The No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110), amended and reauthorized the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) as Part A of Title IV—21st Century Schools. The act is up for reauthorization in the 110th Congress. The Department of Education (ED) administers SDFSCA through the SDFSC program, which is the federal government’s major initiative to prevent drug abuse and violence in and around schools. State grants are awarded by formula to outlying areas, state educational agencies, and local educational agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Also, funds go to state Governors for creating programs to deter youth from using drugs and committing violent acts in schools. National programs are supported through discretionary funds for a variety of national leadership projects designed to prevent drug abuse and violence at all educational levels.
Other federally sponsored substance abuse and violence prevention programs are administered in the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and other agencies. Those programs are not discussed in this report.
A joint Department of Education and Department of Justice (DOJ) study (Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006) states that “Our nation’s schools should be a safe haven for teaching and learning free of crime and violence. However, it is difficult to gauge the scope of crime and violence in schools given the large amount of attention devoted to isolated incidents of extreme school violence.” ED and DOJ data show that from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, there were 21 homicides and seven suicides at school of 5- to 18-year-old students, which translated to about one homicide or suicide of such a student at school per 2 million students enrolled in the 2004-05 school year. Also, in 2004, 12- to-18-year-old students were victims of about 1.4 million nonfatal crimes at school. A spate of school violence deaths and injuries occurred early in the 2006-2007 school term, prompting renewed interest in the issue, including a White House conference on school safety.
A study conducted by the University of Michigan (2006 Monitoring the Future), revealed a continued general decline in illicit drug use by all 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. In 2006, very little or no declines in drug use occurred in any grade of such drugs as inhalants, LSD, cocaine powder, methamphetamines, heroin, tranquilizers, sedatives, various club drugs, steroids and others. There was little change in MDMA (ecstasy) use among 8th and 10th graders, but a very small increase in annual use among 12th graders. Marijuana use continued to decline among 10th and 12th graders, but stopped declining among 8th graders. After decreasing slightly in recent years among all grades, crack cocaine use showed a further decline among 10th graders. OxyContin use increased among 8th and 10th graders, but declined among 12th graders. Vicodin use slightly increased among all three grades. Alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and smokeless tobacco use declined only among 12th graders who had used the product 30 days prior to the survey. About one in every 25 8th graders and one in every 14 high school seniors abused over-the-counter cough or cold medications.
Revision History Jan. 22, 2007 Feb. 25, 2004 Mar. 14, 2003 Apr. 22, 2002 Report Type: CRS Report Source: EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department Raw Metadata: JSONThe No Child Left Behind Act ( P.L. 107-110 ), amended and reauthorized the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) as Part A of Title IV—21 st Century Schools. The act is up for reauthorization in the 110 th Congress. The Department of Education (ED) administers SDFSCA through the SDFSC program, which is the federal government's major initiative to prevent drug abuse and violence in and around schools. State grants are awarded by formula to outlying areas, state educational agencies, and local educational agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Also, funds go to state Governors for creating programs to deter youth from using drugs and committing violent acts in schools. National programs are supported through discretionary funds for a variety of national leadership projects designed to prevent drug abuse and violence at all educational levels.
Other federally sponsored substance abuse and violence prevention programs are administered in the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and other agencies. Those programs are not discussed in this report.
A joint Department of Education and Department of Justice (DOJ) study (Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006) states that "Our nation's schools should be a safe haven for teaching and learning free of crime and violence. However, it is difficult to gauge the scope of crime and violence in schools given the large amount of attention devoted to isolated incidents of extreme school violence." ED and DOJ data show that from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, there were 21 homicides and seven suicides at school of 5- to 18-year-old students, which translated to about one homicide or suicide of such a student at school per 2 million students enrolled in the 2004-05 school year. Also, in 2004, 12- to-18-year-old students were victims of about 1.4 million nonfatal crimes at school. A spate of school violence deaths and injuries occurred early in the 2006-2007 school term, prompting renewed interest in the issue, including a White House conference on school safety.
