Capitol Hill Torn Over Its Role in Preventing School Violence

The morning after a killing rampage at a suburban Colorado high school shocked the nation, official and extra-official Washington sprang to do something--anything--in response.

Ten U.S. representatives and 10 senators gave speeches Wednesday in Congress lamenting the violence. The secretary of Education called the school superintendent on the scene to offer help. Political candidates and interest groups faxed statements to media outlets advocating everything from gun control to more spending on school counselors to a national interfaith prayer weekend to “keep all children drug-free and safe.”

But whether the outpouring of concern will translate into significant federal action to improve school safety remains an open question.

Although President Clinton and Congress have used their national platforms to urge community action for safer schools in recent years--and have taken some modest steps to nudge the issue along--major political and institutional barriers stand in the way of Washington taking a broader role.

For one, communities have long guarded against what they perceive as federal intrusion in school management, and few issues are more central to management than campus security.

“There is no need for legislation in this area,” said Anne L. Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Assn. “We do not need more federal regulation.”

In addition, gun control legislation would encounter fierce opposition from such influential groups as the National Rifle Assn. and is not likely to win support from the Republican congressional leadership. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a gun-control advocate, assessed the chances of passage for such a bill in the Senate as “zero to none.”

Finally, school safety is a multifaceted problem involving financial trade-offs with other pressing social and educational priorities--for instance, reducing the student-teacher ratio and getting all children to read. For all these reasons and more, some observers find debate in Washington on what to do about school violence is going in circles even as Congress schedules more hearings on the issue.

Scott Poland of Houston, a nationally recognized expert on school psychology, has testified before Congress twice in the last two years. He believes Washington missed an opportunity in the wake of school shootings in Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas and Oregon.

“We went back to sleep,” Poland said. “It saddens me to say that. . . . We must do things differently.”

Among the ideas Poland advances: federal mandates and resources for teaching children “anger management” and other ways to get along with their peers; criminal prosecution for adults whose guns are used by children to injure or kill, and other curbs on gun availability; and a campaign to combat the phenomenon of “copycat” violence, in which children imitate what they see in films and on television.

Washington has taken some measures to address the issue. Last year Congress enacted a law allowing the Justice Department to dole out up to $60 million for campus safety officers. Also, the Education and Justice departments last year published an “early warning” guide with summaries of research and ideas on school violence prevention, intervention and crisis response for school administrators--although how much of an effect it has had is unclear.

The Clinton administration has made $300 million available in grants for school districts to devise innovative mentoring, anti-gang and security programs. The administration also is asking for $12 million to help local schools with crisis response. And there are plenty of national conferences and Web sites devoted to solving the problem and disseminating ideas.

In coming days and weeks, Congress will consider juvenile crime and education bills that could become vehicles for new initiatives. But Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.), who chairs a key House education subcommittee, acknowledged Wednesday that defining a federal role for “significant” safety measures will prove challenging. “Whether it should be done on a local, state or federal level, I’m not sure,” Castle said. “But at some point, you’ve seen enough of this trend to realize you no longer can treat these as isolated incidents.”

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Times staff writers Faye Fiore and Eric Lichtblau contributed to this story.