Fearful Students in Pennsylvania | City Journal
Students returning to public schools in Pennsylvania this year are being greeted by unarmed security officers, school police officers, and mental-health-care providers, as well as new security infrastructure, security drills, wellness rooms, and even nature trails. These changes resulted from a bipartisan focus by state lawmakers on securing schools and addressing a student mental-health crisis. In June, lawmakers sent local education authorities $200 million in grants from the state s School Safety and Security Grants program, half of which will go to mental-health funding. Missing amid this financial largesse and public enthusiasm is any talk about improving school disciplinary policies. Given that violence in Pennsylvania public schools is possibly worse than it s ever been, this omission is dangerous.
The state attorney general s office runs a tip line for students to report potential acts of violence; it received more than 600 calls in its first week of operation in 2018. Now, according to its director Brittney Kline, the line receives 1,500 calls a week. While many of those calls involve mental-health issues, reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Education s Office of Safe Schools confirm another major contributor: students are increasingly fearful of their violent peers.