was developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of 
        the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. NIBRS presents 
        comprehensive, detailed information about crime incidents to 
        law enforcement, researchers, governmental planners, students 
        of criminology, and the general public. NIBRS currently 
        collects data on all reported incidents of crime. This data is 
        included in an annual UCR report. Because NIBRS collects the 
        details of crime incidents, it provides great specificity in 
        reporting.
            (5) According to the ``Indicators'' report, in the 2004-
        2005 school year, there were an estimated 54,900,000 students 
        in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Preliminary data on fatal 
        victimization show youth ages 5 to 18 were victims of 28 
        school-associated violent deaths from July 1, 2004, through 
        June 30, 2005. In 2004, students ages 12 to 18 were victims of 
        about 1,400,000 nonfatal crimes at schools, including about 
        863,000 thefts and 583,000 violent crimes (simple assault and 
        serious violent crime), of which 107,000 were serious violent 
        crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault).
            (6) The ``Indicators'' report states that in 2005, 6 
        percent of students in grades 9-12 reported they had carried a 
        weapon on school property, and 10 percent of male students 
        carried a weapon on school property. Further, a February 2006 
        Department of Education report titled ``Report on the 
        Implementation of the Gun Free Schools Act of 1994 in the 
        States and Outlying Areas'' states that 2,143 students were 
        expelled for bringing or possessing a firearm. Of those, 58 
        percent were seniors, 31 percent were junior high, and 11 
        percent were elementary school.
            (7) The ``Indicators'' report states that in 2005, 6 
        percent of students ages 12-18 reported that they had been 
        afraid of attack at school or on the way to and from school.
            (8) The ``Indicators'' report states that in 2005, 6 
        percent of students ages 12-18 reported that they either 
        skipped school activities or avoided specific places in school 
        because they were fearful. Six percent of urban students, 4 
        percent of suburban students, and 3 percent of rural students 
        reported avoiding activities or places.
            (9) The ``Indicators'' report states in 2005, 24 percent of 
        students ages 12-18 reported that street gangs were present at 
        their school during the previous six months.
            (10) The ``Indicators'' report states in 2005, 28 percent 
        of students ages 12 to 18 reported having been bullied in 
        schools in the last 6 months.
            (11) The Office of the New York State Comptroller's May 
        2006 report found that at schools they sampled more than 80 
        percent of the documented incidents were not reported to the 
        State, and in a number of instances the most serious types of 
        incidents were unreported such as sexual offenses and incidents 
        involving the use of a weapon.
            (12) Accurate data is important to meet the educational 
        goal of safe climate for academic achievement. Accurate data 
        enables administrators to assess the impact of programs that 
        have been implemented to promote school safety and to assess 
        whether additional efforts are needed. Accurate data provides 
        the basis for grant applications and other funding. Accurate 
        data is useful in assessing the costs associated with 
        discipline problems and allocating resources appropriately. 
        Accurate data is useful in determining whether goals are being 
        accomplished and can assist in developing solutions for 
        prevention and intervention.
            (13) In its October 23, 2006, appearance before the 
        Secretary's advisory committee meeting on the unsafe school 
        choice option (USCO)and the identification of persistently 
        dangerous schools, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of 
        the Department of Education reported that it had audited five 
        States on the USCO: California, Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey, and 
        Texas. The OIG identified common trends in States' USCO 
        policies that are not consistent with the non-regulatory 
        guidance, including: common violent offenses being excluded 
        from the ``persistently dangerous'' determination; measuring 
        disciplinary outcomes rather than the occurrence of violent 
        incidents; and requiring thresholds to be met for two to three 
        consecutive years before identifying a schools as persistently 
        dangerous. Based on issues identified through the audits, the 
        OIG encouraged the Department and the Congress to consider 
        amending the USCO provision to require States to ensure that 
        their USCO policies meet three basic requirements: that all 
        violent incidents, according to State code, are factored into 
        the persistently dangerous school determination, without the 
        use of disciplinary action qualifiers; that benchmarks for 
        determinations of persistently dangerous schools are set at 
        reasonable levels that are supported by objective and reliable 
        data; and that determinations are identified based upon the 
        most current year of data.
            (14) On October 24, 2006, Secretary Spellings stated before 
        the advisory committee meeting on the unsafe school choice 
        option and the identification of persistently dangerous 
        schools, that ``better coordination and connection could be 
        made with that community both from the law enforcement side and 
        from the school side,'' and discussed the issue of data sharing 
        and information between law enforcement and educators.
            (15) The Center for Social and Emotional Education recently 
        commissioned a national survey of 40 school leaders 
        (principals, superintendents, State Department of Education and 
        national level leaders) from across America (MMS Education, 
        2006). Over 90 percent of the school leaders interviewed 
        indicated that school climate was an area of interest and 
        focus. In fact, 82 percent stated that school climate was an 
        ``extremely important'' or ``very important'' topic. 
        Importantly, 79 percent of the school leaders who used school 
        climate evaluations discovered that they generated positive 
        school improvement change.
            (16) There is a growing body of research that powerfully 
        supports the idea that how we feel about school--or school 
        climate--affects student learning and development.

