Getting Tough on Guns in Schools

In a troubled time when at least some students carry guns to school, how can teachers realistically be expected to discipline them? It’s a scary but real problem some school districts in Orange County have had to deal with lately. Today, the Los Angeles Board of Education gets its turn.

A task force, commissioned shortly after a junior high school student stabbed his English teacher last year, will present its report to school board members, recommending stronger and more structured disciplinary policies to stem violence and improve school safety. One unforgiving but absolutely necessary proposal calls for mandatory expulsion of students who assault others with weapons, or bring guns to school.

There were reports of more than 1,000 weapons--including 274 guns--on Los Angeles campuses during the last school year, according to the School Safety and Security Task Force. Yet very few of the armed students, 15 to be exact, were actually expelled. In fact, only a tiny fraction of the 438 students referred for expulsion on a weapons violation were actually put out.

The district’s commitment to trying to keep students within the system is admirable--especially in such cases as that of a fearful youngster who tucks a screwdriver in his pocket because he is harassed by gangs. But serious offenders must be expelled to protect other students and staff.

The problem of guns in schools is growing. In Orange County, the presiding Juvenile Court judge says that he is aware of at least one gun case a day now, compared to one case a week five years ago. The rise in Los Angeles prompted school board member Julie Korenstein to call for the special task force.

The 65-member group, including parents and educators, recommended programs to prevent children from becoming discipline problems. But the board must also deal with the children who have already become discipline problems.

The district last year permitted 1,200 so-called disciplinary “opportunity transfers” between regular schools for secondary students who had committed violent acts. Their conduct records did not follow them, to allow them a second chance at success. Teachers need that information when a student resorts to violence. The district also needs a more careful effort to screen out the truly dangerous troublemakers.

Only a tiny percentage of the district’s 250,000 junior and senior high school students bring weapons to school. But, as the task force report points out: “The potential for murder is real.” The Los Angeles school board must act to protect the vast majority.