The State Department of Education\u27s Role in Creating Safe Schools (original) (raw)

The authority for public education in the United States does not stem from the Constitution, but rather is a reserved power remaining with the states. It originates from the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the states those powers neither expressly given the national government nor denied to the state governments. However, most states have not exercised their authority for public education directly until recent decades. Education is a state function that is largely locally administered (AIkin, Linden, Noel, & Ray, 1992). Each state exercises it education function completely or in part through a state department of education that has varying degrees of responsibility. The state educational authority gains its powers and responsibilities specifically from the state\u27s constitution and statutes (Deighton, 1971). Violence prevention activities vary from state to state. Since the study described in this chapter was conducted at the beginning of the first school year (1995-1996) in wh...