SEC. 3. SCHOOL SAFETY CHOICE OPTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 9532 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7912) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 9532. SCHOOL SAFETY CHOICE OPTION.

    ``(a) In General.--Each State receiving funds under this Act shall 
establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that a student who 
is attending a public elementary or secondary school that does not have 
a safe climate for academic achievement, as determined by the State in 
consultation with a representative sample of local educational 
agencies, parent groups, and local law enforcement agencies or other 
experts in the area of school safety, or who becomes a victim of a 
violent criminal offense, as determined by State law, while in or on 
the grounds of or on a school bus of, or on a school function of, a 
public elementary school or secondary school that the student attends, 
be allowed to attend a safe public elementary school or secondary 
school within the local educational agency, including a public charter 
school. The policy shall further provide for the option of counseling 
or removal of the offender where appropriate.
    ``(b) Determinations of `Safe Climate'.--
            ``(1) In general.--A determination whether a school has a 
        safe climate for academic achievement for purposes of 
        subsection (a) must be based on verifiable data that is 
        reported in a consistent and uniform manner as prescribed by 
        the State education agency. The Secretary shall provide 
        guidance on what the best practices are for implementation and 
        monitoring of the policies required by this section.
            ``(2) School must develop plan.--If a school is determined 
        not to have a safe climate for academic achievement, it shall 
        develop and implement strategic and tactical interventions, 
        based on analysis of the data and issues of local concern, to 
        create a safer school environment.
            ``(3) Reporting by states.--Each State shall submit to the 
        Secretary for review its policies on how it determines whether 
        a school has a safe climate for academic achievement. If, after 
        review of the State's policies, the Secretary determines that 
        the policies would be ineffective in determining whether a 
        school has a safe climate for academic achievement, the 
        Secretary may require the State to redevelop those policies. 
        Each State shall report to the Secretary, on an annual basis, 
        the number of schools determined not to have a safe climate for 
        academic achievement, the number of students who have 
        transferred, and the number of offenders who have been removed 
        pursuant to this section.
            ``(4) Request that fbi provide information.--The Secretary 
        shall request the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation to make available for inclusion in the report on 
        Indicators of School Crime and Safety any data or other 
        information the Bureau has available, through the Uniform Crime 
        Reporting System or the National Incidents-Based Reporting 
        System, on the occurrence and incidence of school-related crime 
        in elementary and secondary schools. The Secretary shall make 
        available any data or other information it receives from the 
        Bureau to the States.
            ``(5) Inclusion in policies.--Each State shall, in 
        developing its policies on how it determines whether a school 
        has a safe climate for academic achievement, include 
        information on school related crime data, without the use of 
        disciplinary action qualifiers, reported pursuant to title IV 
        (including section 4141) and collected by the National 
        Incidents Based Reporting System, or information consistent 
        with that which is reported in the National Incident Based 
        Reporting System, if the State is not certified under that 
        system. The policies shall provide for the comparison and 
        evaluation for consistency of the information collected under 
        this section.
    ``(c) Parental Notification.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each State shall complete its 
        determinations under subsection (a) as to which schools do not 
        have a safe climate for academic achievement in time to permit 
        the local educational agencies to allow, at least 45 days 
        before the start of the school year, a student who would attend 
        such a school to instead attend a safe school, as provided in 
        subsection (a).
            ``(2) Notice.--After making such a determination, the State 
        shall notify the local educational agency of the determination. 
        Within a reasonable time after being so notified, the local 
        educational agency shall provide, to the custodial parent or 
        guardian of each student in the school, a notice of the 
        determination. The notice shall describe the determination and 
        explain that, by reason of the determination, the student is 
        allowed by subsection (a) to attend another school.
            ``(3) Form of notice.--A notice to a parent under paragraph 
        (2) shall be in an understandable and uniform format and, to 
        the extent practicable, in a language that the parent can 
        understand.
    ``(d) Evaluations by States.--Each State shall, on an ongoing 
basis, using verifiable documentation, evaluate the extent to which 
local educational agencies are in compliance with this section.
    ``(e) Certification.--As a condition of receiving funds under this 
Act, a State shall certify in writing to the Secretary that the State 
is in compliance with this section. The certification must be based on 
verifiable data that is reported in a consistent and uniform manner as 
prescribed by the State education agency.
    ``(f) Periodic Evaluation.--The Inspector General of the Department 
of Education shall conduct an independent annual evaluation of the 
extent to which States are in compliance with this section. Each annual 
evaluation shall cover a sample of States, selected on a rotating 
basis.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents at the beginning 
of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 9532 
and inserting the following:

