NCJ Number
170990
Date Published
1996
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Although school violence has become a growing concern to school administrators, school boards, and the general public in recent years, most legal aspects of the problem have not significantly changed.
Abstract
Because the incidence of student violence has continued to increase and criminal, civil, and school disciplinary remedies have tended to be ineffective, some school administrators have sought alternative legal remedies for student violence and other misconduct such as vandalism of school property. One legal remedy has been the enactment of parental liability laws that subject parents of student offenders to financial penalties. In addition, in response to the presence of weapons, many schools have adopted rules purporting to permit broadscale searches of student lockers, book bags, and sometimes even a student's person. Another technique being applied by schools to search for weapons involves the use of magnetometers or metal detectors. The major focus of efforts to combat school violence, however, should be on administrative rather than legal approaches to the problem. Courts will support any reasonable effort by school administrators to prevent and reduce violence in their buildings, even if it causes minimal interference with student privacy or other constitutionally protected rights. Legal responsibilities of schools and school administrators to prevent violence and to protect constitutional rights are discussed. 19 notes