School Violence

On March 24, 1998, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a false fire alarm brought middle-school students and teachers outside only to be fired on by two boys, ages eleven and thirteen; four students and one teacher were killed, and several others were injured. In April 1999, two young men opened fire in a high school in Littleton, Colorado, killing thirteen and injuring twenty-six. Acts of violence like these in American schools are a major concern at the local and national level and a routine component of the continuing debate about gun control. Youths aged ten to nineteen account for a significant portion of violent crime and for the growing number of people who are victims of violence (Flannery 1997).

Between 1989 and 1993, there was a dramatic increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles. Since 1993, youth violence has declined, according to arrest records and victimization data. However, information collected from youth self-reports estimates that there has been no decline since 1993 in violent acts committed by juveniles, and juvenile arrests for aggravated assault have declined only slightly and remain 70 percent above rates reported during the 1989 to 1993 epidemic. It is estimated that about 12 percent of the murders committed in the United States in 1997 involved a juvenile offender under the age of eighteen (Snyder and Sickmund 1999; Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General 2001). It is not surprising then that the increase in violence has also made schools less safe and that there is general agreement that reducing violence and increasing safety in schools is essential if children are to receive a meaningful education. An important societal goal is to make sure that schools provide a safe environment that is conducive to learning.