Media Advisory; May 17, 1999; Governor's Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — May 5, 1999
Locke signs two bills to strengthen
school safety measures
OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke today signed two school safety bills
aimed at stemming the tide of violence at schools.
Senate
Bill 5214, which deals with gun possession, and House
Bill 2085, which deals with disruptive students in the classroom, reflect comments Locke heard from the School Safety Summit
he and Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson
convened last year.
"These bills are the result of
many good ideas we heard at the school safety summit in Tukwila last
summer," Locke said. "While it's critical that we take a tough stance
against guns in school, we must get to the root of the problem, which may go
beyond the school environment. And
we must give our teachers the tools to recognize and handle disruptive
students."
Currently, it is a gross misdemeanor to
possess a gun on school property, and schools may expel anyone found with a
firearm on school property. Senate
Bill 5214 requires detention and mental health evaluation of youth arrested for
possessing a firearm on school property, including school buses.
This bill requires that anyone between
the ages of 12 and 21 arrested for having a gun on school property be detained
for up to 72 hours in a juvenile or adult facility, and then be referred to a
county-designated mental health professional for evaluation. Such a review could also lead to
chemical dependency evaluation with possible civil commitment for
treatment. Law enforcement agencies
also must notify the individual's parent or guardian of the arrest, detention
and examination.
The bill also would require school
authorities to search a student's possessions and locker if there are
reasonable grounds to suspect the student has an illegal firearm. Current law authorizes, but does not
require, such searches.
"This bill is designed to ensure
appropriate follow-up that could prevent tragedies, such as those we have seen
in recent years," Locke said. "This legislation increases public
safety by putting potentially dangerous youth into a secure setting for up to
72 hours, giving them needed evaluation, and notifying parents of the
situation."
Locke also signed House Bill 2085,
which creates programs to address disruptive students in regular
classrooms. The bill requires the
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to conduct training
institutes during the summer of 2000 for teams of school staff to learn
effective ways to handle disruptive students.
"Discipline problems are a major
challenge in schools because they can stop the learning process in the
classroom," Locke added. "Educators need to learn how to effectively
handle disruptive students who pose a threat to themselves and other
students."
According to the bill, if a school
district team participates in an institute, the team must develop a district
plan that addresses disruptive students.
Elementary and middle schools that participate in an institute are
encouraged to develop plans.
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Contact: Governor's
Communications Office, 360-902-4136
All who voted for these two bills can
now go back to their districts and tell everyone they have done SOMETHING about
youth violence. Then, when the laws
passed have absolutely no affect on the problem, they will set out to pass more
laws, taking more rights from the law abiding, and again, having no visible
affect on the problem. But,
hopefully, at that point, everyone will have forgotten the last bills they
passed that did nothing to eradicate the real problem and they will have
forgotten how those laws took away yet more of their rights. This press release and the bills passed
are proof positive that this is nothing more than political posturing —
these people don't really care about children or about solving the problem of
youth violence.
In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they anted
security. They wanted a comfortable
life, and they lost it all — security, comfort and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to
give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished
for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free.
— Edward Gibbon
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