The forty-four members of the State Council work with Department staff on legislation and other important educational issues. Students from the Student Advisory Council have participated as active members of the Commission on the Common Core of Learning, the Commission on Time and Learning, the seven Curriculum Frameworks Advisory Committees, and other educational committees. The chair of the state council serves as a full voting member of the State Board of Education. The challenge over the next five years will be to expand the impact of the student advisory experience beyond the 700 students who participate on state and regional councils. In the Department of Education's 1993 Youth Risk Behavior survey, one in twenty Massachusetts students reported not going to school in the last thirty days because they did not feel safe at or on their way to school.
Schools can create a positive learning environment only if students feel safe and healthy.
The state will support several programs to assist schools in establishing a safe and healthy environment in which learning can flourish. These funds substantially augment existing federal Drug Free Schools Grants in supporting schools' efforts to increase healthy behavior. In the Fall of 1994, an independent evaluation by the Boston University School of Public Health showed positive results in reducing student risk behaviors as a direct result of the programs instituted by schools funding through the Comprehensive Health Protection grants. Safe and Violence-Free Schools One in five Massachusetts high school students have reported carrying a weapon in the last thirty days. Half that number brought their weapon to school.