H 3550 General Bill, By Phillips, Anderson, Canty, J.L.M. Cromer, Delleney, 
R.C. Fulmer, Gamble, Govan, H.M. Hallman, Kelley, Koon, Littlejohn, Mason, 
McCraw, McKay, Moody-Lawrence, Quinn, Riser, Sharpe, J.S. Shissias, Simrill, 
Spearman, Stille, Stuart, Walker, Whipper, L.S. Whipper, Wilder and Wilkes
 A Bill to enact the "Schoolhouse Safety Alliance Act of 1995".-short title

   02/08/95  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-43
   02/08/95  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-45

A BILL

TO ENACT THE "SCHOOLHOUSE SAFETY ALLIANCE ACT OF 1995" TO ATTACK THE PROBLEMS OF JUVENILE CRIME AND SCHOOL SAFETY INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO AMEND TITLE 59 OF THE 1976 CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION BY ADDING CHAPTER 143 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR TRAINING OF SCHOOL FACULTY AND STAFF TO PREVENT STUDENT VIOLENCE, TO INSTITUTE IN EACH SCHOOL CASE MANAGEMENT TEAMS TO WORK AS UNITS ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS DISPLAYING SIGNS OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO COLLECT DATA IDENTIFYING THE BEST PRACTICES IN DEALING WITH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENT VIOLENCE, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PILOT TEST A CLUSTER SCHOOL CONCEPT IN URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGS IN HIGH CRIME AREAS, TOGETHER WITH A SPECIALIZED PROGRAM OF INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION, TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMPOSED OF VARIOUS AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES CONVENED BY THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TO PROVIDE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CLUSTER SCHOOLS SERVING AS DEMONSTRATION SITES, TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE SCHOOLHOUSE SAFETY RESOURCE CENTER AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING TO SCHOOLS REGARDING SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND STRATEGIES FOR COLLABORATING WITH OTHER AGENCIES AND THE COURTS TO PREVENT THIS PROBLEM, TO REQUIRE CONFLICT RESOLUTION STRATEGIES TO BE TAUGHT TO JUVENILES IN CONFINEMENT FACILITIES, TO REQUIRE PARENTS OF CHILDREN IDENTIFIED AS IN NEED OF SERVICES OR COUNSELING TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN CASE MANAGEMENT MEETINGS REGARDING THEIR CHILDREN AT THE REQUEST OF SCHOOL OFFICIALS AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE, TO REQUIRE SCHOOL OFFICIALS TO REPORT CERTAIN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR BY STUDENTS TO APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO PROMULGATE CERTAIN REGULATIONS REGARDING PARENTING, FAMILY LITERACY, AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION SEMINARS IN ISSUES OF YOUTH VIOLENCE FOR ATTORNEYS LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THIS STATE; TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1331 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE FAMILY COURT JUDGES TO ORDER AS A CONDITION OF PROBATION CERTAIN CHILDREN TO PARTICIPATE IN A SPECIAL ALTERNATIVE CONFINEMENT UNIT; BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1351 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE FAMILY COURT TO REQUIRE PARENTS TO APPEAR BEFORE IT REGARDING CERTAIN BEHAVIOR OF THEIR CHILD AND TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF THE FAMILY OR IN FAMILY PARTICIPATION TREATMENT SERVICES TO IMPROVE THAT BEHAVIOR; BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1352 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE FAMILY COURT SHALL REQUIRE ACCEPTABLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR AS A PART OF ANY PROBATION ORDER INVOLVING CHILDREN; BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1353 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT PROBATION AND PAROLE COUNSELORS ARE REQUIRED TO ASSIST IN THE RE-ENROLLMENT OF ALL THEIR CLIENTS WHO ARE CHILDREN IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS UPON THE CHILDREN BEING RELEASED FROM CONFINEMENT FACILITIES; AND BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-3236 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE SHALL ESTABLISH A SHORT-TERM SPECIAL ALTERNATIVE CONFINEMENT UNIT FOR CERTAIN NONVIOLENT JUVENILES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Schoolhouse Safety Alliance Act of 1995".

SECTION 2. (A) The General Assembly finds that a comprehensive approach is needed to attack the problems of juvenile crime and schoolhouse safety. This attack should be focused in three areas: collaboration to prevent school violence, parental responsibility, and judicial response. Recent legislation and procedures have established the precedent for addressing issues systemically. Solutions at the front end of problems rather than reactions after the fact have the best chance of making long-term differences. Pro-active prevention approaches, clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of schools and other local community agencies, parents who take responsibility for their child's action, and stiffer judicial laws and penalties are combined as recommended policy of this State.

