Ninety percent of our schools are free of serious violent crime. We have millions of young people who are healthy and happy and want to learn. We need to stop and think hard about what we can do to help our children grow up safely and learn to reject violence. U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley Everyone who cares about children is concerned about the amount of violence and drugs that plague our society.
Schools can play a significant role in preventing violence and drug and alcohol abuse.
Recent research suggests that some of the most promising prevention strategies involve education and skills training - things schools are uniquely qualified to do, both because they have young people as a captive audience, and because teachers know how to educate students. In addition, it has issued Truancy Prevention, and School Uniform Manuals, and enforces Zero-Tolerance Policies for weapons in schools. The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are collaborating on a number of efforts to help principals, school administrators, teachers and parents address problems of safety and violence in their schools and communities. 6,093 students were expelled from public schools for bringing a firearm to school as a result of the implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994. FAST has been implemented at more than 400 sites in 29 states, Canada and Australia.