The role of the legal community in ensuring school safety is discussed, and effective antischool-crime programs involving attorneys and judges are described. Introductory passages comment on the overall role of courts and lawyers in education, the current national concern over crime and violence in schools, and national and California initiatives to make schools safer. The following section discusses, first, recent legal developments in California, including a constitutional amendment intended to guarantee school safety; and second, ways in which lawyers can help educators reduce violence, including inservice training, cooperative lobbying efforts and legal brief preparation, joint conference presentations, cooperative programs to educate students in law and citizenship, and innovations in juvenile court practices. Brief descriptions of effective programs complete the report. The programs cited are those of the counties of San Joaquin, San Diego, and Ventura (in California); Chicago, Illinois; New York City; and Florida. Although these programs vary widely in scope and techniques, all are based on interagency cooperation and emphasize prevention. (MCG)