Select School Safety Enactments (1994-2001)

School Violence Project

SELECT SCHOOL SAFETY ENACTMENTS (1994-2001)

Legislative responses to school violence are multifaceted and involve several systems including education, juvenile justice, mental health and health. This compilation presents examples of recent state enactments and is not inclusive of all legislative actions. For example, most budget appropriations, records sharing and gun safety enactments are contained in separate documents. For more information on specific issues, contact NCSL's Denver office at 303/364-7700.

1999 Ala. Acts, S.J.R. 45 Creates the School Violence Joint Interim Legislative Committee.

1999 Ala. Acts, H.B. 157, Act 434 Appropriates $400,000 to the Department of Education to study and implement a plan to prevent school violence.

1994 Ala. Acts, Act 784 Requires local school systems to develop drug-, weapon- and alcohol-free policies and zones.

1994 Ala. Acts, Act 787 Requires State Board of Education to establish a disciplinary school program and guidelines for local school boards to implement. Requires each county to have a disciplinary school program for students who consistently exhibit disruptive behavior.

2001 Alaska Sess. Laws, H.B. 99 Mandates the adoption of a written school disciplinary and safety program from each governing body and requires the program to include standards for student behavior and safety, guidelines for teachers to enforce these behaviors, and policies for implementing a student conflict resolution strategy.

2000 Alaska Sess. Laws, H.B. 253 Requires every school district to adopt a written disciplinary and safety program and outlines components. Exempts school employees from civil liability for any act or omission arising out of enforcement of an approved school disciplinary and safety program and occurring during the course of employment unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence or reckless intentional conduct.

1999 Alaska Laws, S.B. 27, Chap. 36 Requires school districts to provide certain criminal record information to new district when student transfers.

1999 Alaska Laws, S.B. 125 Requires each district to develop a model school crisis response plan for use by each school in the district by July 1, 2000. Directs each school in a district to develop a school specific crisis response plan and to form a crisis response team, and sets out the members of the team and their duties.

1995 Alaska Sess. Laws, Chap. 33 Requires school districts to expel or suspend students who possess firearms or deadly weapons on school grounds.

2001 Ariz. Sess. Laws, H.B. 2140 Allows a school district to petition the Department of Education to adjust the district's adjusted average daily membership for absences that relate to threats of violence against school property, school personnel or students for any period of one day or more.

2000 Ariz. Revised Statutes 13-2911-1 (SB 1559) School Safety Omnibus Bill. Makes the disruption of educational institution, the threat to cause physical harm to any employee or attendee of an educational institution, the threat to cause damage to the property of an educational institution, and the refusal to leave the property of an educational institution when asked to so a Class 6 felony or Class 1 misdemeanor depending on the circumstances.

1997 Ariz. Sess. Laws, Chap. 220, Sec. 105 - Appropriates $1 million from general fund to assist Department of Education in implementing the safe schools program.

Sec. 78 - Eliminates joint legislative committee on school safety and creates a school safety program oversight committee charged with reviewing plans submitted by applicants for participation in the program and (charged with) providing a proactive approach to prevent juvenile referrals and incarceration. Requires the Department of Education to fund the cost of assigning a peace to each school in a county that participates in the safe schools program and the cost of juvenile probation officers that may be assigned.

1995 Ariz. Sess. Laws, Chap. 280 Mandates a one-year expulsion of students for carrying weapons on school grounds.

2001 Ark. Acts, H.B. 1503 Allows the board of directors of each school in the state to declare one week of each academic year as Gun Violence Prevention Week in elementary schools.

1999 Ark. Acts, S.B. 2 Requires local school districts to vote on the adoption of a school uniform policy for students in grades K-12.

1999 Ark. Acts, S.B. 259 Requires school principals to report all threats or acts of violence on school property.

1999 Ark. Acts, S.B. 364, Act 1149 Makes parent guilty of a Class B misdemeanor if they know that a minor illegally possesses a firearm on school property or at school events and fails to prevent possession or report possession.

1999 Ark. Acts, S.B. 372 Requires one-year expulsion for any student found in possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon on school property. Allows school superintendents discretion to modify the term of expulsion. Requires parents and legal guardians to sign a statement acknowledging responsibility for allowing a child to possess a weapon on school property.

1999 Ark. Acts, S.B. 505 Makes it possible for children of any age to receive adult sentences for capital murder or first-degree murder.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.C.R. 1009 Requests the legislature to conduct a study to determine the feasibility and desirability of establishing a residential alternative for at-risk students.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.B. 1555, Act 628 Establishes a youth mediation program to provide conflict resolution training and assistance to schools and juvenile courts.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.B. 1834, Act 1475 Establishes school disciplinary policies and requires student discipline training for school employees. Requires expulsion for possession of unlawful weapons on school property, subject to superintendent discretion.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.B. 1935 Prohibits firearms on school property, school buses, or at school bus stops.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.B. 2064, Act 1494 Allows teachers who suffer personal injuries while intervening in student fights, restraining a student or protecting a student from harm to be considered injured as a result of an assault or criminal act. Allows them to be granted a leave of absence with full pay for up to one year from the date of injury so that their sick leave is not affected.

1999 Ark. Acts, H.B. 2267, Act 1513 Creates the Arkansas After-School Enrichment Program to provide grants for at-risk school districts to implement locally-designed prevention programs that target at-risk students in middle school, junior high school and high school. Establishes that the goals of the program are to enhance educational attainment through coordinated services, provide financial assistance for at-risk students, and provide for a safe and secure learning environment.

1997 Ark. Acts, Act 1346, Sec. 1 Requires the Department of Education to create a Safe Schools Committee and specifies certain responsibilities.

1997 Ark. Acts, Act 706, Sec. 1 Requires local school district student discipline policies include provisions for dealing with students who willfully and intentionally assault or threaten to assault or abuse other students.

1995 Ark. Acts, Act 567 Requires that students who possess weapons at school be expelled for at least one year.

2001 Cal. Stats., A.B. 79 Requires the Department of Education to develop model policies on the prevention of bullying and on conflict resolution, makes the model policies available to school districts and authorizes school districts to adopt one or both policies for incorporation into the school safety plan.

2001 Cal. Stats., A.B. 653 Includes the act of aiding or abetting the infliction or attempted infliction of physical injury to another persons as an act for which a pupil may be suspended but not expelled. Provides for an increase in the fine for assault or battery committed on school property against any person and authorizes the court, if the assault or battery was committed by a minor, to order the minor to undergo counseling, with the cost of such counseling to be borne by the minor's parents.

2001 Cal. Stats., A.B. 804 Makes the Carl Washington School Safety and Violence Prevention Act applicable to public schools and school districts serving pupils in any of grades 8 to 12, inclusive. Moves to May 1, 2004, the deadline for the Department of Education to make a final report to the Legislature on the development of an evaluation design for the high-risk youth education and public safety program that will assess the effectiveness of program implementation and operation

2001 Cal. Stats., A.B. 819 States the intent of the Legislature that school sites receiving funds pursuant to the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act provide age-appropriate instruction in domestic violence prevention, dating violence prevention and interpersonal violence prevention.

2001 Cal. Stats., A.B. 1717 Provides a communication by any person to a school principal or by a student attending the school to the student's teacher, school counselor or nurse and any report of that communication that specifies a person has made a threat to commit violence or potential violence involving the use of a firearm or deadly weapon is subject to liability in defamation only upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence that the communication was made with knowledge of its falsity.

2001 Cal. Stats., S.B. 166 Requires the governing board of a school to order the expulsion of a student possessing an explosive, as defined.

2001 Cal. Stats., S.B. 257 Specifies that, for school and law enforcement partnership purposes, school crime includes hate crimes and requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include development of a discrimination and harassment policy, as specified, and development of hate crime reporting procedures.

1999 Cal. Stats., S.B. 334 Requires K-7 schools to develop ongoing, comprehensive school safety plans that address school-based crime, crime prevention, emergency services, sexual harassment, notification regarding dangerous pupils, and child abuse reporting. Requires the superintendent of public instruction and the attorney general to coordinate efforts to fund and implement violence prevention and school safety programs.

1999 Cal. Stats., S.B. 570 Provides that any minor over age 16 or adult who is not a pupil at a school and interferes with any school activity is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or both. Provides for certain minimum periods of imprisonment of subsequent offenses and requires an additional punishment of one to three years in state prison or fine or both for terrorist threats against any school personnel.

