NCJ Number
161362
Date Published
1992
Length
138 pages
Annotation
This book explains the legal responsibility of schools to provide a safe environment for students and staff, the legal liability that results from failure to provide such an environment, and the security measures schools should implement to increase safety and avoid liability.
Abstract
The first chapter reviews the scope of the problem in terms of the extent and nature of crime in schools, the traditional emphasis on perpetrators' rights, and the tendency to ignore victims' rights to protection and compensation for victimization injuries. A number of chapters review the legal background for victims' claims in the context of the legal right to safe schools, including the California constitutional right to safe schools, Federal constitutional considerations, tort law right to safe schools, and statutory remedies. A chapter on the victims' rights movement focuses on initiatives to upgrade protection and compensation for crime victims. Three chapters address elements of victims' rights litigation, the classifications of victims' rights litigation, and schools as victims' rights litigation defendants. Two chapters examine legal claims for failure to protect against or prevent nonstudent and student crime or violence. The concluding chapter focuses on the responsibilities of schools, students, parents, and communities to provide safe schools. A checklist for providing safe schools is included. A table of authorities and a subject index