I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1556

To establish a National Commission on the Prevention of School Violence.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 26, 1999

Mr. GREENWOOD (for himself, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. KILDEE, Mr.

PICKERING, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. BERRY, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. MALONEY of

Connecticut, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BILIRAKIS,

and Mr. DEUTSCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To establish a National Commission on the Prevention of

School Violence.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Prevention of School Violence Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 (1) Students have a right to be safe and secure

8 in their persons while attending school.
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1 (2) While America’s schools are among the

2 safest places to be on a day-to-day basis, the recent

3 tragic and sudden acts of violence in some of our

4 Nation’s schools, including the incidents in Pearl,

5 Mississippi; Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkan6 sas; Springfield, Oregon; Edinboro, Pennsylvania;

7 Fayetteville, Tennessee; and Littleton, Colorado, re8 mind us that no school and no community can be

9 complacent in their efforts to make their schools

10 even safer and in doing so provide a high quality

11 learning environment for their students.

12 (3) There is an increasing and urgent need to

13 better understand the causes of violence committed

14 by students and to identify those initiatives and

15 strategies that are effective in preventing acts of vio16 lence in our schools.

17 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

18 THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE.

19 There is established a Commission to be known as

20 the ‘‘National Commission on the Prevention of School Vi21 olence’’ (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis22 sion’’).

23 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

24 (a) APPOINTMENT.—
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1 (1) GENERALLY.—The Commission shall be

2 composed of 11 members as follows:

3 (A) Three individuals shall be appointed by

4 the Speaker of the House.

5 (B) One individual shall be appointed by

6 the Minority Leader of the House.

7 (C) Three individuals shall be appointed by

8 the Majority Leader of the Senate.

9 (D) One individual shall be appointed by

10 the Minority Leader of the Senate.

11 (E) One individual shall be appointed by

12 the Secretary of Education.

13 (F) One individual shall be appointed by

14 the Attorney General.

15 (G) One individual shall be appointed by

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

17 (2) CONSULTATION BY APPOINTING OFFI18 CIALS.—The appointing officials shall consult with

19 each other on their appointments to assure the

20 qualifications set forth in subsection (b) are met.

21 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—

22 (1) GENERALLY.—Each of the individuals ap23 pointed under subsection (a) shall be—

24 (A) a nationally recognized individual

25 prominently acknowledged by that individual’s
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1 peers, through publication, awards, or other

2 such honors, as having expertise in fields re3 lated to child and adolescent behavior;

4 (B) an individual with expertise and expe5 rience in dealing with at-risk children and ado6 lescents; or

7 (C) an individual with expertise and expe8 rience in school safety and violence issues.

9 (2) SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS.—The expertise

10 of each individual appointed shall relate to the im11 pact of these issues on producing a high quality

12 learning experience. The panel shall include a parent

13 and a recent high school graduate from a school

14 where a recent violent incident has occurred. The

15 panel shall include professionals with expertise in

16 issues dealing with violent and delinquent youth, ju17 venile justice, or the impact of media and entertain18 ment on children and adolescents. Such professionals

19 shall be representative of the fields of psychology,

20 psychiatry, mental health, social work, school safety,

21 school counseling, behavioral science, juvenile justice;

22 the impact of media and entertainment on children

23 and adolescents. Whenever possible, preference shall

24 be given to those who are also parents.
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1 (c) CONSULTATION.—In the course of carrying out

2 their responsibilities, the members of the Commission shall

3 consult—

4 (1) experts from education, such as school ad5 ministrators, teachers, counselors, and principals;

6 (2) experts from the criminal justice field, such

7 as law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, and

8 juvenile probation officers;

9 (3) behavioral scientists with experience with

10 violent or delinquent youth;

11 (4) organizations or research facilities with ex12 pertise in school violence and safety issues;

13 (5) school safety experts such as school security

14 officials;

15 (6) school psychologists with experience in iden16 tifying youth at risk of violence;

17 (7) organizations with experience in dealing

18 with at risk youth;

19 (8) members of the public who come in contact

20 with at risk youth;

21 (9) public health officials who have studied vio22 lence as a public health problem;

23 (10) statisticians who have studied youth and

24 interpersonal violence;

25 (11) criminologists;
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1 (12) students and parents; and

2 (13) other experts in the field of school violence

3 and school safety issues.

4 (d) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

5 members of the Commission shall elect a Chairman and

6 a Vice Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson,

7 the Vice Chairperson will assume the duties of the Chair8 person.

9 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

10 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction

11 of business.

12 (f) APPOINTMENTS.—All appointments under sub13 section (a) shall be made within 30 days after the date

14 of enactment of this Act. In the event that an officer au15 thorized to make an appointment under subsection (a) has

16 not made such appointment within such 30 days, the ap17 pointment may be made for such officer as follows:

18 (1) the Chairman of the Committee on Edu19 cation and the Workforce may act under such sub20 section for the Speaker of the House of Representa21 tives;

22 (2) the Ranking Minority Member of the Com23 mittee on Education and the Workforce may act

24 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of

25 the House of Representatives;
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1 (3) the Chairman of the Committee on Labor

2 and Human Resources may act under such sub3 section for the Majority Leader of the Senate; and

4 (4) the Ranking Minority Member of the Com5 mittee on Labor and Human Resources may act

6 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of

7 the Senate.