1999 Cal. Stats., S.B. 711, Chap. 86 Establishes the Carl Washington School Safety and Violence Prevention Act. Requires this statewide program to provide funds to school districts serving pupils in grades eight through twelve, for the purpose of promoting school safety and reducing school violence.

Creates the Machado School Violence Prevention and Response Act of 1999. Establishes a School Violence Prevention and Response Task Force to make recommendations about how to enhance state and local programs.

1999 Cal. Stats., A.B. 566 Authorizes programs established under the School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Program to be conducted upon the grounds of a community park or recreational area if the park or recreational area is adjacent to the school site.

1999 Cal. Stats., A.B. 1154, Chap. 872 Requires the existing School/Law Enforcement Partnership to look into the cost of providing cellular telephones to public school teachers statewide for maintaining classroom safety. Authorizes after school programs established under the After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Program to implement flexible attendance schedules for middle and junior high school students.

1999 Cal. Stats., A.B. 1113 Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate funds to school districts that maintain grades 8-12 and that certify that the funds will be used as required for purposes that include providing conflict resolution personnel, providing on-campus communication devices, establishing staff training programs, and establishing cooperative arrangements with law enforcement agencies.

1999 Cal. Stats., S.C.R. 11, Chap. 51 Establishes October 1999 as School Safety Month and the week of January 10 through January 14, 2000 as Yellow Ribbon Week. Allows all schools to participate in appropriate activities during School Safety Month and throughout the year, to recognize the importance of conflict resolution, mutual respect and violence eradication. Encourages all schools to promote ongoing activities to develop positive leadership and pro-social behavior among youth, and to actively involve pupils in helping to solve problems related to conflict and violence.

1998 Cal. Stats., A.B. 1428, Chap. 319 Establishes the After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Programs to create incentives for establishing after school enrichment programs for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, at participating school sites.

1998 Cal. Stats., A.B. 499 Charges the State Board of Education to develop guidelines, adopt policies, and fund programs to create a school environment free from discriminatory attitudes and hate violence.

1997 Cal. Stats., A.B. 963 Requires the State Department of Justice to administer the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program, and to disburse appropriate funds to community organizations and nonprofit agencies for prevention and intervention activities for at-risk youth.

2001 Colo. Sess. Laws, S.B. 105 Requires each school district to include a specific policy in the district conduct and discipline code concerning bullying prevention and education. Defines bullying as any written, verbal or physical act or gesture that is intended to inflict injury, violence or a reasonable fear of injury or violence upon one or more students in the school, on school grounds, in school vehicles or at school activities or sanctioned events. Requires school districts to submit their policy on bullying prevention and education, as well as information about any bullying prevention program they have implemented, to the state board of education.

2000 Colo. Sess. Laws, S.B. 0186 Requires the state department of education to grade each school on safety and discipline.

1999 Colo. Sess. Laws, S.B. 0133 Requires local school boards to adopt a conduct and discipline code, including procedures for dealing with disruptive students in the classroom, grounds for suspension, initiating expulsion for students deemed "habitually disruptive," and due process procedures for removed students. Requires written reports. Specifies that any student enrolled in a public school, including those with disabilities, may be declared "habitually disruptive" for purposes of suspension or expulsion.

1999 Colo. Sess. Laws, H.B. 1037, Chap. 134 Permits school districts to prohibit certain expelled students from enrolling in the same school as their victims.

1998 Colo. Sess. Laws, H.B. 1371 Requires expulsion of any student bringing to school a dangerous weapon. Creates an exception when the student informs and turns the weapon over to a school official.

2000 Conn. Acts, H.B. 5317 Requires a new family resource center to be located in public elementary schools, unless the Commissioner of Education waives the requirement. Allows school crisis response drills to replace fire drills once every three months. Includes video surveillance devices in the list of allowable, general school improvements.

1999 Conn. Acts, S.B. 1352 Establishes a school violence prevention program for students of a public or private secondary school charged with an offense involving the use or threatened use of physical violence in or on the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school or at a school-sponsored activity. The program shall consist of at least eight group counseling sessions in anger management and nonviolent conflict resolution.

1999 Conn. Acts, S.B. 1309, Act 247 Requires the state to notify school superintendents when a serious juvenile offender may return to school and the department believes, in good faith, that the offender is a risk to self or others.

1994 Conn. Acts, P.A. 94-221 Permits schools to prohibit weapons at school or at school-related functions. Encourages teachers to complete a school violence prevention and conflict resolution program.

1994 Conn. Acts, P.A. 94-115 Permits school or law enforcement officials to reasonably search property used by students for weapons, contraband or "fruits" of a crime.

1999 De. Acts, H.B. 262 Authorizes a teacher or school administrator to remove a disruptive student from a classroom or other school activity, and to discipline or punish a student. Provides for due process, along with a rebuttable presumption that a teacher or administrator has acted reasonably, in good faith, and in accordance with policy, in cases where a student is removed from class or is disciplined or punished.

1996 De. Acts, H.B. 371 Allows school districts to authorize the installation and use of video cameras on public school property to identify inappropriate student conduct.

2001 Fla. Laws, H.B. 267 Requires schools to adopt a policy of zero tolerance for the victimization of students. Requires principals to take certain actions when a student has been the victim of violent crime perpetrated by another student and prohibits certain persons from attending certain schools or riding on certain school buses under certain circumstances.

2000 Fla. Laws, S.B. 852 Requires one-year expulsion and referral to the juvenile justice system for any student in possession of a firearm or other weapon on school property or for making a threat or false report regarding the safety of school property. Gives superintendents discretion to modify expulsion on a case by case basis. Allows local school boards to assign expelled students to a "second chance" school or disciplinary program during the period of expulsion. Expands circumstances under which teachers, principals and bus drivers are exempt from liability.

2000 Fla. Laws, S.B. 1770 Eliminates requirement that the department of education conduct a study and report to the Legislature on student expulsions.

1999 Fla. Laws, H.B. 349 Requires secure detention and fingerprinting of a minor under age 18 who is charged with possessing or discharging a firearm at a school-sponsored event or on school property, unless the state attorney authorizes release.

1997 Fla. Laws, H.B. 1309, Sec. 18 Requires each school district to adopt a policy of zero tolerance for crime and substance abuse.

1999 Georgia Laws, S.B. 49 Requires that student codes of conduct include provisions addressing verbal assault, physical assault or battery, and disrespectful conduct toward teachers, administrators, other school personnel, other students, and persons attending school-related functions. Requires the filing of such provisions with the State Board of Education for their review as to form. Provides for the distribution of student codes of conduct in conjunction with student handbooks and for parents' and guardians' acknowledgments of receipt. Imposes a $10,000 maximum fine or imprisonment of 5 to 10 years for any violation involving a firearm or other dangerous weapon within a school safety zone.

1999 Georgia Laws, S.B. 74 Relates to loitering at or disruption of elementary and secondary schools. Requires school safety plans to be prepared with input from local fire service, public safety, and emergency management agencies. Requires schools to prepare school safety plans that address preparedness for certain accidents, acts of violence, and acts of terrorism and requires the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to provide technical assistance.

1999 Georgia Laws, H.B. 84, Chap. 282 Requires the implementation of a character education program at all grade levels that is to include methods of discouraging bullying and violent acts against fellow students. Adds razor blade to the definition of weapon.

1999 Georgia Laws, H.B. 605 Enacts the Improved Student Learning Environment and Discipline Act of 1999. Requires that character education be implemented at all grade levels. Encourages parental involvement. Requires every local board of education to adopt policies designed to improve the student learning environment by improving student behavior and discipline.

1997 Ga. Laws, S.B. 50, Sec. 1 Requires the education department to provide enrichment activities to middle school age children during non-school hours to try to reduce juvenile crime and other delinquent activities.

1994 Ga. Laws, Act 1125 Prohibits possession of a weapon in a school safety zone with exceptions. Provides punishment for individuals who refuse to leave school safety zones when asked and prohibits disruption of school operation. Gives juvenile court jurisdiction over 13- to 17-year-olds committing these acts.

2001 Hawaii Sess. Laws, H.B. 384 Authorizes the use of force by school personnel, when necessary, during school events or at a departmentally supervised off-campus activity. Includes principals or principal's agents under provisions relating to the use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others.