``9532. School safety choice option.''.

SEC. 4. UNIFORM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION AND REPORTING SYSTEM RELATING TO 
              SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS.

    Section 4112 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7112) is amended in subsection (c)(3) as follows:
            (1) Certification.--Subparagraph (D) is amended by adding 
        at the end the following: ``For each school, the local 
        educational agency concerned shall certify to the State 
        education agency that the information reported under this 
        subparagraph is accurate and complete. Each State shall report 
        such information to the Secretary on an annual basis. A local 
        educational agency that intentionally fails to report complete 
        and accurate information is not in compliance with this 
        subparagraph and shall not, during any period of noncompliance, 
        receive any funds under this Act.''.
            (2) Multiple perpetrators.--Such subsection (c)(3) is 
        further amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Incident with multiple perpetrators.--For 
                purposes of this paragraph, an incident that involves 
                more than one perpetrator shall be treated as a single 
                incident with multiple perpetrators.
                    ``(G) Handbook for school crime, offense, and 
                incident reporting.--The Secretary shall publish a 
                handbook for school crime, offense, and incident 
                reporting, modeled after the Handbook for Campus Crime 
                Reporting, to provide clear guidance on specifically 
                what crimes, offenses, and incidents must be reported 
                to meet the reporting requirements of this paragraph. 
                The handbook shall provide assistance and explanation 
                in a step by step and readable manner, and provide 
                contact information if further assistance is necessary. 
                The handbook shall also include the recommendations of 
                the Secretary on using consistent national definitions 
                for the crimes, offenses, and incidents which are 
                required to be reported pursuant to this paragraph. The 
                first such handbook shall be published not later than 6 
                months after the date of the enactment of the Safe 
                Schools Against Violence in Education Act.
                    ``(H) Evaluations by states.--Each State shall, on 
                an ongoing basis, evaluate the extent to which local 
                educational agencies are in compliance with this 
                paragraph. The evaluation shall include an assessment 
                of the accuracy of the information described under 
                subparagraph (B).
                    ``(I) Periodic evaluation.--The Inspector General 
                of the Department of Education shall conduct an 
                independent annual evaluation of the extent to which 
                States are in compliance with this paragraph. Each 
                annual evaluation shall cover a sample of States, 
                selected on a rotating basis.''.

