t to 6 percent.
Conversely, the problem of violence remained significant. St. Gerard (23) also noted that during 1999 and 2000, 20 percent of all American public schools experienced one or more serious violent crimes ranging from rape to sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. More significantly, 71 percent of all schools in the U.S. reported at least one violent incident during this time period. From July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000, 32 ôschool-associated violent deaths occurred in the United States. Twenty-four of these violent deaths were homicides" (St. Gerard, 23).
There is, therefore, little doubt that school violence does ôrepresent a real threat to the safety of students and staff (Austin, 17).ö In the aftermath of the shootings at schools in Columbine, Colorado and Paducah, Kentucky, Austin (17) has commented that many school boards and school administrators adopted a unilateral zero-tolerance policy that was designed to:
rid schools of ôincorrigibleö students who were perceived as potentially violent risks to school safety
send out a stern warning to first-time offenders that any and all violence will be severely punished
Austin (18) contends that these generalized zero-tolerance policies may be excessive and, as significantly, could be potentially discriminatory. Members of minority groups, including those students with disabilities, may be unfairly categorized as incorrigible or potentially violent. Consequently, Austin (19) argues that rather than a universal policy on school violence, what schools must do is screen students in order to identify risk factors, to teach students and faculty an acceptance of diversity, provide behavioral interventions for children whose acting out behavior could become a threat, build self-esteem and teach social skills, involve the family and the community, and resolve conflicts with peer mediation.
Bucher and Manning (160-162) believe that there...