2000 Hawaii Sess. Laws, S.B. 3038 Expands the state zero tolerance policy to require immediate penalties for sales, possession or use of liquor, illicit drugs, switchblade knives, or other dangerous weapons on school property or during school activities.

1998 Hawaii Sess. Laws, H.B. 2837 Allows a principal and superintendent to suspend a child who possesses a dangerous weapon, switchblade knife, intoxicating liquor, or illicit drugs while attending school, if the suspension is for less than ten days.

1997 Hawaii Sess. Laws, Act 141 Allows schools to approve the suspension of a child who possesses a dangerous weapon, intoxicating liquor or illicit drugs.

1996 Hawaii Sess. Laws, Act 90, Sec. 2 Allows students to be suspended from school for possessing a dangerous weapon, excluding a firearm, while attending school.

2000 Idaho Sess. Laws, H.B. 0444 Revises circumstances under which students, their lockers or their possessions may be searched. Makes it a crime to possess a firearm or other "deadly or dangerous weapon" on school property or during school-sponsored events, unless it is due to participation in a board-approved activity.

1999 Idaho Sess. Laws, H.B. 231 Removes exemption for carrying a concealed weapon on school property from the Juvenile Corrections Act.

1999 Idaho Sess. Laws, H.B. 376 Regards the use of moneys received from the income tax imposed on lottery winnings. Appropriates a specified amount to the Public School Income Fund to be used for the Idaho Safe and Drug Free Schools Program.

1995 Idaho Sess. Laws, Chap. 248 Requires immediate suspension and a mandatory one-year expulsion of students carrying weapons on school property.

1994 Idaho Sess. Laws, Chap. 150 Ensures that penalties for carrying a concealed weapon on school property apply to minors.

2001 Ill. Laws, H.B. 646, Public Act 92-0260 Requires a school board to adopt a policy concerning students whose behavior or school work demonstrates a potential for violence or threat to the safety of others. Indicates a goal of early detection of these students for appropriate intervention.

2001 Ill. Laws, S.B. 376 Allows school districts to require that a student who is suspended or expelled for any reason from any public or private school in this or any other state, must complete the entire term of the suspension or expulsion before being admitted into the school district. Provides that this policy may allow placement of the student in an alternative school program, if available, for the remainder of the suspension or expulsion.

2001 Ill. Laws, S.B. 1026 Provides that whoever by threat, menace or intimidation prevents a child entitled to attend a nonpublic school from attending that school or interferes with the child's attendance at that school is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

2001 Ill. Laws, S.B. 1097 Provides that a minor who is placed on probation or supervision may be required to attend an educational program at a facility other than the school where the offense was committed if the minor was convicted of or placed on supervision for a crime of violence as defined in the Crime Victims Compensation Act.

2000 Ill Laws, HJR 63 Extends the deadline for the report from the Task Force on School Safety.

2000 Ill. Laws, SB 729 Prohibits registered child sex offenders from being present on school grounds, unless the offender is a parent or guardian of a student present in the building or has permission from the principal or school board and remains under direct supervision of a school official. Requires the school principal to be notified of school board exceptions.

1999 Ill. Laws, S.B. 630 Appropriates up to $13.9 million from the general revenue fund to the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority for its Safe to Learn Program.

1999 Ill. Laws, S.B. 757 Amends the Illinois Violence Prevention Act of 1995. Requires the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority to establish and administer a grant program to be known as the Safe to Learn Program. Requires the funds appropriated to the Authority for this program to be used to support and fund school-based safety violence prevention support, administration of the program, and a demonstration and evaluation of a comprehensive pre-kindergarten through grade 12 program.

1999 Ill. Laws, S.B. 759 Excludes from juvenile court jurisdiction minors who are charged with aggravated battery with a firearm committed in a school, on school property, within 1,000 feet of school property, or at a school-related activity.

1999 Ill. Laws, S.B. 1168 Outlines specifications for the use of physical restraint on a student. Prohibits the use physical restraint except where the student poses a physical risk to self or others, there is no medical reason not to use it, and the staff using the restraint have been properly trained.

1999 Ill. Laws, H.B. 878, P.A. 491 Creates the Task Force on School Safety to identify and review all school safety programs in the state, recommend successful programs, and study alternative education programs. Requires the State Board of Education to work with the Task Force to develop a set of uniform criteria to be implemented in school safety plans and a school safety assessment audit to distribute to public schools. Establishes reporting procedures for violent acts on school grounds and requires the State Board of Education to compile statistics regarding attacks on school personnel. Requires law enforcement to detain a minor if found to have possession of a firearm on school property.

1999 Ill. Laws, H.B. 1193, P.A. 10 Creates Safe to Learn Program for support and funding of school-based safety and violence prevention programs. Funds demonstration, technical assistance and evaluation of three pilot pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school-based violence prevention programs.

1999 Ill. Laws, H.B. 1194 Requires immediate notification to school officials and law enforcement personnel of any person who possesses a firearm on school grounds, provided such action would not immediately endanger the health, safety or welfare of students or the school official. Allows the court to order the minor to receive counseling and any other services as a condition of release of the minor. Permits the court, if the juvenile possesses a risk, to issue an order restraining the student from entering school property if he or she has been suspended or expelled from school due to firearm possession.

1997 Ill. Laws, P.A. 89-610, Sec. 5, 10-22.6 Allows the school board to expel a student for not less than one year if she or he brings a weapon to school or any school-related event. Allows school authorities to inspect and search school property and school-owned equipment without notice to students or a search warrant.

1995 Iowa Acts, Chap. 191, Sec. 21-21 - Requires school officials to expel a student who possesses a firearm at school and to provide for school reintegration.

Sec. 50, 52-53 - Makes it a felony to carry or transport a firearm on public or nonpublic school grounds, with exemptions.

1994 Iowa Acts, Chap. 1172 Requires the Department of Education to develop a statewide violence education program and curriculum for grades K through 12. Authorizes the search of student lockers or desks without notice if past searches revealed a violation of the laws or rules of the school regarding dangerous weapons or controlled substances.

2001 Ind. Acts, H.B. 1942 Defines sexual misconduct with a minor as a Class A felony as a crime of violence. Provides that a person employed in a state agency who works with or around children shall be dismissed if the person has a conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor. Expands the definition of child care worker to include a teacher for purposes of the sexual misconduct with a minor statute.

2001 Ind. Acts, H.B. 1971 Requires school corporations, beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, to integrate conflict resolution instruction within the curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12. Requires the Department of Education to develop models of conflict resolution instruction, which may consist of a program of teacher training for application of the techniques within the classroom.

2001 Ind. Acts, S.B. 33 Requires school employees to report any threats or intimidation. Makes the act of communicating a threat to another person with the intent of causing a structure or vehicle to be evacuated a Class A Misdemeanor. Assigns a Class D felony to the act of communicating a threat by using a school or other governmental property, including electronic equipment or systems.

2000 Ind. Acts, H.B. 1074 Provides that an executive session may be held to discuss the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems. Provides that school safety and security measures, plans, and systems, including emergency preparedness plans, are confidential at the discretion of the public agency.

1999 Ind. Acts, H.B. 1419 Increases the penalty for battery if committed against an employee of a school who is engaged in the execution of the employee's official duty.

1999 Kan. Sess. Laws, H.B. 2289, S.B. 38 Requires suspension or revocation of driver's licenses and driving privileges of pupils upon expulsion or extended-term suspension for certain reasons. Revises the definition of "weapon" under the Weapon-Free Schools Act.

1999 Kan. Sess. Laws, H.B. Requires allocations of the Children's Initiative Fund to emphasize violence and delinquency prevention programs, among other priorities.

1999 Kan. Sess. Laws, Chap. 124 Expands the definition of weapon for purposes of school suspension/expulsion.

1999 Kan. Sess. Laws, H.B. 2489 Appropriates funds for the new Experimental Wraparound Kansas Project administered by the State Board of Education. Requires the State Board to make awards to applicant school districts in collaboration with community mental health centers to implement mental health support services in the school setting that focus on violence prevention.

1996 Kan. Sess. Laws, Chap. 482 Allows certified school employees to conduct expulsion hearings for weapons violations.

1995 Kan. Sess. Laws, Chap. 259 Requires the newly created youth authority to consult with the schools on delinquency prevention.

