IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 90

Expressing the sense of Congress that all Members mourn the loss of life

at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and condemn this

and previous incidents of deadly violence in our Nation’s schools.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 21, 1999

Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mrs. JONES of Ohio) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education

and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary,

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the

committee concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that all Members mourn

the loss of life at Columbine High School in Littleton,

Colorado, and condemn this and previous incidents of

deadly violence in our Nation’s schools.

Whereas it is clear that school violence is a national problem,

as the country has witnessed increasing acts of intense

violence in Springfield, Oregon, Fayetteville, Tennessee,

Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Jonesboro, Arkansas, West Paducah, Kentucky, and Pearl, Mississippi;

Whereas this increased violence in our schools not only clouds

the educational environment, making it harder for students of all ages to obtain a quality education and pursue
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their dreams, but also rips at the heart of our communities;

Whereas this specter of violence robs parents of their children, students of their friends, and society of its future

leaders;

Whereas these incidents of violence raise many questions

about why some individuals turn to guns and hatred to

express their frustrations with the world, and about our

inability to reach out to them before it is too late;

Whereas the anguish that consumes some children and leads

them to destructive behavior must be addressed;

Whereas 57 percent of violent crimes committed by juveniles

occur on school days;

Whereas a comprehensive system to address crime in our Nation’s schools is not in place and it is necessary to ensure

that every school has a professional trained to recognize

and combat school-related crime, disorder problems, and

the signs of gang and drug activity;

Whereas our schools should be havens for the pursuit of

knowledge, not places where children fear for their safety;

Whereas we should expand crime prevention efforts for students and educate school-age individuals in crime prevention, conflict resolution, and personal safety;

Whereas we should provide our communities with the resources necessary to prevent juvenile crime, but funding

for school resource officers in our schools is insufficient;

and

Whereas we should establish school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school

systems by using school resource officers who operate in
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and around elementary and secondary schools to combat

school-related crime, such as the Community Oriented

Policing Services program: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that we

2 must redouble our efforts to combat school violence and

3 expand community justice initiatives for students by in4 creasing funding for school resource officers through the

5 Community Oriented Policing Services program.

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