Safety has not been stressed adequately in most school systems, leaving students and teachers in unnecessary danger and schools subject to lawsuits. Creation of an effective school safety program involves establishing a written safety policy, appointing an active safety committee, and conducting safety inspections. (PGD)

James LaVine, a high-school junior, wrote a first-person fantasy about killing 28 people in school and then committing suicide. The district suspended him for 17 days. James and his father filed suit against the school district alleging that the emergency expulsion violated James' First Amendment rights. The District Court ruled for the LaVines…

Despite the school shooting on December 1, 1997, under current state law in Kentucky, school officials and administrators are not likely to be held accountable, even for ignoring the most obvious of warning signs. There should no longer be the rule barring liability that is called sovereign immunity. Instead, the court should examine the actions…

At present, there is an ongoing re-examination of the practicality of the existence of many small rural community schools. In some states there is a continuing battle over a new round of small school closings, and reconsolidation efforts are underway to once again change or reorganize the educational infrastructure of rural community schools.…

In this presentation, made to the White House Conference on Character and Community, the author advocates creating a preventive intervention system for chronic violence; that scientific research supports this system; that it is cost-beneficial to do so; and that it is necessary in order to help the next generation become productive citizens. He…

Among 17 conclusions and recommendations of a study on current policies and procedures related to campus safety at Florida institutions of higher education are the following: (1) there is a need for an expanded definition or additional category of crime for recording incidents involving students, either as victims or perpetrators, that occur in…

Parents generally expect public school districts to provide for their children's care and safety while they are at school. Although in the first half of the twentieth century common law tended to make school officials immune from suit, more recently public school districts, school employees, officers, and elected boards have been successfully sued…

Discusses the problem of using asbestos to insulate heating and air-conditioning systems in schools and mixing asbestos into ceiling plaster for fireproofing and noise control. Suggests that the Environmental Protection Agency's plan for asbestos removal may be causing problems where none exist. (TW)

This paper is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It addresses postsecondary campus safety. It discusses the changes in the concept of in loco parentis on college campuses; the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990; and legal principles applicable to…

This document describes President Clinton's call to action for American education in the 21st century. Strong, safe schools with clear standards of achievement and discipline, and talented and dedicated teachers in every classroom are needed. Priorities include: setting rigorous national standards, with national tests in fourth-grade reading and…

These Congressional hearings contain testimony dealing with vocational education, school lunch programs, asbestos in schools, and elementary and secondary educational programs. Included among those agencies and organizations represented at the hearings were the following: Ashland Vocational and Technical School in Ashland, Kentucky; Cabell County…

Twenty-seven categorical and topical reports by nationally preeminent scholars comprise this report, intended to provide background information for Congress in reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An introductory synthesis addresses principles of the IDEA, evidence of the Law's effectiveness and the effectiveness…