Committee Looking At Making Columbine Law

A state legislative committee analyzing disciplinary policies created at Colorado schools after the Columbine High School shootings and other cases of youth violence is beginning to explore possible legislation.

The panel has been meeting this summer to study disciplinary trends in Colorado and nationwide to determine whether policy changes are warranted. Members are meeting again Monday, turning their attention to possible solutions to the problems they’ve found.

The panel has heard from law enforcement, victim rights groups, and from students. Lawmakers on the panel say disciplinary rules at schools have gone too far and students are being punished for minor infractions because of the heightened alert over high-profile cases of youth violence.

Lawmakers say about 100,000 students in Colorado have been referred to police during the last decade.