1998 Ky. Acts, H.B. 330, Chap. 493, Sec. 1-8 Creates the Center for School Safety to collect and disseminate information, distribute grants, develop statewide disciplinary guidelines, including expulsion for certain in-school actions. Creates at-risk pay for hazardous duty teaching in alternative programs serving violent students.

Requires each school to do an assessment of school safety and student discipline during the 1998-99 school year, and requires local boards of education to develop a code of conduct and discipline to be applied in school. Makes other changes related to implementation of a comprehensive school safety plan.

1996 Ky. Acts, Chap. 51 Requires local school districts to expel students for one year who bring weapons to school. Authorizes local school districts to modify the expulsion penalty on a case-by-case basis. Authorizes alternative education programs for expelled students.

1994 Ky. Acts, Chap. 391 Prohibits the possession of firearms or any other destructive device on school property with exceptions.

2001 La. Acts, H.B. 364, Act 230 Requires local school boards to adopt policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying by students and protecting students and employees who report such incidents. Authorizes local school boards to adopt zero tolerance policies for fighting in schools and requires students expelled for fighting to pay for and attend conflict resolution classes with their parents.

2001 La. Acts, S.B. 1035 Authorizes youth development and assistance programs for elementary students at risk of having disciplinary problems and requires parental involvement in such programs.

1999 La. Acts, H.B. 81, Act 515 Mandates court to notify school within 24 hours after a minor registered in that school has been adjudicated delinquent for a felony offense. Permits principals to use such orders in disciplinary actions.

1999 La. Acts, H.B. 604 Requires each city and parish school board to adopt a student code of conduct by August 1, 1999.

1999 La. Acts, H.B. 881 Prohibits a school administrator from certain involvement in disciplining a student when a member of the administrator's immediate family is involved.

1999 La. Acts, H.C.R. 180 Creates the Task Force on School Discipline and Safety to meet from July 15, 1999, to December 15, 1999. Directs the task force to study and review current policies, procedures, programs and laws in place in the state and other selected states relative to providing disciplined, safe and productive learning environments for all children. Requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the House and Senate Committees on education no later than January 15, 2000.

1995 La. Acts, Act 1292 Requires a one-year expulsion of students found in possession of a firearm at school or at a school event.

1994 La. Acts, Act 148 Appropriates funds for an in-school intervention program.

1994 La. Acts, Act 35 Creates an in-school intervention pilot program with truancy officers and conflict resolution instruction.

1994 La. Acts, Act 38 Expands firearm-free school zones to include school-sponsored functions.

1994 La. Acts, Act 47 Authorizes all schools to offer violence prevention and peer meditation instruction.

1994 La. Acts, Act 24 Amends rules pertaining to searches of student lockers, desks, or personal effects to allow random metal detector searches or complete searches if there is a reasonable belief that the student has violated a law or policy. Specifies that searches should minimize bodily contact with student. Adds bombs and controlled dangerous substances to the list of confiscated items that must be reported to law enforcement.

1994 La. Acts, Act 127 Requires students suspended or expelled for weapons possession or drug crimes to participate in counseling or rehabilitation programs before gaining readmittance.

1999 Mass. Acts, H.B. 4900, Sec. 352 Establishes a special commission to study methods of identifying potentially dangerous students, as well as issues including warning signs, effective interventions, security guards, metal detectors, appropriate levels of discipline for carrying guns in school, and appropriate use of peer and guidance counseling. Recommendations to be made by March 1, 2000.

1999 Mass. Acts, Chap. 422 Requires elementary and high schools to implement violence prevention programs.

2001 Md. Laws, H.B. 825 Requires the state Board of Education to establish a juvenile justice alternative education pilot program for suspended or expelled students and identified candidates for suspension or expulsion. Authorizes the state Board to select a private agency to administer the pilot program and requires specified students to attend the program.

2001 Md. Laws, S.B. 469 Defines "school resource officer" and authorizes school resource officers to deny access to buildings or grounds of school institutions and demand identification and evidence of qualification of persons on premises of school institutions.

1999 Md. Laws, S.B. 391 Prohibits a person from molesting or threatening with bodily harm any individual on school grounds, in school vehicles, at school activities, or in the immediate vicinity of the school. Includes threats by telephone and e-mail. Prohibits threats against school employees arising out of the scope of their employment.

1995 Md. Laws, Chap. 347 Requires schools to expel, for a minimum of one year, a student who has brought a firearm to school.

2001 Me. Public Laws, H.B. 232, L.D. 269 Requires local school boards to adopt a school bomb threat policy that may include definitions, response plans, ways to make up lost classroom time, prevention techniques, disciplinary measures and criminal penalties. Requires school bomb threat policies to be included in all student handbooks.

2000 Me. Public Laws, H.B. 0928 Requires the department of education to provide technical assistance to school districts in providing violence prevention and intervention training programs for teachers, school staff and students. Requires such assistance to emphasize conflict resolution education, peer mediation, and early identification of and early response to signs of violence.

2000 Me. Public Laws, Chap 110 Requires all applicants for public school employment to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks.

1999 Maine Public Laws, H.B. 1250 Requires the Commissioner of Education to develop statewide standards of responsible and ethical student behavior. Requires local school boards to adopt a student code of conduct for their students. Develops a response plan for violent or potentially violent situations. Adopts a policy that authorizes a teacher to send a student from a classroom to the principal's office and school bus driver to recommend revocation of the privilege of riding a school bus.

1999 Maine Public Laws, Chap. 345 Sets information that district attorney must convey to school superintendent when a minor is charged with certain acts. Establishes that the superintendent must convene a school notification team within 10 days of receipt of such information.

1997 Me. Public Laws, Chap. 119 Creates a school violence commission to study several issues including: occurrences of student disruption and violent events; effective prevention efforts; suggested conduct and responsibility standards; and a notification system for staff of a student's violent behavioral history.

1997 Me. Public Laws, Chap. 298 Allows a school to expel a student who possesses a dangerous weapon on school property without the permission of a school official.

1999 Mich. Pub. Acts, S.B. 206, Act 104 Requires the permanent expulsion of students in sixth grade or above who intentionally hurt or try to harm a staff member, volunteer or contractor in a school. Expulsion of up to 180 days also required for verbal threats, bomb threats or similar actions.

2000 Mich. Pub. Acts, S.B. 633, Act 370 Prohibits false reporting of any crime, including bomb threats, and defines penalties. Authorizes courts to require offenders to pay restitution to the state or local government for the costs of responding to the false report.

1999 Mich. Pub. Acts, S.B. 365, Act 135 Requires the Department of Child and Family Services to expend a portion of the federal Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant to better address and protect students from gang, drug and youth violence.

1999 Mich. Pub. Acts, H.B. 4240, Act 102 Requires districts to expel a student in sixth grade or above for up to 180 days for physically assaulting another student.

2001 Minn. Laws, H.B. 2 (First Special Session) Enacts the K-20 Omnibus Bill. Allows a school principal as well as a teacher, in exercising the person's lawful authority, to use reasonable force when necessary to discipline a student and creates a defense against civil liability and criminal prosecution.

1999 Minn. Laws, H.B. 1310, Chap. 139 Requires a juvenile's probation officer to transmit a copy of the court's disposition order to the principal or chief administrative officer of the juvenile's school if the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for committing an act on the school's property or for other acts that would constitute crimes if committed by an adult. Requires a law enforcement agency to notify the principal or chief administrative officer of a juvenile's school of an incident within the agency's jurisdiction if 1) the agency believes that juvenile committed an offense that would be a crime if committed as an adult; that the victim is a student or school staff member; and that notice to the school is necessary to protect the victim or 2) the agency believes that the juvenile committed an offense that would be a crime if committed by an adult, regardless of whether the victim is a student or school staff member.

1999 Minn. Laws, H.B. 1467 Appropriates $1.45 million during fiscal year 2000 and $1.45 million during fiscal year 2001 for violence prevention education grants. Appropriates $5.26 million during each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for after-school enrichment grants.

1996 Minn. Laws, Chap. 408, Sec. 8 - Specifies a one-time appropriation for violence prevention education grant.

Sec. 5 Art. 2 - Expands the community crime prevention grant program to permit funding of youth neighborhood centers; truancy programs; at-risk programs; and various school-based programs.