SEC. 5. GUN-FREE REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 4141 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7151) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``shall provide to the State, in the 
                application requesting such assistance--'' and 
                inserting ``shall, in the application requesting such 
                assistance or using a form designated by the State for 
                such purpose, provide to the State the following 
                information, together with a certification that the 
                information so provided is accurate and complete:'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ``; and'' at the 
                end and inserting a period;
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting after ``subsection (b),'' the 
                        following: ``or any modifications allowed under 
                        subsection (b) that result in removals or long-
                        term suspensions rather than expulsions,''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 
                        after ``expelled'' the following: ``or removed 
                        or suspended for a long term''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) a description of the circumstances surrounding every 
        incident in which any person who is not legally permitted to 
        possess a firearm, student or non-student, is determined to 
        have brought a firearm to a school or on a school bus or on a 
        school function or school-related activity, or to have 
        possessed a firearm at a school or on a school bus or during a 
        school function or school-related activity, under the 
        jurisdiction, control, and authority of that local educational 
        agency or its employees or agents, including--
                    ``(A) the name of the school concerned;
                    ``(B) the number of persons involved, student or 
                non-student, if any; and
                    ``(C) the type of firearms concerned.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Evaluations by States.--Each State shall, on an ongoing 
basis, evaluate the extent to which local educational agencies are in 
compliance with this section. The evaluation shall include an 
assessment of the accuracy of the information described in subsection 
(d). A local educational agency that intentionally fails to report 
complete and accurate information is not in compliance with this 
subsection and shall not, during any period of noncompliance, receive 
any funds under this Act.
    ``(j) Periodic Evaluation.--The Inspector General of the Department 
of Education shall conduct an independent annual evaluation of the 
extent to which States are in compliance with this section. Each annual 
evaluation shall cover a sample of States, selected on a rotating 
basis.''.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES FOR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 
              TO IMPLEMENT SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS.

    Section 4115 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(42 U.S.C. 7115) is amended in subsection (b)(2) by adding at the end 
the following:
                    ``(G) Establishing and implementing a comprehensive 
                school safety plan that incorporates input from the 
                community, including local law enforcement, and is 
                updated at least every year.
                    ``(H) Ensuring that all members of the school 
                district staff, including part-time employees and 
                substitute teachers, are trained in all necessary 
                elements of the comprehensive school safety plan.''.

SEC. 7. FUNDING PRIORITY FOR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT HAVE A SAFE CLIMATE 
              FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.

    Section 4121 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(42 U.S.C. 7131) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Priority for Schools That Do Not Have `Safe Climate'.--In 
determining which persons are to receive grants, contracts, and 
cooperative agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
consider the extent to which the proposed grant, contract, or 
cooperative agreement will benefit schools that do not have a safe 
climate for academic achievement and shall give extra weight to 
proposals that will benefit such schools.''.

SEC. 8. SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY.

    Section 4121(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 7131(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8) by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
            ``(9) the administration of a schoolwide climate survey of 
        students, parents, and school personnel that--
                    ``(A) should be used as a pre-post intervention 
                measure to--
                            ``(i) promote student participation and the 
                        recognition of ``student voice'';
                            ``(ii) build authentic school-home-
                        community partnerships;
                            ``(iii) promote an authentic learning 
                        community; and
                            ``(iv) create a collaborative plan for 
                        school improvement; and
                    ``(B) should measure--
                            ``(i) the degree to which collaborative 
                        leadership and a professional learning 
                        community exist, including--
                                    ``(I) the degree to which school 
                                administrators are effective in 
                                communicating with different role 
                                groups and in setting high performance 
                                expectations for teachers and students;
                                    ``(II) the establishment of an 
                                effective school leadership team; and
                                    ``(III) the amount and quality of 
                                involvement of parents and community 
                                members in the school;
                            ``(ii) the personalization of the school 
                        environment, including--
                                    ``(I) the quality of the 
                                interpersonal and professional 
                                relationships between teachers and 
                                students;
                                    ``(II) student self-discipline and 
                                tolerance for others; and
                                    ``(III) students' care and respect 
                                for one another and their mutual 
                                cooperation; and
                            ``(iii) the strength of the curriculum, 
                        instruction, and assessment, including--
                                    ``(I) student attention to task and 
                                concern for achievement at school;
                                    ``(II) the identification of a set 
                                of essential learnings in core academic 
                                areas in which students must 
                                demonstrate achievement in order to 
                                advance to the next level; and
                                    ``(III) the promotion of service 
                                programs and student activities as 
                                integral to an education, providing 
                                opportunities for all students that 
                                support and extend academic learning; 
                                and''.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS 
              AND COMMUNITIES.

    Section 4003 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7103) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``$650,000,000 for fiscal year 
                2002'' and inserting ``$700,000,000 for fiscal year 
                2008''; and
                    (B) by inserting before the semicolon the 
                following: ``, of which $15,000,000 shall be available 
                for each such fiscal year to carry out section 
                9532(b)(2)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``such sums for fiscal 
        year 2002'' and inserting ``$250,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2008''.
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