(B) The centerpiece proposal in the judicial response area referred to in subsection (A) involves the establishment of a `boot camp' approach for confined juveniles who are nonviolent offenders. This is designed to provide a short-term intensive confinement for nonviolent juvenile offenders in a military setting. The objectives of the boot camp program are to:

(1) protect the public;

(2) provide an intense confinement experience in a strict military-like environment of work, physical training, and personal development programs to begin a process of change in juveniles attitudes and behaviors;

(3) provide effective post-release community supervision, reinforcing lifestyle changes, and redirecting the juveniles to law abiding, productive lives;

(4) provide restitution to the citizens of this State by means of community service work performed by the juveniles;

(5) build on previous success by incorporating the successful elements of existing programs such as community service, community supervision, and other positive alternatives;

(6) provide flexibility to adapt to the changing characteristics of juvenile offenders; and

(7) provide cost effectiveness through usage of juvenile offender facilities that are less costly than traditional confinement facilities and by serving more juvenile offenders each year because of the shorter period of confinement.

SECTION 3. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-143-100. A statewide Schoolhouse Safety Resource Center at the State Department of Education is established in the manner the General Assembly shall provide in the annual general appropriations act. The center's mission is to provide technical assistance and training to all schools regarding violence prevention and intervention, strategies for collaboration with appropriate agencies, crisis management planning, and preparation for using the judicial system. The center also shall disseminate information in the best practices in dealing with school crime. The State Department of Education, with the approval of the board of trustees of the applicable schools, shall establish regional networks of model schools to serve as facilitators for assisting other schools with comprehensive planning and training to prevent school violence after the conclusion of the three-year pilot project provided for in this chapter.

Section 59-143-110. The State Department of Education through the Schoolhouse Safety Resource Center shall establish by December 1, 1995, an evaluation procedure which includes the collection of data before the implementation of the programs provided for in Sections 59-143-130 and 59-143-140 so that the effects of the programs can be determined. The Schoolhouse Safety Resource Center shall work with the School Violence Prevention Advisory Committee provided for in Section 59-143-130 in determining the data collection procedure and the components of the external evaluation. The department shall conduct an external evaluation, to be completed by December 1, 1997, with an interim report of findings by June 1, 1996, consisting of identifying:

(1) the best practices for addressing the problems associated with student violence together with documented evidence of best practices as contained in appropriate literature and research;

(2) the best practices for addressing student violence in traditional school programs in this State including alternatives to suspension and expulsion; and

(3) effective initiatives in prevention and intervention including truancy prevention and a review of the Education Improvement Act attendance requirements.

Section 59-143-120. Based on the findings of the evaluation provided for in Section 59-143-110, the State Department of Education, through the Schoolhouse Safety Resource Center shall provide statewide school administrator training in the best practices for addressing student violence. The State Department of Education shall develop professional programs for faculty and designated staff of all schools to be trained in appropriate techniques, practices, and behavior to prevent student violence. Nonviolent problem solving curricula must be used in the professional development of the faculty and staff within a school to be applied in areas including, but not limited to:

(1) more effective adult interactions with students;

(2) adult modeling of nonviolent behaviors when problems erupt; (3) expansion of wellness components in the comprehensive health curriculum including nonviolent living skills; and

(4) differentiation between normal student behavior and violent behavior.

In implementing the provisions of this section, equal emphasis shall be placed in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Section 59-143-130. The State Department of Education, with the consent of the board of trustees of the applicable school districts, shall pilot different approaches to avoiding student violence by identifying cluster schools in urban and rural settings in high crime areas to serve as model projects for the prevention of school violence. Each cluster school must implement a specialized method of intervention or prevention in an intense three-year pilot project. An external evaluation of the process shall be conducted at the end of the third year of each pilot program by the State Department of Education through the Schoolhouse Safety Resource Center. A School Violence Prevention Advisory Committee consisting of service agency provider representatives including, but not limited to, representatives from the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Mental Retardation, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Social Services, the family court system, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the State Department of Education, and local law enforcement officials, shall be convened by the State Law Enforcement Division. The committee, in conjunction with local schools boards of trustees, shall select the cluster schools to serve as pilot sites and shall work with each site to identify the approach to be implemented. The committee also shall assist in providing training and technical assistance to the cluster schools and shall monitor the progress of the programs on a regular basis during the three-year pilot period. Innovative techniques piloted may include peer mediation programs, school-within-a-school, intense volunteer mentoring, family focus groups, and other approaches that provide school outreach into neighborhoods. These pilot projects shall strive to make communities mirrors of safe schools rather than schools mirroring the violence in society.

Section 59-143-140. Each school district of this State shall institute in every school of the district case management teams consisting of teachers, school administrators, parents, counselors, and representatives of health and social service agencies to work as units on behalf of students displaying signs of recurrent aggressive and violent behavior. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations to establish the criteria for these teams. Disciplinary records of students with recurrent aggressive and violent behaviors must be kept with clear anecdotal evidence of these behaviors and must show steps schools have taken to address these behaviors. The records must follow the student through school just as academic histories are maintained. In implementing the provisions of this section, equal emphasis shall be placed in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Section 59-143-150. Based on format recommendations from the School Violence Prevention Advisory Committee as established in Section 59-143-130, a cooperating team consisting of representatives of all local health and human service agencies in a county, including representatives from all school districts located within the county, shall be convened by the sheriff's office in each county to coordinate services designed to prevent school violence. The cooperating team in addition shall develop a service coordination matrix. The service coordination matrix must outline services provided by agencies in response to risk factors.