A study conducted by the University of Michigan (2006 Monitoring the Future), revealed a continued general decline in illicit drug use by all 8 th , 10 th , and 12 th grade students. In 2006, very little or no declines in drug use occurred in any grade of such drugs as inhalants, LSD, cocaine powder, methamphetamines, heroin, tranquilizers, sedatives, various club drugs, steroids and others. There was little change in MDMA (ecstasy) use among 8 th and 10 th graders, but a very small increase in annual use among 12 th graders. Marijuana use continued to decline among 10 th and 12 th graders, but stopped declining among 8 th graders. After decreasing slightly in recent years among all grades, crack cocaine use showed a further decline among 10 th graders. OxyContin use increased among 8 th and 10 th graders, but declined among 12 th graders. Vicodin use slightly increased among all three grades. Alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and smokeless tobacco use declined only among 12 th graders who had used the product 30 days prior to the survey. About one in every 25 8 th graders and one in every 14 high school seniors abused over-the-counter cough or cold medications.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program: Background and ContextThe No Child Left Behind Act ( P.L. 107-110 ) amended and reauthorized the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as Part A of Title IV—21 st Century Schools. This program will again be considered for reauthorization in the 110 th Congress.
SDFSCA is administered by the Department of Education (ED). Grants are awarded to states and at the national level for programs to promote school safety and assist in preventing drug abuse. Although the SDFSC program is the primary federal government program targeted to reduce drug use and violence through educational and prevention methods in the nation's schools, 1 it is one of several substance abuse and violence prevention programs funded by the federal government. 2 In a 1997 report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) identified 70 federal programs authorized to provide services for either substance abuse prevention or violence prevention. ED, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) administered 48 of the programs. 3
For FY2006, Congress appropriated $568.8 million for the program. For FY2007, the President requested $216.0 million. The House Appropriations Committee recommended $526.0 million for the SDFSC program ($310 million more than requested), and the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended $492.5 million ($276.5 million more than requested). The program continues to operate at FY2006 levels under a continuing resolution through February 15, 2007. For information about reauthorization and appropriations for the SDFSC program, see CRS Report RL33870, The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act: Reauthorization and Appropriations, by [author name scrubbed].
Since 1986, when a crack cocaine crisis appeared to be developing among older youth and adults in the nation, drug abuse among students in school has been a congressional concern. In response to the growing concern about crack cocaine and drug abuse in general, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. In 1994, this legislation was expanded (as discussed below) to include violence occurring in and around schools. GAO stated that in 1994, about 3 million violent crimes and thefts occurred annually in or near schools, which equaled almost 16,000 incidents per school day. 4 The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicated that in the 1993-1994 school year, violence in public schools was on the rise and schools appeared less safe than in the 1987-1988 school year. From the 1987-1988 school year to the 1993-1994 school year, an increasing percentage of public elementary and secondary school teachers reported that physical conflict and weapon possession among students were moderate to serious problems in schools. 5 Similarly, between 1992 and 1995, drug use rates among school-aged youth increased for over 10 different drugs, particularly marijuana, after declining in the 1980s. 6
To address those concerns, on October 20, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Improving America's School Act ( P.L. 103-382 ), which reauthorized ESEA, and created SDFSCA as Title IV. The 1994 legislation extended, amended, and renamed the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1988 ( P.L. 100-297 , DFSCA). 7 Violence prevention was added to DFSCA's original drug abuse-prevention purpose by incorporating the Safe Schools Act. 8 Consequently, SDFSCA was intended to help deter violence and promote school safety as well as discourage drug use in and around the nation's schools. Funding was authorized for federal, state, and local programs to assist schools in providing a disciplined learning environment free of violence and drug use, including alcohol and tobacco. 9
This report provides background information about the school safety and drug abuse issues, presents a detailed overview of the various aspects of the SDFSC program as it exists under current law, and discusses an evaluation of the SDFSC program.
