Table 7. Number and percentage of public schools reporting disruptions at school from death threats, bomb threats, or chemical, biological, or radiological threats, the number of incidents reported, and the rate of disruptions per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003

Crime and Safety Surveys

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Table 7. Number and percentage of public schools reporting disruptions at school from death threats, bomb threats, or chemical, biological, or radiological threats, the number of incidents reported, and the rate of disruptions per 1,000 students, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003–04

School characteristic	Disruptions from death threats, bomb threats, or chemical, biological or radiological threats
School characteristic	Number of schools	Percent of schools	Number of incidents	Rate per 1,000 students
All public schools	5,091	6	11,189	0.2

Level¹
Primary	1,534	3	2,099	0.1
Middle	1,513	10	3,075	0.3
High school	1,631	15	4,656	0.4
Combined	413	6	1,359	0.5

Enrollment size
Less than 300	346	2	346	0.1
300–499	1,463	6	2,140	0.2
500–999	1,872	6	4,542	0.2
1,000 or more	1,409	16	4,160	0.3

Urbanicity
City	1,792	9	4,480	0.3
Urban fringe	1,666	6	3,097	0.2
Town	650	7	1,220	0.2
Rural	983	4	2,391	0.2

Crime level where students live²
High	860	15	2,211	0.6
Moderate	1,348	9	3,370	0.3
Low	2,116	4	4,406	0.2
Mixed	767	7	1,201	0.2

Percent minority enrollment³
Less than 5 percent	719	4	1,703	0.2
5 to 20 percent	892	5	1,442	0.1
20 to 50 percent	1,175	7	1,766	0.2
50 percent or more	2,272	9	6,195	0.4

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	1,052	6	2,305	0.2
21–50 percent	1,804	6	2,958	0.2
More than 50 percent	2,235	7	5,926	0.3

Percent of students below 15^th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	1,245	5	2,441	0.2
6–15 percent	1,934	6	4,503	0.2
More than 15 percent	1,912	8	4,245	0.3

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	1,754	7	4,412	0.3
36–60 percent	1,657	7	3,183	0.2
More than 60 percent	1,680	5	3,594	0.2

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	493	6	1,346	0.3
26–50 percent	1,360	8	3,519	0.4
51–75 percent	1,707	7	3,569	0.3
More than 75 percent	1,531	5	2,755	0.1

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	391	7	1,174	0.4
45–55 percent	4,345	7	9,403	0.2
More than 55 percent	355	4	612	0.1

Student-to-teacher ratio⁴
Less than 12 students	2,148	6	3,426	0.2
12–16 students	2,017	7	5,763	0.3
More than 16 students	925	6	1,999	0.2

Number of classroom changes⁵
0–3 changes	693	3	778	0.1
4–6 changes	2,508	7	5,997	0.3
More than 6 changes	1,890	9	4,414	0.3

Regular use of law enforcement⁶
Regular use	3,503	10	9,121	0.3
No regular use	1,588	4	2,068	0.1

Number of serious discipline problems⁷
No problems	2,809	5	5,021	0.2
1 problem	1,036	7	1,849	0.2
2 problems	418	5	2,072	0.4
3 or more problems	828	13	2,246	0.4

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁸
0 to 6 percent	689	4	1,190	0.1
6 to 11 percent	979	6	2,372	0.2
11 to 21 percent	1,701	7	3,767	0.3
21 percent or more	1,722	7	3,861	0.3

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	165	2	733	0.2
3–5 percent	2,263	5	3,597	0.1
6–10 percent	2,156	9	4,890	0.3
More than 10 percent	507	12	1,968	0.7

Prevalence of violent incidents⁹
No violent incidents	259	2	259	#
Any violent incidents	4,832	7	10,930	0.3
# Rounds to zero.
¹ Primary schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8. Middle schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9. High schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 9 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 12. Combined schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools.
² Respondents were asked, "How would you describe the crime level in the area(s) in which your students live?" Response options included "high level of crime," "moderate level of crime," "low level of crime," and "students come from areas with very different levels of crime."
³ These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race.
⁴ Student-to-teacher ratio was calculated by dividing the total number of students enrolled in the school by the total number of full-time-equivalent teachers and aides. The total number of full-time-equivalent teachers and aides is a combination of the full-time and part-time teachers and aides, including special education teachers and aides, with an adjustment to compensate for the part-time status.
⁵ Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁶ Respondents were asked, "During the 2003–2004 school year, did you have any sworn law enforcement officers, security guards, or security personnel present at your school on a regular basis?"
⁷ Serious discipline problems include student racial tensions, student bullying, student sexual harassment of other students, student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms, student acts of disrespect for teachers, gang activities, and cult or extremist group activities. If a respondent reported that any of these problems occurred daily or weekly in their school, each was counted once in the total number of serious discipline problems.
⁸ Transfers as a percentage of enrollment combines the number of students who were transferred to a school and the number of students who were transferred from a school divided by the total number of students enrolled in the school.
⁹ Violent incidents include rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, threat of physical attack with or without a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Reponses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2004.

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