Collins: Schools need better violence prevention

OKLAHOMA CITY — Norman Public Schools could be the site of a pilot program designed to identify troubled students and better prevent school violence, a state Representative said Tuesday.

Norman Democrat Wallace Collins said he would file legislation next year to create a program which would give public schools increased access to mental health professionals.

“We’re all aware of the school shootings that have taken place in this country in recent years,” Collins said. “In many cases, officials realized there was a problem well before a student went on a rampage, but failed to deal with it. I believe the state needs to do a better job identifying troubled students and addressing their problems before an attack occurs.”

Collins said his bill will create a pilot program at Norman Public Schools which places licensed social workers at schools to provide assistance when teachers identify potential problem students.

“A lot of these kids need help — such as medication or counseling,” he said. “If teachers feel a student is potentially dangerous, they should be able to refer that student to social workers who have expertise dealing with emotionally troubled individuals. By intervening early, we could eliminate the likelihood of future school shootings.”

In addition, by using licensed, trained mental health professionals, Collins said teachers wouldn’t face an additional burden on already limited classroom time.

“I’m not trying to put another task on the teacher,” he said. “But teachers are on the front lines, and I believe they see the initial signs of trouble. If we had a mental health resource for them, then we could prevent problems before they happen.”

Norman school officials said they were impressed with the idea.

Norman superintendent Dr. Joe Siano said he was “very open” to collaborating with officials from the Department of Mental Health or Department of Human Services.

“I think it could work,” he said. “We make referrals all the time. Our counselors are also qualified as people who can intervene, but our resources are limited. I’d like to see more efforts to bring services closer to the families and students who need them.”

Siano said Collins could model his proposal after a joint program in effect between NPS and Norman Regional Hospital.

That effort, he said, places nurses at local schools to provide health services for students.

“There is no mandate for school nurses,” he said. “There is no funding for school nurses and there should be. But our program is a primary example of a model collaboration that has benefited more than 13,000 students.”

The program, he said, is funded by the schools and Norman Regional and offers Norman school students “a full health services program.”

“In our first year, we had more than 8,000 student health encounters, either with a nurse or health assistant,” he said. “It’s a win-win for us and Norman Regional.”

Collins said state leaders need to work quickly to address students mental health needs.

“There’s been plenty of school violence across the nation for quite a while,” he said. “After the shooting at Virginia Tech I was shocked to think people were saying, ‘I knew this guy had all these different signs,’ and thinking that all these signs got missed and that no one did anything. I felt that we’ve got to try and do something.”

Rather than wait until after another shooting, Collins said he wanted the state to be proactive. “That’s why I’d like to see schools working and talking with social workers and mental health professionals.”

Collins said the bill will be filed in time for the 2008 legislative session.

“After the Virginia Tech shooting, a lot of people said they saw warning signs but failed to act, and now 30-some people are dead because of it. We can’t afford to repeat that mistake in Oklahoma.”