1994 Minn. Laws, Chap. 576 Requires the commissioner of education to report on the use of funds appropriated for an anti-violence curriculum. Expands current law to impose a felony penalty on people who use or brandish a replica firearm or BB gun on school property.

1994 Minn. Laws, Chap. 636 Requires the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to develop a pilot program to train police officers to teach gang resistance education training program in middle schools.

2001 Miss. Laws, S.B. 2239 Creates the School Safety Act of 2001. Establishes a school safety center to provide technical and crisis assistance to school districts, authorizes school safety grants to local school districts to finance certain programs, establishes a school crisis management program and requires the state Board of Education to develop conflict resolution and peer mediation models and curricula.

2001 Miss. Laws, S.B. 2239 Requires the automatic expulsion of habitually disruptive students.

2001 Miss. Laws, S.B. 2390 Directs the State Board of Education to develop a list of recommended conflict resolution and peer mediation programs that address responsible decision making, the causes and effects of school violence and harassment, cultural diversity, and nonviolent methods for resolving conflict, including peer mediation. Requires the board to make the list available to local school administrative units and school buildings by the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year.

1998 Miss. Laws, S.B. 2868 Makes murder a capital offense when perpetrated on school property.

1997 Miss. Laws, S.B. 1236, Sec. 1 Allows the education department to conduct a pilot program with the use of video camera equipment as part of the school violence prevention grant program.

2000 Mo. Laws, S.B. 944 Requires school districts to report annually on expulsion and suspensions of longer than 10 days. Prohibits readmittance of a student that was suspended for more than 10 days for school violence. Expands the definition of "unlawful use of a weapon" to include carrying a firearm onto school property. Allows student involvement in school-sanctioned events involving firearms, as long as an adult lawfully transports the firearm onto school property. Requires one-year suspension for any student possessing an unauthorized weapon on school property. Requires school superintendents to report incidents of student sexual misconduct or assault to the new superintendent when a student transfers to another district and exempts the reporting superintendent from civil liability.

1999 Mo. Laws, H.B. 2 Appropriates $9.3 million to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fund a Safe Schools Initiative, to include, but not be limited to, safe school grants, alternative education program grants, equipment, anti-violence curriculum development and conflict resolution.

1996 Mo. Laws, H.B. 1298 and 1301, Sec. 575.090 - Requires the state to identify and adopt public school instruction on violence prevention including the negative consequences of gang membership. Requires teacher training on violence prevention and early identification of and intervention in violent behavior.

Sec. 160.680 - Requires that school discipline policies address the use of corporal punishment and define "weapon" and "acts of violence." Requires that the policy be provided to students and parents. Requires instruction for school employees on student discipline, dealing with school violence and confidentiality. Requires schools to report acts of violence to school employees and to law enforcement.

Sec. 167.161 - Authorizes a school board to remove a student who poses a threat of harm to others. Requires the school board to make good-faith effort to have the parents present at the hearing. Outlines procedures for readmitting a student who is expelled or suspended for a violent act and circumstances for denying readmission.

1995 Mo. Laws, H.B. 174, 325 and 326, Sec. 32.115, 135.460, 589.300, .310, 620.1100, .1103 - Creates a youth opportunities and violence prevention fund and grants local government-school partnerships priority when applying for crime prevention funds.

Sec. 170.046 - Requires the state to establish program materials on nonviolent conflict resolution and ethical decision making to be offered in schools and to the public.

1995 Mo. Laws, H.B. 345, Sec. 160.261 Requires school districts to suspend any student who brings a firearm to school.

1999 Mont. Laws, H.B. 310, Chap. 564 Establishes drug free and crime free schools. Requires the youth court to notify a school when a juvenile probation officer suspects that a youth is currently involved with criminal activity or drug use. Provides for the safety of children. Permits the school district to disclose educational records that pertain to violations of juvenile or criminal laws.

1997 Mont. Laws, Chap. 435 Makes it a criminal offense to carry, possess or store a weapon in a school building. Makes it an offense for a parent or guardian to permit a minor to carry, possess or store a weapon in a school building.

1995 Mont. Sess. Laws, Chap. 457 Mandates a one-year expulsion of students carrying weapons on school grounds.

1999 Neb. Laws, L.B. 195 Prohibits a student expelled from any public, private, denominational, or parochial school from enrolling in a public school until the terms of the expulsion have been completed, unless the school board of the enrolling district approves the enrollment by a majority vote. Includes student expulsions from schools in any state. Allows school boards to requires attendance in an alternative school until the expulsion is completed.

1994 Neb. Laws, L.B. 988, Sec. 28-101 and 28-1201, 28-1204.04 Requires the destruction of handguns when confiscated from a minor, transferred to a minor by an adult or brought to school or a school-sponsored event.

2001 Nev. State Laws, S.B. 115 Requires expulsion of any student who commits a battery resulting in the bodily injury of a school employee, possesses a firearm or weapon on school property or sells or distributes any controlled substance on school property or at a school sponsored function. Allows the superintendent to make exceptions to expulsions requirements for good cause.

2001 Nev. State Laws, S.B. 289 Requires the state Board of Education to develop a statewide plan for the management of violent incidents at school. Directs the Board of Trustees of each school district and the governing body of each charter school and private school to establish a committee to develop a crisis response plan for violence on school property, at school activities or on school buses and requires each school to establish a committee to review the plan.

2001 Nev. State Laws, S.B. 572 Provides immunity from civil liability for any person who reports certain threats of violence against a school official, school employee or pupil.

2001 Nev. State Laws, A.B. 459 Requires the Nevada Department of Education to develop a model program of education prohibiting harassment, intimidation or discrimination in schools. Requires local districts to adopt the department policy and provide appropriate training for school personnel.

1999 Nev. State Laws, A.B. 53 Provides for an increased penalty for felonies committed under certain circumstances that threaten the safety of pupils and school employees.

1999 Nev. State Laws, A.B. 166, Chap. 539 Establishes that a permittee cannot carry a concealed firearm while on the premises of any public building, including a public school. Violations constitute a misdemeanor.

1999 Nev. State Laws, A.B. 686, Chap. 607 Creates the Commission on School Safety and Juvenile Violence to develop an emergency response plan and make recommendations to the legislature regarding school violence prevention and intervention. Appropriates funds.

1997 Nev. Stats., File No. 128 Urges school districts to develop and adopt policies for disciplining pupils to ensure a healthy and safe learning environment, free from violence and other criminal activity.

1995 Nev. Stats., Chap. 706 Requires the suspension or expulsion of a pupil who possesses a firearm at school or a school-sponsored activity.

2000 N.H. Laws, S.B. 360 Creates the Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention Act. Requires local school boards to adopt a pupil safety and violence prevention policy that addresses bullying and provides technical assistance. Requires school employees to report any information regarding bullying behavior to the school principal and provides immunity to any school employee who makes such a report from any cause of action arising from a failure to remedy the reported incident.

1995 N.H. Laws, Chap. 231 Requires suspension or expulsion of a student for weapons possession.

1995 N.J. Laws, Chap. 128 Requires that a student who assaults a school employee or other student with a weapon on school property or at a school event shall be removed from school and placed in alternative education.

2000 N.M. Laws, H.J.M. 8a Requests the state department of education to work with local school boards to develop a strategy promoting the national student pledge against gun violence.

1999 N.M. Laws, S.M. 3 (from 1999 special session) Requests the Departments of Public Education and Health to examine and recommend programs to identify troubled children through screening and assessment, to recommend intervention programs to address the problems identified, and to develop a plan to train teachers to deal with and refer troubled youth to appropriate support programs.

1999 N.M. Laws, H.B. 9, Chap 3 (from 1999 special session) Appropriates $250,000 to the state Department of Public Education for school safety programs.

1999 N.M. Laws, H.B. 231 Allows placing a child in a detention facility if there is probable cause to believe that he or she possessed a firearm on school premises.

2000 N.Y. Laws, S.B. 8236 Enacts Project S.AV.E., the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, and outlines procedures for responding to disruptive behavior in schools. Requires school districts to adopt uniform safety plans and codes of conduct.

1999 N.M. Laws, A.B. 1075 Enacts the False Reporting Act of 1999, amends the penal law in relation to civil liability for false reporting of an incident or bomb, and requires educating minors about the dangers of false reporting.

1999 N.Y. Laws, A.B. 9038 Makes a person guilty of placing a false bomb in the first degree when he or she places upon school grounds any object that appears to be or contain a bomb or explosive device but is an inoperative imitation.