Section 59-143-160. In conjunction with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice, the State Department of Education shall develop conflict resolution strategies to be taught to juveniles in confinement facilities. These conflict resolution strategies also shall be offered as training programs to other public and private organizations for their use.

Section 59-143-300. Each school district shall establish a procedure for the schools in the district to convene a case management team to assist children identified as in need of guidance or counseling to prevent violent behavior. Parents of children identified as candidates for case management shall be required to participate in case management meetings and in seeking services recommended by the case management team. If a parent or guardian fails to comply with the request from a school to participate in the case management meetings or in seeking services, the school principal or his designee may apply to the family court for a summons ordering the parent or guardian to appear before the family court to explain the reason for such failure. The summons shall be issued upon request in the same manner that jury summons are issued. Failure to comply with the summons is punishable by contempt. Employers must grant leave to parents for participation in these meetings.

Section 59-143-310. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations requiring the parenting, family literacy, and parental involvement programs mandated by the Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act to include instruction in nonviolent living skills. The regulations shall further provide for the design of the instruction to include a comprehensive parental orientation of the transitions students make as they progress through school.

Section 59-143-500. In conjunction with the State Department of Education and the South Carolina Bar, the judicial department shall develop and annually offer continuing legal education seminars to attorneys licensed to practice in this State in issues of youth violence. The General Assembly expresses its desire that the Supreme Court in mandating annual continuing legal education requirements require attorneys practicing in the field of family law to complete at least one hour annually in courses relating to youth violence.

Section 59-143-510. School officials must report to appropriate law enforcement agencies any Level III criminal behavior by a student as defined by regulations of the State Department of Education."

SECTION 4. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1331. (1) In addition to its authority under Section 20-7-1330, the family court may order, as a condition of probation, an otherwise eligible child who has been adjudicated delinquent for a nonviolent crime into a Special Alternative Confinement unit (SAC) as permitted in subsection (2).

(2)(a) In addition to any other terms or conditions of probation provided by law, a family court judge may provide that a child adjudicated delinquent for a crime which would be considered nonviolent if committed by an adult must as a condition of probation satisfactorily complete a program of confinement in a Special Alternative Confinement unit of the Department of Juvenile Justice for a period of one hundred twenty days computed from the time of initial confinement in the unit. The unit shall be designed to provide a short-term intensive experience in a military setting similar to a probation boot camp. However, the Department of Juvenile Justice may release the child upon service of ninety days in recognition of excellent behavior.

(b) Before the court can make this a condition of probation, an initial investigation must be completed by a probation officer which indicates that the child is qualified for such treatment in that the child does not appear to be physically or mentally handicapped in a way that would prevent him from strenuous physical activity, that the child has no obvious contagious diseases, and that the Department of Juvenile Justice has granted provisional approval of the placement of the child in the Special Alternative Confinement unit.

(c) At any time during the child's confinement in the unit, but at least five days before his expected date of release, the department shall certify to the family court as to whether the child has satisfactorily completed this condition of probation.

(d) Upon the receipt of a satisfactory report of performance in the program from the department, the family court shall release the child from confinement in the Special Alternative Confinement unit. However, the receipt of an unsatisfactory report is grounds for revocation of the probation as would any other violation of a condition or term of probation.

(e) The court also shall require children placed in this unit after their release from it to attend school and engage in appropriate behavior as a further condition of their probation in the manner required by Section 20-7-1352."

SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1351. In addition to the jurisdiction of the family court as provided in Article 5 of this chapter, the family court has jurisdiction to order parents of children identified as in need of services or counseling to prevent violent behavior to appear before it, and upon finding that the child's behavior can be changed, the court may order an assessment of the family or family participation in treatment or services to improve the behavior. Status offenders and their parents who are held in contempt of court for failure to comply with the provisions of this section on the orders of the family court shall be referred to the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Mental Health, or the Continuum of Care for Emotionally Disturbed Children, as appropriate, for family assessment, counseling, and service."

SECTION 6. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1352. The requirement of acceptable school attendance and appropriate behavior must be an integral part of all child probation orders."

SECTION 7. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1353. Probation and parole counselors are required to assist in the re-enrollment of all their clients who are children in the public schools upon the children's release from confinement facilities."

SECTION 8. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-3236. In addition to the institutional services provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice under Section 20-7-3230, the department shall establish a short-term Special Alternative Confinement unit program for nonviolent juveniles and upon successful completion of this program transfer these juveniles to a less secure setting or be released."

SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.