8 (g) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission shall

9 be entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote

10 of every other member of the Commission.

11 (h) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission

12 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner

13 in which the original appointment was made.

14 (i) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL PAY.—Members of

15 the Commission shall receive no additional pay, allow16 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Com17 mission. Members appointed from among private citizens

18 of the United States may be allowed travel expenses, in19 cluding per diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by

20 law for persons serving intermittently in the government

21 service to the extent funds are available for such expenses.

22 (j) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of the

23 Commission shall occur within 40 days after the date of

24 enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—

3 The Commission shall study incidents of school violence.

4 To the extent feasible, the Commission shall interview the

5 perpetrators of school shootings, members of their fami6 lies, their friends, and associates, teachers, guidance coun7 selors, and other professionals who can provide insight

8 into the perpetrators experiences, feelings, and expres9 sions. The Commission shall make findings and specific

10 recommendations regarding the following:

11 (1) The extent, patterns, and root of the prob12 lem surrounding violence in and around schools, at

13 school events, and on the way to and from school.

14 (2) The key factors relating to school violence,

15 including the characteristics of both perpetrator and

16 victim, as well as their families and communities; the

17 relationship between perpetrator and victim; social

18 interactions; family dynamics; and the impact of en19 tertainment, media, and cultural influences.

20 (3) Successful approaches to preventing school

21 violence, including such programs as early identifica22 tion of troubled children, anger management, con23 flict resolution, and problem solving.

24 (4) Recommendations to parents, educators,

25 communities, and government entities as to those

26 programs and strategies that will best prevent school
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1 violence and ensure the safety of students, faculty,

2 and others, and lead to a high quality learning envi3 ronment.

4 (b) FINAL REPORT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

6 the Commission shall submit to the President and to

7 the Congress, not later than 1 year after the date

8 of the first meeting of the Commission, a report

9 which shall contain a detailed statement of the find10 ings and conclusions of the Commission, including

11 the Commission’s recommendations for administra12 tive and legislative action that the Commission con13 siders advisable.

14 (2) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED FOR REC15 OMMENDATIONS.—Any recommendation described in

16 paragraph (1) shall be made by the Commission to

17 the President and to the Congress only if such rec18 ommendation is adopted by a majority vote of the

19 members of the Commission who are present and

20 voting.

21 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

22 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur23 pose of carrying out this Act, hold such hearings and sit

24 and act at such times and places, as the Commission may

25 find advisable.
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1 (b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission

2 may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary

3 to establish the Commission’s procedures and to govern

4 the manner of the Commission’s operations, organization,

5 and personnel.

6 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

7 (1) INFORMATION.—The Commission may re8 quest from the head of any Federal agency or in9 strumentality such information as the Commission

10 may require for the purpose of this Act. Each such

11 agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent per12 mitted by law and subject to the exceptions set forth

13 in section 552 of title 5, United States Code (com14 monly referred to as the Freedom of Information

15 Act), furnish such information to the Commission,

16 upon request made by the Chairperson of the Com17 mission.

18 (2) FACILITIES AND SERVICES, PERSONNEL DE19 TAIL AUTHORIZED.—Upon request of the Chair20 person of the Commission, the head of any Federal

21 agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent pos22 sible and subject to the discretion of such head—

23 (A) make any of the facilities and services

24 of such agency or instrumentality available to

25 the Commission; and
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1 (B) detail any of the personnel of such

2 agency or instrumentality to the Commission,

3 on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Com4 mission in carrying out the Commission’s duties

5 under this Act.

6 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

7 States mails in the same manner and under the same con8 ditions as other Federal agencies.

9 (e) CONTRACTING.—The Commission, to such extent

10 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

11 Acts, may enter into contracts with State agencies, private

12 firms, institutions, and individuals for the purpose of con13 ducting research or surveys necessary to enable the Com14 mission to discharge the Commission’s duties under this

15 Act.

16 (f) STAFF.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

17 may be adopted by the Commission, and to such extent

18 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

19 Acts, the Chairperson of the Commission shall have the

20 power to appoint, terminate, and fix the compensation

21 (without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

22 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

23 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and

24 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, or of any other

25 provision, or of any other provision of law, relating to the
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1 number, classification, and General Schedule rates) of an

2 Executive Director, and of such additional staff as the

3 Chairperson deems advisable to assist the Commission, at

4 rates not to exceed a rate equal to the maximum rate for

5 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5332 of

6 such title.

7 SEC. 6. EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to pay any

9 expenses of the Commission such sums as may be nec10 essary not to exceed $650,000. Any sums appropriated for

11 such purposes are authorized to remain available until ex12 pended, or until one year after the termination of the

13 Commission pursuant to section 7, whichever occurs first.

14 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

15 The Commission shall cease to exist on the date that

16 is 60 days after the date on which the Commission is re17 quired to submit its final report in accordance with section

18 4(b).

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