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School Violence Prevention Task Force, Final Report

NCJ Number
186300
Date Published
May 2000
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This report of the Texas Attorney General's School Violence Prevention Task Force contains practical ideas and workable solutions for preventing school violence.
Abstract
The 22-member Task Force is composed of legislators, law enforcement officials, school representatives, and parents. The task force was divided into three groups, each with a different task. One group addressed issues of importance to students and their families. Another group focused on school-based issues, such as conflict resolution, crisis management, and security policies. The third group dealt with community-wide issues, such as violence in the media, gangs, and the need for safe after-school and weekend activities. This report is divided into four main categories of issues. The four categories are "General" (school safety clearinghouse, program implementation, and program evaluation); school (critical incident response plans, school safety audits, police in schools, conflict resolution, dress codes/uniforms, and truancy); student/parent (trauma's effect on early childhood development, student alienation, parental involvement, and students' "veil of silence"); and community (media violence and Internet safety, accessibility of weapons, gangs, after-school/weekend activities, youth mentoring, and information sharing). Each of the four sections is prefaced by a brief discussion of relevant topics and issues. They are then subdivided by recommendations applicable to each relevant topic area. Available statistics and/or task force testimony follow each recommendation. In addition, "action steps" that indicate possible measures that can be used to address a particular issue are frequently included. When available, examples of programs that target an aspect of the problem are summarized after the recommendation or action step. Appended supplemental resources