I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1898
To provide for school safety, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 20, 1999
Ms. STABENOW introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for school safety, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Safety En-
hancement Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) While our Nation’s schools are still rel-
atively safe, it is imperative that schools be provided
with adequate resources to prevent incidents of vio-
lence.
(2) Approximately 10 percent of all public
schools reported at least 1 serious violent crime to
a law enforcement agency over the course of the
1996–1997 school year.
(3) In 1996, approximately 225,000 students
between the ages of 12 and 18 were victims of
nonfatal violent crime in schools in the United
States.
(4) From 1992 through 1994, 76 students and
29 non-students were victims of murders or suicides
that were committed in schools in the United States.
(5) The school violence incidents in several
States across the Nation in 1998 and 1999 caused
enormous damage to schools, families, and whole
communities.
(6) Because of escalating school violence, the
children of the United States are increasingly afraid
that they will be attacked or harmed at school.
(7) A report issued by the Department of Edu-
cation in August, 1998, entitled ‘‘Early Warning,
Early Response’’ concluded that the reduction and
prevention of school violence is best achieved
through safety plans which involve the entire com-
munity, policies which emphasize both prevention
and intervention, training school personnel, parents,
students, and community members to recognize the
early warning signs of potential violent behavior and
to share their concerns or observations with trained
personnel, establishing procedures which allow rapid
response and intervention when early warning signs
of violent behavior are identified, and providing ade-
quate support and access to services for troubled
students.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOOL AND YOUTH SAFE-
TY.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education
and the Attorney General shall jointly establish a National
Center for School and Youth Safety (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Center’’). The Secretary of Education
and the Attorney General may establish the Center at an
existing facility, if the facility has a history of performing
two or more of the duties described in subsection (b). The
Secretary of Education and the Attorney General shall
jointly appoint a Director of the Center to oversee the op-
eration of the Center.
(b) DUTIES.—The Center shall carry out emergency
response, anonymous student hotline, consultation, and in-
formation and outreach activities with respect to elemen-
tary and secondary school safety, including the following:
(1) EMERGENCY RESPONSE.—The staff of the
Center, and such temporary contract employees as
the Director of the Center shall determine necessary,
shall offer emergency assistance to local commu-
nities to respond to school safety crises. Such assist-
ance shall include counseling for victims and the
community, assistance to law enforcement to address
short-term security concerns, and advice on how to
enhance school safety, prevent future incidents, and
respond to future incidents.
(2) ANONYMOUS
STUDENT
HOTLINE.—The
Center shall establish a toll-free telephone number
for students to report criminal activity, threats of
criminal activity, and other high-risk behaviors such
as substance abuse, gang or cult affiliation, depres-
sion, or other warning signs of potentially violent be-
havior. The Center shall relay the reports, without
attribution, to local law enforcement or appropriate
school hotlines. The Director of the Center shall
work with the Attorney General to establish guide-
lines for Center staff to work with law enforcement
around the Nation to relay information reported
through the hotline.
(3) CONSULTATION.—The Center shall estab-
lish a toll-free number for the public to contact staff
of the Center for consultation regarding school safe-
ty. The Director of the Center shall hire administra-
tive staff and individuals with expertise in enhancing
school safety, including individuals with backgrounds
in counseling and psychology, education, law en-
forcement and criminal justice, and community de-
velopment to assist in the consultation.
(4) INFORMATION AND OUTREACH.—The Cen-
ter shall compile information about the best prac-
tices in school violence prevention, intervention, and
crisis management, and shall serve as a clearing-
house for model school safety program information.
The staff of the Center shall work to ensure local
governments, school officials, parents, students, and
law enforcement officials and agencies are aware of
the resources, grants, and expertise available to en-
hance school safety and prevent school crime. The
staff of the Center shall give special attention to
providing outreach to rural and impoverished com-
munities.
SEC. 4. SAFE COMMUNITIES, SAFE SCHOOLS.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu-
cation, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and
the Attorney General may award grants, on a competitive
basis, to help communities develop community-wide safety
programs involving students, parents, educators, guidance
counselors, psychologists, law enforcement officials or
agencies, civic leaders, and other organizations serving the
community.
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds provided to
carry out this Act may be used for activities that may in-
clude efforts to—
(1) increase early intervention strategies;
(2) expand parental involvement;
(3) increase students’ awareness of warning
signs of violent behavior;
(4) promote students’ responsibility to report
the warning signs to appropriate persons;
(5) promote conflict resolution and peer medi-
ation programs;
(6) increase the number of after-school pro-
grams;
(7) expand the use of safety-related equipment
and technology; and
(8) expand students’ access to mental health
services.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL CHILD PROTEC-
TION ACT OF 1993.
Section 5(10) of the National Child Protection Act
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119c(10)) is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(10) the term ‘qualified entity’ means—
‘‘(A) a business or organization, whether
public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit, or vol-
untary, that provides care or care placement
services, including a business or organization
that licenses or certifies others to provide care
or care placement services; or
‘‘(B) an elementary or secondary school.’’.
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