The public school administrator is responsible for protecting student expression while maintaining the integrity of the school disciplinary practices. When dealing with violent writing by students, school administrators should be aware of governing legal principles as well as sound educational practices. A review of legal and educational literature about violent expression by students led to the development of the following set of guidelines for principals: (1) Be confident that some student expression can be regulated; (2) Know that restricting violent writing may undermine English teaching methods; (3) Know current practices for teaching English and know how writing teachers create boundaries in writing assignments; (4) Listen carefully; (5) Promote an atmosphere of honesty, respect, and care; (6) Avoid zero-tolerance policies that institute automatic penalties; (6) Participate in threat assessment training and share that knowledge with staff members; (7) Maintain specific and thorough documentation; (8) Act in a timely fashion; and (9) Stay up-to-date on changes in education law.