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006 (Indicators Study), a joint publication by ED and DOJ, provides the most recent federal data on school crime and student safety. The report states that "it is difficult to gauge the scope of crime and violence in schools given the large amount of attention devoted to isolated incidents of extreme school violence." 10 The authors note that the aim of the study is to create good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and to periodically monitor and update those indicators, which they believe is required to ensure safer schools. 11 The Indicators Study draws information from a variety of independent data sources, which include national representative sample surveys of students, teachers, and principals, and a complete array of data collected from federal departments and agencies including DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NCES, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each data source has its own separate sample design, method of collecting data, and questionnaire design or results from a universe of data collection. 12 The national representative sample surveys used in the report were the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and School Crime Supplement to NCVS, sponsored by BJS and NCES, respectively, NCES's Schools and Staffing Survey and the School Survey on Crime and Safety, and CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
The Indicators Study noted that in the 2004-2005 school year, an estimated 54.9 million students were enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the nation. The study showed that violent crime 13 victimization rates 14 of 12- to 18-year-old students at school actually declined from 73 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to 55 such occurrences in 2004. 15 The study observed that despite such a decline, violence, theft, drugs, and weapons continued to pose problems in schools. 16
Preliminary data revealed that 28 youth ages 5 to 18 were victims of school-associated violent deaths from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005—that is, 21 homicides and 7 suicides. 17 Those figures translated to about one homicide or suicide of school-aged students at school per 2 million students enrolled during the 2004-05 school year. In 2005, 36% of 9 th through 12 th -grade students reported being in a fight anywhere, while 14% stated that they had been in a fight on school property during the previous year. 18 Also in 2005, the report noted that 28% of 12- to 18-year-old students stated that they had been bullied within the last six months. Males were more likely than females to report being injured as a result of a bullying incident. 19 Furthermore, 24% of such students reported sustaining an injury 20 as a result of bullying incidents. 21 The presence of gangs in schools was reported by 24% of 12- to 18-year-old students in 2005, with a larger percentage of such reports from urban school students than suburban students. This is an increase from the 21% of students who reported the presence of gangs in schools in 2003. 22
In 2004, 12-to-18-year-old students were victims of about 1.4 million nonfatal crimes at school. The incidence of thefts at school was 33 per 1,000 students, compared with 27 thefts per 1,000 students that occurred away from school. The study noted that students were more likely to be victims of theft at school than away from school. 23 In 2005, 43% of students in the 9 th through 12 th grades reported drinking at least one alcoholic beverage anywhere, while 4% drank at least one such beverage at school within the previous month. Also in 2005, 20% of 9 th through 12 th grade students reported using marijuana anywhere within the previous month, while 5% stated that they used the drug on school property during the same time period. 24 Furthermore, in 2005, 19% of such students stated that they had carried a weapon 25 anywhere, while about 6% reported carrying a weapon on school property within the previous month. 26 Hispanic students were more likely to report being threatened or injured with a weapon at school than white students. 27
The Indicators Study stated that "Our nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence." 28 It noted, however, that any instance of crime or violence at school might broadly affect not only the persons involved but also might cause disorder in the educational process and the school itself, as well as affect bystanders and the adjacent community. Also, the report found that in 2005, as in both 1999 and 2001, students were more likely to be afraid of being harmed at school than while away from school. In 2005, as grade levels increased, it was found that the percentage of students who reported fearing an attack at school or on the way to or from school declined. 29
The study revealed that feelings regarding safety at school depended on the racial and/or ethnic group, grade level, and school location of the students. In 2005, larger percentages of black and Hispanic students feared attack or harm at school, or on the way to and from school, than white students, regardless of location. 30 Furthermore, students in lower grades generally were more fearful of harm at school, en route to or from school, or away from school, than students in higher grades. Students in urban schools were more likely than those in suburban or rural schools to fear attack both at school or on the way to and from school. Similarly, students in public schools were more fearful of harm than those in private schools. 31
In 2005, 11% of 12- to 18-year-old students revealed that someone at school used hate-related words against them (that is, a derogatory word having to do with race, religion, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation). Also, 38% of students reported seeing hate-related graffiti at school (that is, such words or symbols written in classrooms, bathrooms, hallways, or on the outside of the school building). In 2005, females were more likely to report gender-related hate words than males, while males were more likely than female students to report hate words related to both race and ethnicity. Blacks, Hispanics, and students of other races were more likely to report race-related hate words than white students. Furthermore, students in urban schools were more likely than students in suburban or rural schools to be called a hate-related word. Students in public schools were more likely than private school students to report being called a hate-related word and to see hate-related graffiti. 32
