NCJ Number
110565
Journal
School Safety Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 4-8
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The ramifications of a negative school experience are so great both for individuals and society that efforts are needed to assure that schools are free from disruptive behavior and crime to prevent negative experiences from occurring.
Abstract
Few people who have attended school have escaped some form of harassment. Students who feel different from others and unable to fit in positively may become behavioral problems, however. For example, students with learning disabilities, which are often unidentified, have an increased tendency to behave delinquently. Other problems that may complicate students' efforts to fit in include ethnic, racial, or religious differences, social or economic differences, or even cultural or language barriers. Students typically respond to these issues with a classic reaction to stress: fight or flight. Preventing negative experiences and responses requires efforts to assure for all students the ideal of equality of educational opportunity. Decisions of the United States Supreme Court have established student rights, and schools have paralleled these rights with the concept of student responsibilities. However, rights are empty unless the schools in which they are assured are safe and welcoming. Thus, school law is being reshaped to assure students a right to safe schools. 13 footnotes.