provides
educational services to students, has an assigned administrator, receives
public funds as its primary support, and is operated by an education agency.
A single school may operate at multiple locations (for example, an urban
"storefront school" for potential dropouts with a single principal responsible
for programs at several addresses). Multiple schools may operate at the
same location, as is the case when a kindergarten-grade 12 building has
both an elementary and a high school principal. Except in table
A, this report excluded 2,732 schools in the states (and 21 in the
outlying areas) that did not report any students in membership for the
2001-02 school year.
Regular schools
do not focus primarily
on special, vocational, or alternative education, although they may offer
these programs in addition to the regular curriculum.
A special education school
focuses primarily on special education, with materials and
instructional approaches adapted to meet the students' needs.
A vocational education school
focuses primarily on vocational, technical or career
education and provides education or training in at least one semiskilled
or technical occupation.
An alternative education school
addresses
the needs of students that typically cannot be met in the regular school
setting, and provides nontraditional education.
Title I schools
are designated
as eligible for participation in programs authorized by Title I of Public
Law 107-110, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2002. Those
with schoolwide programs are schools in which all students have
been designated by state and federal regulations as eligible for participation
in Title I programs.
Magnet schools
are those designed
to attract students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds for the purpose
of reducing racial isolation, or to provide an academic or social focus
on a specific theme (e.g., performing arts).
Charter schools
provide free public
elementary/secondary education under a charter granted by the state legislature
or other appropriate authority.
Membership
is the annual headcount
of students enrolled in school on October 1, or the school day closest
to that date. In any given year, some small schools will not have any
pupils. And, in reporting to the CCD, states assign students who attend
more than one school to a single school rather than prorating students
across all the schools they attend.
Instructional levels
are calculated
from the lowest and highest grades for which students are reported in
a school. Primary schools are those with a low grade of prekindergarten
through grade 3 and a high grade of up to 8. Middle schools contain a
low grade of 4 to 7 and a high grade ranging from 4 to 9. (A 4th grade
center would be counted as a middle school.) High schools have a low grade
of 7 to 12 and must extend through grade 12. All other grade configurations,
including schools that are completely ungraded, are grouped under the
heading of "other."
IEP
counts are reported at the
school district level and reflect the numbers of students with individualized
education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)-Part B.
Free or reduced-price meal eligibility
is the number of students in a school who indicate that they are eligible
to receive free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch
Act.
Limited English proficient students
are those served in appropriate programs of language assistance (e.g.,
English as a Second Language, High Intensity Language Training, bilingual
education). Does not include students enrolled in programs to learn a
language other than English. Students may be referred to as English Language
Learners.
Migrant students
are those whose
parents or guardians are employed on a seasonal or temporary basis for
agricultural or fishery work, and who have established a temporary residence
for this purpose.
The race/ethnicity
categories used in
the CCD are American Indian/Alaskan Native; Asian/Pacific Islander; Black,
not Hispanic; Hispanic; and White, not Hispanic. They are mutually exclusive.
Minority students, in this report, include all categories except
White, not Hispanic.
School locale code
is assigned
on the basis of the school's physical address, or mailing address, if
the former is not reported. The locale code categories are:
Large citycentral city of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
or consolidated MSA (CMSA), with a population of at least 250,000.
Midsize citycentral city of an MSA or CMSA, with a population
less than 250,000.
Urban fringe of a large cityany incorporated place, Census-designated
place (CDP), or non-place territory within a CMSA or MSA of a large
city and defined as urban by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Urban fringe of a midsize cityany incorporated place, CDP,
or non-place within a CMSA or MSA of a midsize central city and defined
as urban by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Large townan incorporated place or CDP with a population of
at least 25,000 and located outside a CMSA or MSA.
Small townan incorporated place or CDP with a population between
2,500 and 24,999 and located outside a CMSA or MSA.
Ruralany incorporated place, CDP, or non-place territory designated
as rural by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; excludes places that are
within an MSA.
Rural Urban Fringeany place meeting the definition for rural
that is within an MSA.
Regular school districts
are agencies
responsible for providing free public education for school-age children
residing within their jurisdiction. This category excludes local supervisory
unions that provide management services for a group of associated school
districts, although it includes the "component" districts that receive
these services. The category also excludes regional education service
agencies that typically provide school districts with research, testing,
or data processing services; state and federally operated school districts;
and other agencies that do not fall into these groupings. Most states
reported education agencies that administered only charter schools under
this last category. There were 2,526 agencies not considered regular school
districts in 2001-02; 1,473 of these reported students and 1,053 did not.
This report also excluded 330 regular school districts that did not report
any students in membership for the 2001-02 school year. This condition
can occur when a small district has no pupils or contracts with another
district to educate the students under its jurisdiction.