Some other significant findings involved threats and attacks on teachers. In the 2003-04 school year (the most recent data available), a smaller percentage of teachers reported that they had been threatened with injury by a student in their school within the previous year than in the 1993-94 and 1999-2000 school years. Also, in 2003-04, teachers were less likely to report being physically attacked than in 1993-94. Between 1993-94 and 2003-04, teachers in central city schools were more likely to be threatened with injury or physically attacked than those who worked in urban fringe areas or in rural schools. Furthermore, in 2003-04, a larger percentage of male teachers than female teachers reported being threatened with injury, while female teachers were more likely to have been physically attacked than their male counterparts. Secondary school teachers were more likely to have been threatened with injury by a student than elementary school teachers, while elementary school teachers were more likely to have reported being physically attacked. 33
Regarding the findings of the Indicators Study 2005, Kenneth Trump, President of the National School Safety and Security Services (NSSSS), an independent national school safety private consulting firm, stated that data showing a decline in school crime were misleading because they were not based on actual reported crimes. He stated that such "outdated, and limited data is misleading and creates a false sense of security." 34 In November 2004, Trump summarized what he believed to be the situation with school violence nationwide by observing that, "Federal statistics grossly underestimate the extent of school crime and public perception tends to overstate it. Nobody knows exactly how many school crimes occur or whether there is an upward or downward trend because there is no mandatory school crime reporting and tracking laws in the United States." 35 Furthermore, Trump stated that unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report, 36 which is based on actual crimes reported, the Indicators Study and similar publications "are based upon limited research studies, academic surveys, and self-report surveys." 37
Trump conducts annual national surveys for the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), which comprises the nation's school-based police officers, and has found that survey results consistently indicated that crime in schools is under-reported to law enforcement. Specifically, the 2003 survey of 728 school resource officers (SROs) showed that over 87% reported that the numbers of crimes occurring on school property nationwide were under-reported to police. Over 61% of SROs believed that the possibility of a school being labeled "persistently dangerous" (which the No Child Left Behind Act makes possible) 38 could lead to school administrators under-reporting school crime. Furthermore, over 88% of survey respondents believed that Congress should pass a law requiring nationwide mandatory, consistent school crime reporting for elementary and secondary schools. 39
The Departments of Education and Justice have concluded that violent school deaths are extremely rare events. 40 Therefore, schools remain the safest places for children, although some might perceive them to be dangerous. 41 Research reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) discovered that less than 1% of homicides and suicides among school-aged youth occurred on school property or when traveling to or from school or at school-sponsored events. 42 The Indicators Study states that "violent deaths in schools are rare but tragic events with far-reaching effects on the school population and surrounding." 43 The discussion below about school-related violent deaths presents data collected prior to the 2006 Indicators Study, which, as stated above, is the most recent compilation of federal research available on such incidents.
In 1996, JAMA published the first study investigating violent school-related deaths nationwide, conducted by researchers from CDC, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program at ED, the National School Safety Center (NSSC) 44 of Westlake Village, CA, and the National Institute of Justice of DOJ. The period studied covered two consecutive academic years from July 1, 1992, through June 30, 1994 (specifically, July 1, 1992-June 30, 1993 and July 1, 1993-June 30, 1994). Over the two-year period, 105 school-related deaths were identified. The researchers used a case definition for school-associated deaths as "any homicide or suicide in which the fatal injury occurred on the campus of a functioning elementary or secondary school in the United States, while the victim was on the way to or from regular sessions at such a school, or while the victim was attending or traveling to or from an official school-sponsored event." 45 Deaths of students, non-students, and staff members were included.
Researchers discovered the following:
The December 5, 2001 issue of JAMA contained the results of an update of the 1996 study. Entitled "School-Associated Violent Deaths in the United States, 1994-1999," the study described the trends and features of such deaths from July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1999. 47 Using a definition similar to the 1996 study, a school-related death was defined as "a homicide, suicide, legal intervention, 48 or unintentional firearm-related death of a student or nonstudent in which the fatal injury occurred (1) on the campus of a public or private elementary or secondary school, (2) while the victim was on the way to or from such a school, or (3) while the victim was attending or traveling to or from an official school-sponsored event." 49 Researchers discovered that between 1994 and 1999, there were 220 events that led to 253 school-related deaths. Of the 220 events, there were 172 homicides, 30 suicides, 11 homicide-suicide occurrences, five legal intervention deaths, and two unintentional firearm-related deaths.