1998 N.Y. Laws, S.B. 6234, Sec. 1 Includes in the definition of a juvenile offender a person ages 14 or 15 who possess firearms or machine guns on school grounds.

1997 N.Y. Laws, S.B. 5704 Appropriates $520,000 for the extended day care/school violence prevention program.

1995 N.Y. Laws, Chap. 269 Establishes mandatory suspension for students found in possession of a weapon or firearm at school.

2001 N.C. Sess. Laws, H.B. 620 Gives school superintendents flexibility regarding the expunction of records of a student's suspension or expulsion from school.

2001 N.C. Sess. Laws, S.B. 71 Establishes a pilot program under which participating local school administrative units place all students who are on short-term out-of-school suspension in alternative learning programs.

2001 N.C. Sess. Laws, S.B. 811 Ensures that the parents or guardians of students who are suspended or expelled from school for more than 10 days receive notice that is in the appropriate language when foreign language resources are readily available.

1999 N.C. Sess. Laws, Law 397 Requires strategies for improving student performance to include a plan that specifies effective instructional practices for at-risk students. Requires certain documentation of procedures, reasons and plans for at-risk students prior to placing these pupils in alternative schools and learning programs. Requires state board and local boards to regularly evaluate these alternative schools and learning programs.

1999 N.C. Sess. Laws, S.B. 57, Chap. 243 Revokes the driver's licenses of students who commit certain acts of violence on school campuses. States that any student suspended for more than 10 days for assaulting a school employee, bringing a weapon on campus, or possessing drugs or alcohol on school grounds may lose driving privileges for up to one year.

1999 N.C. Extra Sess. Laws, S.B. 1099 Adds alternative schools to the requirement for the preparation of safe school plans.

1999 N.C. Extra Sess. Laws, H.B. 517 Increases the criminal penalty for a second or subsequent offense of making a bomb threat or perpetrating a hoax by placing a false bomb at a public building. Increases the penalty for bringing certain weapons on school property, bomb threats or hoaxes, bringing a bomb on school property, or actual detonation of a bomb by requiring the division of motor vehicles to revoke for one year the drivers license of any person convicted of such an offense. Holds parents civilly liable for children who make bomb threats or perpetrate bomb hoaxes on schools. Directs the joint legislative education oversight committee to study the issue of students who make or carry out threats of violence directed at schools or the persons in the schools.

1999 N.C. Sess. Laws, H.B. 1154, Chap. 387 Establishes that any student will be suspended for up to one year if he or she brings or possesses a firearm or explosive on school property or at a school-sponsored activity that is on or off of school grounds.

1994 N.C. Extra Sess. Laws, Chap. 24, Sec. 42 Appropriates $12 million to local school units to implement a coordinated and collaborative juvenile crime intervention and prevention grant program.

2000 Ohio Laws, H.B. 640 Appropriates funds for 21 school districts to develop alternative education programs for youth that have been suspended or expelled, on probation or parole, at-risk for dropping out of school, or habitually truant or disruptive.

1999 Ohio Laws, S.B. 1 Creates a uniform school safety law. Strengthens the state's expulsion and suspension laws.

1999 Ohio Laws, H.B. 282 Appropriates $250,000 for the development and operation of Safe Schools Center and a safe-school help line.

1998 Ohio Laws, H.B. 5 Increases the penalty for drive-by shootings at a home or school from a 3rd degree to 2nd degree felony for a first-time perpetrator.

1998 Ohio Laws, H.B. 382 Increases penalty for bomb threat or other false report inducing panic at school. Permits school districts to make-up time lost to false threats by adding 1/2 hour to remaining school days.

1996 Ohio Laws, H.B. 81 Allows a student to be expelled for possessing a firearm or knife even though it was brought to school by another person.

2001 Okla. Sess. Laws, H.B. 1092 Requires school districts to adopt rules relating to possession of wireless telecommunication devices and deletes possession of a wireless telecommunication device as grounds for an out-of-school suspension or student search.

2001 Okla. Sess. Laws, H.B. 1460 Modifies provisions relating to alternative education; modifies criteria for Alternative Approaches grants and modifies limitations for Alternative Approaches grants requiring annual needs assessments by school districts. Deletes Alternative Education Academies pilot programs from the statewide alternative education system and modifies alternative education program graduation requirements. Prohibits certain uses of statewide alternative education funding and modifies certain yearly funding level requirement. Deletes the expenditure requirement for students in alternative education and allows elementary school districts to request a waiver from alternative education program requirements.

2001 H.B. 1499 Requires each urban school district identified as having a high population of elementary grade students who are at-risk and in need of alternative education to expand the annual student needs assessment and alternative education plan to include those students.

2000 Okla. Sess. Laws, HB 2168 Encourages violence prevention in schools through collaboration and greater access to mental health and social services. Declares a state of emergency.

2000 Okla. Sess. Laws, S.B. 517 Allows the school board to convey authority to direct individuals to leave school property under certain circumstances. Requires the establishment of appeals procedures, including written notice and opportunity for a hearing.

1999 Okla. Sess. Laws, H.J.R. 1012 Requests a survey of sites with Safe School Committees

1999 Okla. Sess. Laws, S.B. 715 Relates to school and teacher preparation systems. Requires teacher candidates to study substance abuse symptom identification and prevention, classroom management skills, and classroom safety and discipline techniques.

1996 Okla. Sess. Laws, H.B. 2692, Sec. 24-101 A,B Permits a student who has been adjudicated delinquent for a nonviolent offense to be suspended. Requires the student to be place in a supervised, structured environment in either a home-based school work assignment setting or another appropriate setting. Allows the principal to apply alternative in-school placement options before suspension.

1995 Okla. Sess. Laws, Chap. 210 Mandates suspension for any student carrying weapons on school grounds.

2001 Oregon Laws, H.B. 3647, Chap. 619 Subject to the availability of funds, directs the Department of Justice to establishes a state-wide, toll-free hotline for students to report criminal or suspicious activities on school grounds or school-sponsored activities. Creates a Class A Misdemeanor offense for misuse of the School Safety Hotline.

2001 Oregon Laws, H.B. 3429 Creates the Center for School Safety and appropriates moneys from the General Fund for its operation. Specifies the Center's administration, mission and duties, as well as members and terms for Board of Directors. Directs the Board to develop a plan for assessment of school safety and discipline and requires school district boards to adopt plans to address school safety and discipline.

2001 Oregon Laws, S.B. 258 Allows the state Board of Education to establish standards for private alternative education programs and specifies what is included in school district annual evaluation of private alternative education program.

1999 Oregon Laws, S.B. 344 Requires public employees and employees of private schools and hospitals to report any person who is or has been within the past 120 days unlawfully in possession of firearms or destructive devices on public property. Requires detention and mental evaluation of any youth arrested for possession of a firearm on school property

1999 Oregon Laws, H.B. 3047 Encourages school districts to form a safe school alliance composed of schools, law enforcement agencies, juvenile justice agencies and district attorneys to provide the safest possible school environment.

1999 Oregon Laws, H.B. 3444, Chap. 576 Requires district school boards to develop policies to manage students who threaten violence or harm in public schools. States that the policies adopted by a school district shall include staff reporting methods and shall require immediate removal from the classroom any student that threatens physical harm. Removed students must be placed in an alternative setting and given a mental health evaluation before returning to the classroom. Requires parents to be notified.

1997 Oregon Laws, H.B. 3544 Requires the State Department of Education to establish a two-year pilot program to address problems associated with disruptive students in schools, including counseling and social work services, and parent counseling/training classes. Defines "serious offense" as a violation of a school district rule related to alcohol or drugs, arson, assault, firearms, extortion, harassment, intimidation or menacing, knives, reckless endangering, sexual harassment, theft, vandalism, or weapons.

1999 Pa. Laws, S.B. 97-494 Authorizes interagency sharing of juvenile records upon agreement between the district school superintendent and juvenile probation officer.

1999 Pa. Laws, H.B. 456 Amends the Public School Code. Provides for the Office of Safe Schools, basic education grants, intermediate units, community colleges, secondary vocational education subsidies, small district assistance and transportation. Authorizes area vocational-technical boards to establish capital reserve funds

1995 Pa. Laws, Act 26, Sec. 4,7- Expels, for at least one year, children who bring a weapon on to school property or to any school-sponsored activity.

