[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       OUR PART FOR SCHOOL SAFETY

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, over the last few years, high profile 
school shootings across this country have left teachers, parents, and 
students scared and confused. In response, the FBI has conducted an 
exhaustive study on school shootings in an effort to assess, intervene 
and prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. The report, 
entitled, ``School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective,'' 
recommends specific steps for school officials to take to prevent youth 
violence. The report notes that in the vast majority of cases, kids do 
not turn violent overnight. Instead, those who become violent tend to 
exhibit increasingly disturbing patterns of behavior as their 
fascination with violence builds. By learning to recognize these 
behavioral signs, teachers and students can be prepared to investigate 
and intervene before potentially violent situations get out of control.
  The FBI report goes on to suggest specific measures schools can take 
to head off potential shootings. The report recommends that students 
and faculty should be trained to recognize certain warning signs that 
students may be considering committing violent acts; groups of faculty 
and students should be established to encourage students not to keep 
silent when they recognize potential threats; programs should be 
developed to teach parents to recognize behavior that may indicate that 
their children are prone to acts of violence. In addition to these 
preventive measures, the FBI recommends that schools establish 
specially trained Threat Assessment Teams to handle evaluating and 
responding to threats if and when they arise.
  The FBI warns teachers, parents, and students that they should not 
ignore any threat of violence. We in Congress should follow the same 
advice. Yet, while parents and school officials are pursuing more 
vigorous responses to potential violence, we in Congress seem to be 
less responsive to such danger. Over the last few years, many of us in 
Congress have continually tried to close the loopholes in our laws that 
permit school children to gain access to firearms. Unfortunately, our 
efforts have been stymied by the leadership in the House of 
Representatives. In a few weeks, this session of Congress will come to 
an end. Before we adjourn, let's do our part and reduce the threat of 
gun violence in our schools and communities.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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