Several trends were noted in a CDC press release as follows:
Researchers concluded and emphasized that such deaths remained rare events but occurred often enough to indicate patterns and to identify possible risk factors. Therefore, this information might assist schools in responding to the problem.
The CDC, which has been involved in school-associated violent deaths research in collaboration with ED and DOJ (as mentioned above), also collected data to assess whether the risk for such deaths varied during the school year. The case definition for school-associated violent deaths used in this study was the same one that was used in the 1996 study discussed above. Researchers analyzed monthly counts of school-associated homicides and suicides for seven school terms, from September 1, 1992, to June 30, 1999, that occurred among middle, junior, and senior high school students in the nation. For that seven-year period, 209 school-related violent deaths occurred involving either a homicide or a suicide of a student. An average of 0.14 school-related homicide incidents occurred each school day, which translated to one homicide every seven school days. Homicide rates usually were highest near the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and then declined over the subsequent months. An average of 0.03 suicide incidents occurred each school day, which was one suicide every 31 school days. The overall suicide rates were higher during the spring semester than in the fall semester, but did not vary significantly within semesters. 51
The CDC researchers believe that these findings could be useful for school personnel in planning and implementing school violence prevention programs. They point out possible explanations for why high school-related homicide rates were highest at the beginning of each semester. One suggested explanation is that conflicts that began either before or during the semester or holiday break might have escalated into deadly violence when students returned to school for the start of a new semester. Another suggestion was that the beginning of a new semester represented a time of considerable change and stress for students when they have to adapt to new schedules, teachers, and classmates. Such stressors might contribute to violent behavior. For these reasons, they propose that schools should consider policies and programs that might ease student adjustment during the transitional periods.
The researchers warn that the results of the study should be interpreted with caution because incidents were identified from news media reports. Therefore, any such event that was not reported in the news media would not have been included in the study. Reports of suicides were of particular concern because media coverage of such events might be limited or discouraged. If under-reporting of suicides did occur, the report states, "coverage probably did not vary by time of year and would not account for the higher rate observed during the spring semester." 52
In March 2003, CDC released findings regarding the source of firearms used by students in the violent deaths of elementary and secondary students that occurred from July 1, 1992 through June 30, 1999. Information on the types of weapons and their sources was obtained by interviewing school and police officials and by reviewing official police reports. CDC found that the majority of weapons used in such school-related violent deaths were obtained from either the perpetrator's home, or from friends or relatives. CDC concluded that "The safe storage of firearms is critically important and should be continued. In addition, other strategies that might prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths among students, such as safety and design changes for firearms, should be evaluated." 53
On October 6, 2006, CDC provided an update 54 regarding school associated violent deaths. The update suggested measures that might help prevent school-associated violent deaths as follows:
—Encouraging efforts to reduce crowding, increase supervision, and institute plans/policies to handle disputes during transition times that may reduce the likelihood of potential conflicts and injuries;
—Taking threats seriously: students need to know who to go to when they have learned of a threat to anyone at the school, while parents, educators, and mentors should be encouraged to take an active role in helping troubled children and teens;
—Taking talk of suicide seriously: it is important to address risk factors for suicidal behavior when trying to prevent violence toward self and others;
—Promoting prevention programs that are designed to help teachers and other school staff recognize and respond to incidences of bullying between students;
—Ensuring at the start of each semester that schools' security plans are being enforced and that staff are trained and prepared to use the plans.
CDC's 2006 update also listed several resources related to youth violence prevention in general that educators, parents, and others might find useful:
NSSSS President Trump identifies school-related deaths, shootings, and crisis incidents from print and electronic news sources, professional contacts, and other nationwide sources. 59 NSSSS research on school-related violent deaths is not exhaustive nor is it a scientific study. To monitor such incidents, the organization used the same definition for school-related violent deaths as CDC (that is, including homicides and suicides with firearms), but NSSSS also included other violent, non-accidental deaths (such as fighting and stabbing) and also reported such fatal injuries occurring at parochial schools. Furthermore, NSSSS has collected data for the 1999-2000 school year through the 2006-2007 school term. NSSSS data and a news account (summarized in Table 1 ) show that during those school terms, a total of 232 school-related violent deaths occurred (as of January 19, 2007). 60
Table 1. School-Related Violent Deaths, by School Year, 1999-2000 through 2006-2007