2001 R.I. Pub. Laws, H.B. 5924 Requires each city, town and regional school committee to appoint school safety teams for development of school safety emergency response plans in order to effectively prepare for acts of violence and other emergencies.

1999 R.I. Pub. Laws, S.R. 83 Requires each school committee to develop a violence prevention and alternative dispute resolution program, with the assistance of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, that is mandatory for elementary school students.

1999 R.I. Pub. Laws, H.B. 6167 Creates a pilot program to be known as the After-School Alternative Program to reduce gang activity and drug related crime near school property. Requires local collaboration in developing prevention programs and prohibits activities from being provided at school sites. Establishes gang violence prevention advisory committee.

1995 R.I Pub. Laws, Chap. 95-061, Sec. 1 Prohibits students from bringing or possessing firearms on school premises and from aiming a firearm or realistic replica of a firearm at school premises, vehicles, staff, students, or visitors. Making the penalty a one year suspension from school.

1996 S.C. Acts, Act 34 Requires the state to monitor and prosecute crimes that occur on school property or at school events.

1995 S.C. Acts, Act 39 Requires school expulsion for possession of weapon.

1994 S.C. Acts, Act 373 Permits school officials to conduct reasonable searches of personal items on school property without probable cause.

1996 S.D. Sess. Laws, Chap. 122 Allows school boards to expel students who intentionally bring a firearm onto school grounds for no less than 12 months. Authorizes the superintendent or chief administering officer to increase or decrease the length of the expulsion.

2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, S.B. 215 Expands from five schools to five local education agencies in each grand division who are required to file reports with the Commissioner of Education on conflict resolution intervention programs.

2000 Tenn. Pub. Acts, S.B. 2576 Outlines zero tolerance policies for various acts of misconduct. Requires automatic one-year expulsion for possession of firearms on school property, battery against a school employee or possession of any drug. Gives superintendents discretion to modify expulsions and mandates due process procedures for expelled students. Allows expelled students to attend alternative schools.

1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts, S.B. 346 Provides for development by the Department of Education and implementation by local education agencies of safe school in-service training programs dealing with drugs, alcohol, and other student or gang-related violence in schools.

1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts, S.B. 1888 Requires the parents and guardians of a student adjudicated delinquent for an offense involving a violent crime to notify the school principal in writing of the nature of the offense when such student enrolls in, resumes attendance at, or changes schools in a local education agency

1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts, H.B. 675 Allows school resource officers to be employed with funds generated under the Safe Neighborhoods or Federal universal hiring programs.

1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts, H.B. 1490 Includes Alvin C. York Institute, the School for the Blind, the School for the Deaf, and the Tennessee Preparatory School within provisions of the Safe School Act.

1997 Tenn. Pub. Acts, S.B. 1341 Expands list of prohibited substances for possession of which student may expelled to include prescription drugs or any other controlled substance.

1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 988, Sec. 2-14 - Requires local education agencies to develop a code of acceptable behavior and discipline that addresses fighting, weapons, substance abuse, and drug sales.

Sec. 7 - Creates civil liability for assault and property damage on school property or at school-related functions.

Sec. 11 - Requires expulsion for assault or possession of illegal drugs.

1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 987 Directs the state to develop and recommend training or notification procedures for using two-way communications in schools. Requests a study on school security including two-way communications.

1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 891 Requires advisory guidelines for local education on developing safe and secure learning environments. Specifies consultation with law enforcement.

1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 888 Requires school boards to develop policies and procedures to discipline any student who possesses drugs, drug paraphernalia, or a dangerous weapon or who is under the influence of a drug or assaults or threatens to assault a teacher, student or other person at school ore related events. Requires schools to notify law enforcement.

1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 814 Directs the state to establish a school safety center on behavior, discipline, and violence prevention. Requires the center to collect and analyze data on school-related violence, among other issues. Authorizes grants to local education agencies.

1995 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 268 Requires a one-year expulsion of students who bring firearms onto school grounds without authorization.

1994 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 821 Adds crimes committed on school property to the list of possible enhancement factors.

1994 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 571 Prohibits students from wearing gang-related clothing to school.

1994 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 636 Changes "probable cause" standard to conduct searches on school property to a "reasonable suspicion" standard. Adds vehicles, containers, packages and visitors to list of what can be searched.

1994 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Chap. 973 Creates school safety zones.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, H.B. 1088 Requires public school students who make a false alarm or terrorist threat to be expelled or placed in an alternative education program.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 189 Allows disciplinary action against students with disabilities who receive special education services. Allows for the inclusion of a juvenile justice alternative education program administrator in meetings regarding the expulsion of a disabled student and his or her placement in the alternative education program.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 430 Specifies the duties and creation of the Texas School Safety Center.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 430 Provides for a firearms accident prevention program to be presented in public elementary schools, and provides safety training programs for law enforcement and school staff.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 1196 Specifies the manner in which students may be disciplined, including students with disabilities. Requires the Commissioner of Education to adopt procedures regarding the use of restraint, time-out, and other disciplinary actions within schools.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, H.B. 1088 Requires a student who submits a false report to be placed in an alternative education program and provides that a student may be expelled for this conduct.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 189 Allows juvenile justice alternative education programs to apply for a waiver of the required 180 days of operation so that they can operate according to the same calendar year as that used by the school districts of their own service areas and therefore avoid lower attendance.

2001 Tex. Gen. Laws, S.B. 998 Allows an uncertified teacher who works in an alternative education program for three years or more to take the alternative teacher certification test without completing the alternative certification program to encourage and reward teachers to work in alternative education programs for a longer period of time.

1999 Tex. Gen. Laws, H.B. 656 Makes offenses committed within 1,000 feet of school property a third-degree felony.

1999 Tex. Gen. Laws, H.B. 1749 Permits school districts to prohibit certain expelled students from enrolling in the same school as their victims. Authorizes the disclosure of information contained in the educational system by establishing the terms under which an interagency agreement must be written before an exchange of certain information between the educational and juvenile justice information systems may take place.

2001 Utah Laws, H.B. 58 Requires school uniform policies to remain in place for at least one year after their formal implementation and provides a window for students to opt out of participating in the school uniform program.

2001 Utah Laws, H.B. 69 Appropriates $70,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health, for fiscal year 2001-02 only, to fund community awareness in schools concerning sexual violence prevention.

2001 Utah Laws, S.B. 115 Substitute Requires any student who has been expelled from school for a firearm, explosive, or flammable material violation to meet with the school district superintendent to determine if the expulsion should be modified.

2000 Utah Laws, H.B. 169 Requires the state board of education to evaluate school violence prevention programs and practices and make a report.

1998 Utah Laws, H.B. 286 Allows school districts to use volunteers to teach firearms safety to students K-4th to help avoid them from firearm injuries. Authorizes a local school board to require K-6th students to participation a firearm safety education class.

1995 Utah Laws, Chap. 129 Appropriates money to the gang prevention and intervention program in the public schools.

1994 Utah Laws, Chap. 288 Creates a firearm safety course within public schools. Provides regulations, qualifications and exemption procedures for instructors and students.

2000 Vt. Acts, Act 113 Requires schools to adopt and implement a comprehensive plan for responding to student misbehavior. Authorizes school officials to suspend or expel students when the continued presence of the student may be harmful to the welfare of the school or for possessing a weapon on school property. Authorizes alternative education, allows suspended students to apply to other public or independent schools during the period of expulsion and authorizes the suspending/expelling school districts to provide for tuition.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 197 Provides that any person who makes an oral or written threat to commit an act of violence on any elementary, middle or secondary school property or at a school-sponsored event shall be guilty of a Class Six felony.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 247 Provides that the hunting exemption and the exemption for an established shooting range do not apply to the willful discharge of a firearm upon the buildings and grounds of a school or within 1,000 feet of the property line of a school.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 1587, S.B. 1334 Requires schools to submit school safety audits to the relevant school division superintendent and requires that the division superintendent collate and submit the audits to the Virginia Center for School Safety. States that the Virginia Center for School Safety will join the Department of Education in providing technical assistance to school divisions in the development of school crisis and emergency management plans.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 1624 Prohibits all knives on school property or at school-sponsored events except for pocket knives having a folding metal blade less than three inches long.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 1652 Allows local school boards to disburse annually up to five percent of the School Resource Officer Grants Fund for the training of school resource officers.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 1706 Allows school boards to exclude from attendance any students who have been suspended for more than 30 days, expelled by another school division or for whom private school admission has been withdrawn. Requires exclusion to be based upon findings that the student presents a danger to the other students or staff of the school division and upon compliance with a hearing process.

