1-1     By:  Ratliff                                          S.C.R. No. 79
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed May 11, 1999; May 11, 1999, read first
 1-3     time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 14, 1999,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;
 1-5     May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The people of Texas have received news of the tragic
 1-8     events at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two
 1-9     students murdered 12 schoolchildren, one teacher, and themselves
1-10     with guns and homemade bombs; and
1-11           WHEREAS, These murders have shocked and appalled the nation
1-12     and caused concern for the safety of children in schools and
1-13     communities across the land; and
1-14           WHEREAS, Similar incidents are occurring with alarming
1-15     frequency in schools across the nation and will likely occur
1-16     elsewhere; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Students in Texas schools have recently been found
1-18     with plans to commit various acts of violence against students,
1-19     teachers, and schools; and
1-20           WHEREAS, Violent youth are characterized by conditions such
1-21     as disconnectedness from family and schoolmates, low self-esteem,
1-22     depression, and uncontrollable anger and rage; and
1-23           WHEREAS, These characteristics tend to leave troubled youth
1-24     vulnerable to the negative cultural influences exhibited through
1-25     violent television programming, music, video games, and anti-social
1-26     groups and to the widespread accessibility to guns and other
1-27     instruments of violence; and
1-28           WHEREAS, National attention has focused on strategies to
1-29     reduce easy access to guns, control negative cultural influences,
1-30     establish tighter school security, improve parenting skills,
1-31     develop early intervention methods, and deliver mental health
1-32     services; and
1-33           WHEREAS, These strategies are designed to alleviate the
1-34     conditions that characterize troubled youth, diminish violent
1-35     cultural influences, and restrict access to weapons; and
1-36           WHEREAS, There still remains a critical need to understand
1-37     the root causes of violent behaviors and tendencies and to develop
1-38     effective prevention strategies that will reduce the number of
1-39     youth inclined to inflict violence on others; and
1-40           WHEREAS, The members of the Texas Legislature wish to set in
1-41     motion strategies that will protect all Texas children from acts of
1-42     violence; now, therefore, be it
1-43           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-44     hereby direct the Texas Department of Health, in collaboration with
1-45     the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Department of Human Services,
1-46     the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the
1-47     Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Department of
1-48     Public Safety, the Department of Protective and Regulatory
1-49     Services, the Criminal Justice Policy Council, and the office of
1-50     the attorney general, within their existing resources, to lead an
1-51     inquiry into youth violence in this state, both real and potential,
1-52     including the incidence and root causes of such violence and ways
1-53     by which such violence can be prevented; and, be it further
1-54           RESOLVED, That this inquiry should include, at a minimum,
1-55     participation of parents, children, actual classroom teachers, and
1-56     school counselors; and, be it further
1-57           RESOLVED, That the agencies submit a full report of their
1-58     findings and recommendations to the 77th Legislature when it
1-59     convenes in January, 2001; and, be it further
1-60           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
1-61     copy of this resolution to the commissioner of health, the
1-62     commissioner of education, the commissioner of the Texas Department
1-63     of Human Services, the commissioner of mental health and mental
1-64     retardation, the executive director of the Texas Commission on
 2-1     Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the director of the Department of Public
 2-2     Safety, the executive director of the Department of Protective and
 2-3     Regulatory Services, the executive director of the Criminal Justice
 2-4     Policy Council, and the attorney general.
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