This article provides a brief history of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), including an analysis of the demographic shifts and the tensions between the African American and Korean American communities at the time of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. The article includes my own experiences teaching high school English during the…

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…

A task force was appointed by the California School Boards Association to investigate the increase in violence and vandalism and to recommend courses of action. The task force found four changes in society contributing to the increase: (1) the breakdown of the home and family unit, (2) the lack of self-discipline in children and the absence of…

Three problems of New York City (New York) schools--overpopulation, low academic standards, violence--are examined, and an effort led by parent and teacher organizations to improve conditions is described. Threatened closings (schools under registration review, SURR) and a program of violence reduction (Straight Talk about Risks, STAR) are noted.…

This is a report of oversight hearings held in Washington, D.C., on January 23 and 24 and February 5, 6, and 7, 1980, to provide the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the Committee of Education and Labor, with a general picture of the current state of American secondary education. The focus…

Presents an overview of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, a key federal program that provides funding directly to states and local educational agencies to facilitate drug and violence prevention programs. The Gun-Free Schools Act is also examined, and the major challenges communities face in correcting school safety problems are…

Focuses on judicial reception of schools' attempts to curb violence, particularly predatory violence and psychopathological violence. School responses have been to create violence-prevention policies based on punitive measures or punish offending behavior after it has occurred. Such reactions may result in finding that schools have abridged…

This paper offers an analysis of urban youth gangs and intervention and prevention strategies for schools, and describes an example of a Cleveland (Ohio) school-wide response. After reviewing the scope of the problem and recent attention to gangs and youth violence, the paper looks at why youth join gangs and lists 12 conditions. Another section…

Provides a personal view of a midsized urban school district's efforts to implement conflict-resolution programs throughout the district. The authors present the different approaches used and reflect on the successes or failures of each approach. Recommendations for overcoming common obstacles in program development are offered. (GLR)