One of the provisions, receiving support from some state prosecutors, would make penalties for students who commit felonies on school grounds more severe than if they had taken place outside the schoolyard. While this may deter crime on school grounds, it imposes an unfair double standard for students. Further, it likely would lead to students doing more crime off their schools' campuses, possibly making it harder to detect and prosecute the crimes. The line between civil crime and school reprimands must be drawn. The legal process is used and honored in this country specifically to keep everyone, including criminals safe and fairly treated. Law enforcement should not play such a large role in the school system.
As part of the package, $75 million would be allocated for juvenile crime intervention and prevention program. The state should ensure that these funds are channeled toward counseling programs for students rather than to pay for more police officers to patrol the halls. Having a large police presence seriously challenges the learning environment that schools are supposed to create. While supplying more police officers may seem like a sure-fire way to combat on-campus crime, it does not counteract the psychological bases of the criminal behavior. Solving this should be the top priority, not just preventing the criminal activities from occurring while students are in class or on school grounds.
The proposed after-school initiatives, or alternative programs, focus on giving students something other to do than getting into trouble. Many students who are not involved in organized activities through the school, like athletics or clubs, often have little direction or responsibility and are often unsupervised until their parents return from work. Having a place for these students to go could help curb after-school violence. But money and volunteers are needed for this type of venture, and the communities involved should support these ideas as much as possible.
Violence has no place in an educational environment, and the state Legislature is the right steps to end needless distractions. But students also hold a responsibility to keep the values of education. The state can only do so much, and in the end, it still remains the responsibility of students to teach other students that violence is not acceptable in an academic setting. School control should be taken back from those with handguns and weapons, and given to the teachers and students who uphold the value of an education.