Teen crime in America has subsided, but an alarming series of fatal shootings in schools is prompting a search for new ways to deal with troubled youths. Last week, 15-year-old Michael Carneal pleaded "guilty but mentally ill" to murdering three classmates as they prayed at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky. He will spend at least 25 years in prison. Boys between 11 and 18 await trial or sentencing for shooting students in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Reformers are pursuing both "get tough" and preventive measures. ("Teenage Time Bombs," March 25, 1996). States are sending more accused teens to adult courts, bypassing juvenile judges. Maine, Maryland, and Tennessee were among states that tightened their laws this year, says the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Californians will vote in 2000 on a plan for harsher penalties. States like Connecticut and Mississippi have enacted sanctions for lesser crimes, such as restitution to victims and community service. In schools, New York City is substituting uniformed police officers for lesser-trained guards, and other cities may follow suit.

Critics say get-tough actions are shortsighted if they exclude social services. More schools expel students caught with firearms. "But then you have a kid out of school with a gun," says Barry Krisberg of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. "What we need is a continuum of services." His group is starting a "school within a school" in Oakland, Calif., for children 14 or younger on probation to learn in small classes in an extended school day and get counseling and other aid. This week, the White House will convene a school-safety conference, featuring promising ideas from San Diego, New Orleans, Baltimore, and other cities that have innovative drug treatment, community policing, and conflict resolution programs.

Some analysts say juvenile courts should be overhauled. Criminologists Jeffrey Butts and Adele Harrell of the Washington, D.C.,-based Urban Institute suggest that most young suspects be referred instead to specialized tribunals that handle drug or weapons cases, courts run by teens themselves, and mediation or family counseling units. Such ideas will be debated as the juvenile court marks its 100th anniversary in 1999.--Ted Gest