Recent research suggests that, on the whole, school discipline problems are not as widespread as the public believes. In 1975 the Bayh report depicted schools as hotbeds of violence and vandalism. Restudies of the Bayh data show the report was skewed toward large schools, where violence is more likely. The National Institute of Education's Safe School study and surveys of California and Indiana educators reveal that most schools have few violence problems and that most discipline problems do not involve violence. New information on the causes of school violence, provided by a New Jersey study and the Safe School data, help identify school, community, and student characteristics that accompany school violence. School characteristics correlated with violence include large size, overcrowding, lack of resources, and particular educational levels (especially junior high school); for communities, they include urban location and low socioeconomic status; and for students, they involve race, gender, and perceptions of disciplinary fairness and consistency. These results imply that school administrators can reduce violence by ensuring clear, firm school governance and by cooperating with teachers in setting school disciplinary policy. (Author/RW)