A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Department of Education		Department of Justice
Melinda Malico (202) 401-1008 Jim Bradshaw (202) 401-2310		Kara Peterman (202) 616-2777

FOR RELEASE
April 28, 2000

RILEY, RENO ISSUE ACTION GUIDE FOR SAFEGUARDING
AMERICA'S CHILDREN

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and Attorney General Janet Reno today issued a guide to help communities prevent school violence.

Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide, written by the Departments of Education (ED) and Justice (DOJ), follows a 1998 joint publication, Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools.

The new booklet affirms that teamwork among educators, mental health professionals, parents, students and community groups and organizations is critical in preventing violent school tragedies. An underlying theme of the publication is the importance of every child being known well by at least one adult. As the guide notes, an important balance must be found between responding to a child's early warning signs and being harmful by labeling or over-reacting.

"We cannot rely on mechanical profiling of students," Riley told a school counselors meeting in Chicago. "We simply cannot put student behaviors into a formula to come up with the appropriate response. We need human involvement -- your professional judgment -- in every step of the process. I'd like to challenge school counselors to lead the effort to ensure that as schools work to keep students safe, we avoid overreacting and stereotyping. With your help, we can keep the focus on building strong connections between teachers, parents, and students."

Speaking to high school students today in Houston, Reno said, "This report's practical recommendations will help schools to better protect children and provide for even safer school environments. This report makes clear that all members of the community -- from parents and teachers to law enforcement and community groups -- are equally responsible for the well being of our children."

The guide recommends that communities develop a comprehensive team approach to prevention involving educators, mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, parents and students. Based on research, schools and communities are advised to:

• Create a schoolwide foundation that fosters positive discipline, academic success, and mental and emotional wellness. A caring school community helps all members feel connected, safe and supported; teaches appropriate behavior and problem-solving skills; and offers positive behavioral support and appropriate academic instruction. Such groundwork can prevent at least 80 percent of problem behavior.
• Intervene early with the 10-15 percent of students at risk for severe academic or behavioral problems. Schools should make sure that all school staff and community members know the early warning signs, use them for identification and referral purposes, and respond promptly and appropriately.
• Provide immediate and intensive intervention for students who continue to experience significant emotional and behavior problems. Offer coordinated, comprehensive, sustained and family-focused services, particularly when a student has presented a detailed plan to harm him or herself or others, or if the student has a weapon and has threatened to use it.

Despite the new phenomenon of multiple shootings in schools, statistics confirm that schools have become safer since 1993. Ninety percent of schools report no serious violent crime. The 62-page guide recommends that to create safe, educationally sound schools, teams should be assembled to address individual student problems and overall school performance.

• The student support team assesses the needs of children that show early warning signs and identifies children's needs and strengths. Regular and special educators should collaborate and the student and family should be involved in deliberations.
• The schoolwide team, with school staff, parents, youth, and representatives of community agencies and law enforcement, assesses the school's academic and behavioral programs and school climate, and sets short- and long-term goals to improve the school's violence prevention programs and student learning.

Both teams should include the principal, teachers and mental health professionals.

The guide also addresses a provision of the 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act that requires expulsion of any student who brings a firearm to school and recommends involving parents in the process as soon as possible, simplifying and expediting urgent referrals and encouraging informal consultations among staff and parents.

A collaborative project of ED's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and DOJ's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the guide was developed with help from the National Association of School Psychologists and other groups. Some 26 professional organizations including the American Association of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association have endorsed the guide and will distribute it to teachers, administrators, student services providers, families and communities and will also assist in related training.

The 1998 ED-DOJ publication, Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools, summarized research on violence prevention, intervention and crisis response in schools; and offered principles and insights to help schools develop violence prevention plans and create prevention and response teams. Nearly a half-million copies have been distributed to schools and communities across the nation.

Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide will be sent to every school and school district in the nation and is available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/Products/ActionGuide/ or by calling 1-877-4ED-PUBS.

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