School Safety

Many schools throughout the United States are struggling with rising levels of youth violence. Schools have adopted a broad range of solutions to curb violence. The four programs GAO visited--in California, Ohio, and New York--are examples of some of the promising approaches schools have initiated to address violence. Research suggests that the most promising school-based violence-prevention programs involve at least some of seven key characteristics, including a comprehensive approach, starting early, and involving parents. Although few prevention programs have been evaluated, some federal agencies are now funding evaluations to examine various violence-prevention program approaches. The results, which should be available in three to five years, will help determine which programs work best at curbing violence.

GAO found that: (1) the four school-based violence prevention programs reviewed all showed initial success in reducing fighting, gang membership, and court charges among students; (2) promising school-based violence prevention programs are typically characterized by a comprehensive approach, an early and long-term commitment, strong leadership and disciplinary policies, staff development, parental involvement, interagency and community partnerships, and a culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate approach; (3) efforts are underway to identify successful approaches for curbing school violence; and (4) recent actions to increase federal agency collaboration could enhance efforts to identify promising programs and improve the sharing of expertise and resources.