Excerpts given to the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Workforce, March 11, 1999
My name is Dr. Scott Poland. I have been a school psychologist for 20 years, and crisis intervention and prevention has been the highest professional priority in my school system. I am here today representing the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), an organization of 21,000 school psychologists who promote educationally and psychologically healthy environments for all children and youth.
There are indications that the actual number of violent acts and homicides by young people has declined. Schools are much safer for children than the community, but violent deaths at school have occurred this year in numerous locations around the country.
I served as the team leader of the National Crisis Teams sent to Paducah, Kentucky and Jonesboro, Arkansas following school shootings last year. The day after the shooting in Jonesboro, I faced a crowd of over 500 parents and students who were angry that the laws in Arkansas do not allow a lengthy incarceration for the youthful perpetrators. These parents and students were tortured by questions about why and how the 
shooting occurred, and why children are killing children. It is clear that things will never be the same.
I have had the opportunity to talk to many important people including President Clinton, Attorney General Reno, Secretary of Education Riley, and members of Congress last year. I am absolutely committed to prevention and believe that it is time that our country made changes. My role in Paducah and Jonesboro gave me the chance to meet media representatives from around the world who were stunned that the United States, which we believe to be the best country in the world, has shootings at school, and as a nation we have done very little about it.
Can an answer be found?
Why have these school shootings occurred and why does there seem to be an increase in youth violence? The answer is a complex one, but I believe we must recognize some things about young people today and make some very dramatic changes.
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Many do not understand the finality of death, though psychological theorists have outlined that by about age 13, children are in the advanced stages of intellectual development and should understand that death is a biological process. Yet, experience has taught me that all children and even many adolescents do not understand death's finality.
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Young people are very influenced by the extreme violence portrayed on television, movies and video games. Many times children who commit violent acts are simply carrying out what they see on the media. They see violent acts in their homes and neighborhoods and feel that violence gets you your way. We must reduce violent behavior that is modeled for young people not only through the media but in our homes, schools and communities.
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We must reduce gun availability to children. There is a gun in every third home and almost every child can obtain a gun in a few hours. We are all very aware of the dramatic rise in the homicide and suicide rates for children during the last several decades.
I raise the following questions: Are children today that much more angry than children 30 years ago, and were members of this committee concerned about a child or teenager shooting someone out of anger when you were in school? Arguments between children used to be settled with fists. It was very rare to have a serious injury! The trigger pulls the finger! An angry child with access to a gun will use it because it is there. Gun control is a complex issue in our country, but I also know that guns represent the single greatest threat to educators and school children.
I raise questions about the need for guns in every third home in America and can share statistics showing that a gun is more likely to kill a loved one through accidents, homicides or suicides than to defend a home from an intruder.
Guns kill loved ones
I support legislation that prosecutes adults when their gun was used by a child to injure or kill himself or someone else. In most states if your child uses your gun to injure or kill someone or himself, it is treated as a misdemeanor and the fine is comparable to a traffic ticket.
We must develop curriculum programs for children about the effects of gun violence, how to identify, to avoid and to prevent situations that lead to gun violence. Schools should be held accountable for providing safe environments for learning. The only way to insure this will happen is to put Federal mandates and monetary support behind teaching children skills for anger management. Every school day needs 30 minutes set aside to teach children skills such as problem solving, anger management, impulse control, how to get along with others, and how to feel good about themselves.
Crisis presents opportunity for change
There are positive signs. Delaware, Florida, New York and Maryland held statewide summits on school violence, and others plan to. Some schools are working hard on violence prevention and school safety, but too many administrators and teachers believe that violence will not happen in their schools. Consequently, they have not made violence prevention and school safety a high priority. My opinion is that it will require national and state legislation to ensure that these issues become a priority.
Finally, you have the power to work toward change to reduce school violence. A crisis can become an opportunity. If we do not act, then our past will determine our future and we will continue to have this severe problem. I would like to close with the following quote: "The future is the past in preparation."
More information about PSI expert Dr. Scott Poland: