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Table 16.  Number and percentage distribution of students in public schools involved in the use or possession of a weapon other than a firearm at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2005–06

  Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in the use or
possession of a weapon1 other than a firearm at school
  Removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year   Transfers to specialized schools2   Out-of-school suspen-
sions lasting 5 or more days
but less than the remain-
der of the school year
  Other disciplinary action3
School characteristic Number   Percent     Number   Percent     Number   Percent     Number   Percent  
All public schools  5,130   7     13,820   20     28,370   41     22,530   32  
                                       
Level4                                       
Primary  410 ! 2 !   1,310 ! 7     6,280   33     11,220   58  
Middle  1,350   6     5,690   25     9,940   43     6,220   27  
High school  3,010   13     6,370   27     10,130   42     4,390   18  
Combined  360 ! 10 !   460 ! 13 !   2,020   57     700 ! 20  
                                       
Enrollment size                                       
Less than 300              1,950   32     3,600 ! 60  
300–499  400 ! 4 !   1,060   11     3,620   38     4,500   47  
500–999  1,570   6     4,640   17     10,660   39     10,210   38  
1,000 or more  2,950   11     7,850   29     12,130   45     4,220   16  
                                       
Urbanicity                                       
City  1,490   6     6,270   24     11,580   44     6,830   26  
Urban fringe  2,430   10     4,810   19     9,780   39     8,130   32  
Town  450 ! 8 !   720   13     2,310   42     1,970   36  
Rural  750   6     2,030   16     4,700   36     5,590   43  
                                       
Crime level where
    students live5
                                     
High  780   6     2,660   20     6,120   45     3,920   29  
Moderate  1,290   8     3,980   24     7,230   43     4,280   26  
Low  1,940   7     4,760   17     10,470   37     11,190   39  
Mixed  1,120   10     2,420   22     4,550   41     3,140   28  
                                       
Percent minority
    enrollment6
                                     
Less than 5 percent  260 ! 5 !   420 ! 9 !   2,440   49     1,880   38  
5 to 20 percent  760   6     1,490   11     5,340   39     5,950   44  
20 to 50 percent  1,550   9     3,730   22     6,450   38     5,410   32  
50 percent or more  2,490   8     7,580   24     13,710   42     8,480   26  
                                       
Percent of students
    eligible for free
    or reduced-price
    lunch
                                     
0–20 percent  850   8     1,590   15     4,950   47     3,090   29  
21–50 percent  2,220   9     5,320   21     9,590   37     8,570   33  
More than 50 percent  2,060   6     6,910   21     13,840   41     10,870   32  
                                       
Percent of students
    below 15th per-
    centile on stan-
    dardized tests
                                     
0–5 percent  1,150   7     2,900   19     5,910   39     5,370   35  
6–15 percent  1,930   7     5,210   20     10,120   39     8,910   34  
More than 15 percent  2,050   7     5,710   20     12,350   44     8,250   29  
                                       
Percent of students
    likely to attend
    college
                                     
0–35 percent  1,650   7     4,620   18     10,130   40     8,810   35  
36–60 percent  1,600   7     4,810   22     8,300   38     7,040   32  
More than 60 percent  1,870   8     4,390   19     9,940   43     6,670   29  
                                       
Percent of students
    who consider
    academic achieve-
    ment important
                                     
0–25 percent  540 ! 9 !   1,460   23     2,450   39     1,870   30  
26–50 percent  1,230   7     3,570   21     7,260   43     4,860   29  
51–75 percent  1,910   7     5,280   20     10,230   39     9,000   34  
More than 75 percent  1,450   7     3,520   17     8,420   42     6,800   34  
                                       
Percent male enrollment                                       
0–44 percent  430 ! 10 !   740   17 !   1,550   35     1,720 ! 39 !
45–55 percent  4,300   7     12,090   21     24,030   41     18,530   31  
More than 55 percent  400 ! 6 !   1,000   15     2,790   43     2,280   35  
                                       
Student-to-FTE ratio7                                      
Less than 12 students  1,500   6     3,860   15     9,310   35     11,870   45  
12–16 students  2,130   9     5,410   22     10,910   45     5,940   24  
More than 16 students  1,500   8     4,560   24     8,150   43     4,720   25  
                                       
Number of class-
    room changes8
                                     
0–3 changes  450 ! 5 !   790 ! 9 !   3,540   40     4,000   46  
4–6 changes  2,910   8     7,180   21     14,330   41     10,300   30  
More than 6 changes  1,770   7     5,860   22     10,490   40     8,230   31  
                                       
Regular use of law
    enforcement9
                                     
Regular use  4,190   9     11,310   23     21,680   44     12,050   24  
No regular use  940   5     2,520   12     6,690   32     10,470   51  
                                       
Number of serious
    discipline pro-
    blems10
                                     
No problems  2,250   8     5,070   18     10,870   39     9,540   34  
1 problem  1,060   7     2,250   16     5,540   38     5,660   39  
2 problems  810   7     3,100   26     4,380   36     3,730   31  
3 or more problems  1,000   6     3,410   22     7,580   49     3,600   23  
                                       
Transfers as a per-
    centage of enroll-
    ment11
                                     
0 to 6 percent  440   6     980   13     3,760   50     2,310   31  
6 to 11 percent  750   7     2,010   17     4,240   37     4,490 ! 39  
11 to 21 percent  1,750   9     3,570   18     8,690   45     5,380   28  
21 percent or more  2,190   7     7,260   23     11,680   37     10,350   33  
                                       
Prevalence of school-
    wide disruptions12
                                     
No disruptions  4,210   7     11,470   19     24,420   41     19,720   33  
Any disruptions  920   9     2,350   23     3,950   39     2,810   28  
                                       
Percent of students
    absent on a
    daily basis
                                     
0–2 percent        780   12 !   2,170   35       46 !
3–5 percent  1,800   7     5,220   19     10,470   39     9,360   35  
6–10 percent  2,290   8     5,830   21     11,100   39     9,000   32  
More than 10 percent  610   7     1,990   23     4,620   54     1,300   15  
                                       
Prevalence of
    violent incidents13 
                                     
No violent incidents                32 !   850 ! 56  
Any violent incidents  5,100   7     13,670   20     27,890   41     21,680   32  
! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is from 30 percent to 50 percent of the estimate's value.
‡ Reporting standards not met. The standard error for this estimate is equal to 50 percent or more of the estimate's value.
1 Weapon was defined for respondents as "any instrument or object used with the intent to threaten, injure, or kill. This includes look-alikes if they are used to threaten others."
2 Specialized school was defined for respondents as "a school that is specifically for students who were referred for disciplinary reasons, although the school may also have students who were referred for other reasons. The school may be at the same location as your school."
3 Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
4 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.
5 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."
6 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
7 Student-to-FTE 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.
8 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
9 Respondents were asked, "During the 2005–2006 school year, did you have any sworn law enforcement officers, security guards, or security personnel present at your school at least once a week?"
10 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.
11 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.
12 Schoolwide disruptions include actions that disrupted school activities such as death threats, bomb threats, and chemical, biological, or radiological threats. Respondents were instructed to exclude all fire alarms, including false alarms.
13 Violent incidents include rape or attempted 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: "At school" was defined for respondents to include activities that happen in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. The number of incidents, students, or disciplinary actions reported for a specified offense will not always be equal. This may be because a single incident could involve multiple victims or because no disciplinary action is taken for an incident. Responses 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 (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.