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School Violence

A Guide to Finding Government and Legal Information

Web version of this guide includes links to web resources.

Search Tips:

Mix and match these terms in searching the library catalog, WestCat , or use them to search journal articles and law reviews via the library's Databases page. You can also use them to search government information sites listed on our Starting Points page - click the tab and pay particular attention to the Top Six.

  • school violence
  • school safety
  • bullying in schools
  • school discipline
  • prevention
  • education
  • school shootings
  • zero tolerance
  • metal detectors
  • youth and violence
  • aggressiveness in adolescence
  • problem children
  • Columbine High School Massacre

Related Topics:
  • cyberbullying
  • hazing
  • gangs

An important source for many research topics is Congress. Congressional committees and subcommittees hold hearings on a wide variety of controversial and timely subjects. Simply add the word "hearing?" to a search string in WestCat .

Search Engines

Google and StartPage
Use these search engines to search for government information by typing "site:gov" in the search box preceding your search terms:

  • site:gov "school violence"
Law Review Articles

Law reviews are an important resource for legal topics like this one. They can lead you to laws and cases as well as discuss legal theory. A few law journals are indexed in multidisciplinary databases, but the best bang for your buck will be to search via  Nexis Uni for full-text access to many hundreds of law reviews.

Federal Government Information
StopBullying.gov

All about bullying: what it is, who's at risk, and how to prevent it.
http://www.stopbullying.gov/

About School Violence

Information from the CDC, including statistics, risk factors, and tools for prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/VIOLENCEPREVENTION/youthviolence/schoolviolence/

Now is the Time: the President's Plan to Protect Our Children and Our Communities by Reducing Gun Violence

President Obama's plan to reduce gun violence by closing loopholes in gun sale laws and regulations, keeping more cops on the street, supporting emergency planning for schools, and increasing access to mental health services through insurance coverage requirements.
http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo33229

Protecting Students and Teachers: a Discussion on School Safety

This hearing on school safety takes place two months after Sandy Hook (Newtown) and hears from education professionals who have dealt with and studied safety-related issues, including mass shootings, bullying, and gangs. 2013
http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo37508
Y 4.ED 8/1:113-6

Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline

This hearing focuses on the recent trends in school security, including hiring security or police officers and enforcing stringent zero tolerance policies, and their damaging effect on students' lives. 2012
http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo46878
Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.112-848

Peer-to-Peer Violence and Bullying: Examining the Federal Response

When does school violence fall under federal jurisdiction? And what happens when it does?
http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo20522

Student Victimization in U.S. Schools: Results from the 2009 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey

Statistics concerning criminal victimization at school by gender, race, age, income, etc. 2011
http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo29725

The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools: a Guide for Schools and Law Enforcement Agencies

A guide to help schools and communities analyze their vulnerabilities and choose effective security technologies. 1999
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS3718
J 28.24/3:SE 2

1998 Keynote Address: School Shootings and School Violence: What's Going On and Why?

As part of the Proceedings of the Homicide Research Working Group Meetings, 1997 and 1998, this presentation examines the increase in school shootings in the U.S. and the contributing social and individual factors that place some youth at greater risk for choosing violence.1999
J 28.2:H 75/2 pp. 116-130

Illinois Government Information
Safe at School: A Resource Manual for Self-Assessment, Planning, and Training to Improve School Safety

This Illinois State Board of Education manual for schools offers information on problem anticipation, responding to crises, common contributors to violence, intervention, and prevention.1999
ILLINOIS 371.77 SAFE 2

Legal Information
School Shooters: Perpetrators or Victims? the Need for Expanding Battered Child Syndrome to Include Peer Harassment in School-Violence Prosecutions

The author believes bullied students should be able to apply the same defense as children who kill their parents or guardians after suffering abuse.
Stetson Law Review, Vol. 31, No.2, Winter 2000 pp. 281-315, via  Nexis Uni

http://wiu.edu/libraries/govpubs/guides/schoolViolence.php

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