2001 Va. Acts, H.B. 2512, S.B. 1359, Chap. 620, 688 Reorganizes student discipline statutes, defines disciplinary actions and requires superintendents to consider factors like student age, grade, attendance, academic and disciplinary history and the feasibility of alternative education in cases of expulsion. Requires expulsion confirmation by the school board. Eliminates the one-year cap for exclusion from school attendance and requires students to petition for re-admission on a scheduled established by the school board. Allows school boards to provide alternative education programs for students who have been expelled, excluded, are subject to a long-term suspension. Permits school boards to take action against students or their parents for actual loss, breakage, or destruction of or failure to return school property.

2001 Va. Acts, S.B. 1144 Authorizes local school boards to establish optional age-appropriate education programs for young students in grades kindergarten through five who require guidance, supervision and discipline in a structured learning environment and who need to be re-directed toward appropriate classroom decorum and acceptable personal behavior. Requires the programs to provide instructional and support services that will enable students to maintain academic achievement, attain basic skills and academic proficiencies and otherwise benefit from a public education, during the time that they may be removed from the regular classroom. Requires local school boards to ensure that the programs are adequately staffed by licensed teachers or other persons with demonstrated qualifications to instruct and manage students with a range of academic gifts and deficiencies, disciplinary problems and the need to develop and use appropriate social skills.

2000 Va. Acts, H.B. 742 Authorizes two or more school boards to work together to establish regional residential charter schools for at-risk students.

2000 Va. Acts, H.B. 391 Pending appropriations, establishes the Virginia Center for School Safety to train school personnel in school safety and identifying at-risk youth; conduct research and provide workshops and information regarding school safety issues; gather and disseminate school safety data and information regarding successful local and national initiatives; encourage public/private partnerships to implement school safety initiatives; provide technical assistance to school districts; and ensure collaboration between the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction regarding areas of mutual concern, such as school safety audits and crime prevention.

1999 Va. Acts, S.B. 817 Requires each school board to incorporate, within its existing programs, a character education program in its schools.

1999 Va. Acts, S.B. 827 Requires, in addition to the required school safety audits, that school boards ensure that each school develops a school crisis and emergency management plan.

1999 Va. Acts, S.B. 966, Chap. 952 Expands the list of offenses committed by a juvenile requiring immediate notification of the school superintendent where the juvenile is or should be enrolled.

1999 Va. Acts, S.B. 1135 Allows the school board to authorize a preliminary review of expulsions for drug offenses to determine whether an action other than expulsion is appropriate.

1999 Va. Acts, S.B. 1244 Permits local law-enforcement authorities to report, and school principals to receive such reports, on student offenses, wherever committed, that would be a felony if committed by an adult or would be an adult misdemeanor involving any of the at-school drug, weapons, or violence-related incidents already required to be reported to school officials.

1999 Va. Acts, H.B. 1445 Establishes the School Resource Officer Grants Program and Fund; requires the Criminal Justice Services Board to disburse moneys from the Fund to award matching grants to school boards to employ uniformed school resource officers in secondary schools to be employed to help ensure safety to prevent violence in schools. Requires the Board to establish criteria for making grants from the Fund.

1999 Va. Acts, H.B. 1450, Chap. 935 Appropriates funds to support safe schools.

1999 Va. Acts, H.B. 1521 Clarifies that school safety audits must be written assessments of the safety conditions in each public school. Requires each school to maintain a copy of its safety audit within the office of the school principal and to make this copy available for review upon written request.

1999 Va. Acts, H.B. 1691 Provides that any person convicted of possessing firearm on school ground with the intent to use it, or displaying it in a threatening manner, possession after being convicted of a violent possession of firearms and drugs with intent to sell, shall not be eligible for probation and shall be sentenced to a minimum, mandatory term of 5 years.

1999 Va. Acts, H.B. 2445 Provides for a mandatory period of incarceration of two days when the object of a battery is a teacher, principal, or guidance counselor and six months mandatory incarceration if a gun or other weapon prohibited on school property is used.

1999 Va. Acts, H.J.R. 650 Resolves that the U.S. Congress should be urged to reconsider federal restrictions on disciplining students with disabilities. The Commonwealth would like to provide uniform sanctions for violent students.

1998 Va. Acts, Chap. 655 Compels expulsion of students drug possession on school grounds with discretionary exceptions. Requires board of education to develop random locker search guidelines.

1997 Va. Acts, Chap. 265 Makes it an offense to verbally threaten a school employee.

1995 Va. Acts, Chap. 801 Requires the school board to expel a student who has brought a firearm onto school property or to a school-sponsored activity.

1994 Va. H.J.R. 213 Continues the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Prevention of School Crime and Violence. Requires the subcommittee to recommend statutory and policy changes to ensure safe schools and report its findings to the governor and the 1996 General Assembly.

1994 Va. Acts, Chap. 285 Requires illegal carrying of a firearm onto school property to be reported to the principal.

1994 Va. Acts, Chap. 721 Requires the Board of Education to develop an anonymous system for students to report crimes on school property or at school sponsored activities.

2001 Wash. Laws, E.S.S.B. 6153 Appropriates $500,000 from the general fund for anti-bullying and anti-harassment training at the school district level.

2001 Wash. Laws, H.B. 1041, S.B. 5842 Allows parents to apply for a protection order when their child is being harassed by someone else under the age of 18, when the behavior rises to the level of unlawful harassment.

1999 Wash. Laws, S.B. 5214, Chap. 167 Provides for additional investigation when a student is charged with possession of a firearm on school property and requires such investigation to include a 72-hour detention, mental health examination and evaluation, chemical dependency examination and evaluation, and a locker search.

1999 Wash. Laws, H.B. 1153 Provides that, when a student has attended a school district and enrolls in another district, the enrolling school may request the parent and the student to briefly indicate in writing whether the student has a history of violent behavior. Requires parents to provide to schools information requested under this act. Provides that if parent fails to provide the requested information, the student may be suspended, transferred, or expelled.

1999 Wash. Laws, H.B. 2304A Provides for school safety programs. Makes an appropriation to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the biennium ending June 30, 2001, for prevention and intervention school safety programs; provides for matching grants to enhance security in schools

1994 Wash. Laws, Chap. 7, Sec. 427 (1^st Special Session) - Prohibits possession of a firearm on school premises.

Sec. 601-605 (1^st Special Session) - Requires publication of a guide on violence prevention for educational service districts, school districts, teachers, staff, parents and others. Requires interagency coordination. Provides for contracting procedures and training requirements. Encourages community education programs. Allows community health and safety networks to include matching grants to schools for after-hours recreational opportunities and day care in school facilities as part of their comprehensive plan.

1994 Washington Acts, Chap. 213 Requires school districts to adopt and implement written policies concerning sexual harassment that apply to all school district employees, volunteers, parents and students, including conduct between students.

2001 West Virginia Acts, S.B. 439 Gives teachers authority to discipline students, including exclude students from the classroom for disorderly behavior and prohibits the use of corporal punishment in schools.

2001 West Virginia Acts, S.B. 439 Provides training for teachers in alternative disciplinary methods.

1995 W.Va. Acts, Chap. 90 Makes it unlawful for anyone to possess a firearm or other deadly weapon on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event.

1997 Wis. Laws, Act 335 Establishes when a teacher may remove a disruptive student from class. Requires school districts to develop a code of classroom conduct.

1997 Wis. Laws, Act 329 Authorizes search of school lockers without notice.

1995 Wis. Laws, Act 75 Requires suspension and the initiation of expulsion proceedings for possessing a knife, firearm, or explosive while at school.

2000 Wyo. Sess. Laws, H.B. 42 Requires the State Department of Health to coordinate tobacco prevention services and resources with other state and local government entities responsible for addressing juvenile delinquency and violence.

1995 Wyo. Sess. Laws, Chap. 57 Mandates expulsion for students carrying weapons on school property to comply with federal laws.

For more information, please contact the Finessa Ferrell-Smith at 303/364-7700, extension 137.

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