HOW VIOLENT ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS?Less than one percent of all violent deaths of children occur on school grounds. Injuries are equally rare. But one violent incident is too many.

WHAT DO TEACHERS SAY? The annual Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher has, since 1984, determined that teachers overwhelmingly believe that emphasizing discipline and safety will have a positive effect on learning.

MARYLAND'S NEW LAW ENFORCES DISCIPLINE. With encouragement and support from MSTA, the Maryland General Assembly in 1996 passed a law to promote order and discipline and prevent violence in public schools throughout the state. It set high expectations that each school district will establish and enforce discipline and safety standards, train school employees to maintain order and provide targeted grants for local schools for models of prevention and intervention.

The new law calls for suspensions of disruptive children and requires interaction between the suspended child and the parents, teacher and school administrators before the student returns. Students and their parents are required to make restitution for damage caused while violating school rules.

PARENTS' ROLE. These changes can help, but young people often bring to school problems and attitudes that they acquire at home and in their neighborhoods. For safe school plans to work, communities and families need to acknowledge their roles in raising children and promoting discipline.

A message from the Maryland ,State Teachers Association.