[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[October 22, 1994]
[Page 1837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Safe Schools Legislation
October 22, 1994

    The single most important thing we can do to improve education for 
everybody in this country is to make schools safe. Violence against 
young people is a terrible national problem.
    Every other day, enough young people to fill a classroom are killed 
with guns. In California alone, two children are killed with guns every 
single day. We have got to put an end to this madness. And the first 
thing we need to do is to get those guns out of the hands of young 
people where they don't belong.
    The crime law makes it a Federal crime for a minor to carry a 
handgun except when supervised by an adult. Goals 2000 set a national 
standard for school safety and requires school districts to take the 
measures necessary to reach that standard.
    The elementary and secondary education act (ESEA) takes it a step 
further by making it clear that we simply cannot tolerate guns in our 
schools, and anyone who brings a gun to school just doesn't belong 
there.
    ESEA requires that States adopt a simple law: If somebody brings a 
gun to school, they'll be expelled for one year.
    This is common sense: There should be zero tolerance for guns in 
school. That's why I am directing the Secretary of Education to withhold 
funding to States that do not comply with this law.
    It's really very simple: Young students should not have to live in 
fear of young criminals who carry guns instead of books.

Note: The memorandum on implementation of safe schools legislation was 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 25.