This paper has two purposes: First, we describe the components of the Student Ownership, Accountability, and Responsibility for School Safety (SOARS) framework in the context of the literature on school safety. Second, we offer outcomes from a pilot study testing the framework's impact on student perceptions of: (1) school belonging; (2) sense of…

Much of the research on school shootings emphasizes the need for peers, not school officials, to share information about students of concern. This qualitative case study examined the information school officials had prior to a school shooting, which left two students dead. The data came from school officials' deposition testimony and school…

Horrific events such as the fatal shooting of three high school students in Chardon, Ohio, in the winter of 2012 places tremendous pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that schools provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. To help curb school violence, schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies, which often…

While collegiate fraternity and sorority hazing are well documented problems that receive prominent attention, hazing at the high school level is also a serious issue. Across the nation, media headlines offer a continual reminder that high school hazing is not a phenomenon of the past. As high school principals seek ways to discourage and…

Hall and Hord's (2005) concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) served as the framework to study a districtwide implementation of Rachel's Challenge in Rockwall, Texas. This article describes CBAM principles and strategies that were used to increase awareness of the change process during the first year of implementing the character education program.…

Security personnel can help administrators develop ways to combat the ill effects crime has on education programs. (Author)

This study examined Columbine's impact on case outcomes related to student searches and its implications for civil liberties and school leader discretion. Using data from 236 court cases since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of New Jersey v. T.L.O. in 1985, critical search dimensions and outcomes (e.g., level of suspicion) were examined using…

The chair of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence explains the center's STAR (Straight Talk about Risks) program, a pre-K-12 curriculum designed to teach children how to reduce their chances of being victimized by gun violence. Students rehearse behaviors that may one day be life saving, such as resisting peer pressure and recognizing and…

Researchers queried school counselors throughout the United States 2 months prior to and 2 months following the April 1999 Columbine (CO) High School shootings. The counselors were asked whether or not they would breach a student's confidentiality in 26 specific scenarios. The "before" and "after" groups were demographically similar but differed…

Argues against the effectiveness of the family viewing plan described in an earlier issue of the "Bulletin," and offers recommendations urging the Federal Communications Commission to assume more of a social responsibility in regulating television. (IRT)

Mediation and conflict resolution have numerous school applications. School mediation programs create new forms for social interaction in which fighting and violence are unacceptable methods of resolving differences. The New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution has successfully applied mediation techniques to gang disputes, parent-child impasses,…

Although school tragedies are not totally preventable, they will be far more preventable if schools develop a written school safety plan. Components should include legally mandated safety drills, regularly scheduled school safety audits and evaluations, a student apparel policy, a schoolwide discipline plan, and a closed campus. (MLH)

Analyzes the responses of administrators in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area (California) to a survey concerning the types and causes of conflict and violence involving students in school and concerning attitudes, training, and policies that are effective in dealing with conflict. (PGD)

A nearly equal partner with the school and the family in teaching, training, and preparing our youth to accept responsibility is the law enforcement sector. (Author)

Competent school resource officers are knowledgeable about appropriate responses for dealing with resistance and violent confrontation. Application of locally acceptable response options to a given set of circumstances reduces the risk of liability for using force to control students and increases the likelihood of managing a potentially explosive…