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Table 15.  Number and percentage distribution of students in public primary schools involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device 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 firearm or explosive device1 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        3,160 !     81  
                               
Enrollment size                               
Less than 300  # #   #   #         89  
300–499  # #             96  
500–999          48 ! 1,410 ! 41 !
1,000 or more  # #     38     59      
                               
Urbanicity                               
City              58 !
Urban fringe              96  
Town  # #   #   #     100   #   #  
Rural  # #   #   #          
                               
Crime level where students live4                               
High  # #         72 !    
Moderate              72 !
Low  # #             69  
Mixed  # #   #   #         96 !
                               
Percent minority enrollment5                               
Less than 5 percent  # #              
5 to less than 20 percent  # #   #   #   #   #     100  
20 to less than 50 percent  # #              
50 percent or more        2,980 ! 34 !   56 !
                               
Percent of students
eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch 
                             
0–20 percent  # #             86  
21–50 percent  # #   #   #          
More than 50 percent        2,800 !     58 !
                               
Percent of students below 15th
percentile on standardized tests 
                             
0–5 percent  # #             45 !
6–15 percent              95  
More than 15 percent        2,340 !      
                               
Percent of students likely
to attend college 
                             
0–35 percent        2,460 !     84  
36–60 percent  # #     13 !       57  
More than 60 percent               
                               
Percent of students who consider
academic achievement important 
                             
0–25 percent    #   #   #   #      
26–50 percent  # #             88 !
51–75 percent  # #             65 !
More than 75 percent          64 ! 610 !  
                               
Percent male enrollment                               
0–44 percent    #   #     76 ! #   #  
45–55 percent        1,590 !     87  
More than 55 percent  # #   #   #          
                               
Student-to-FTE ratio6                               
Less than 12 students  # #   340 !   1,080 ! 32 !   58  
12–16 students  # #             99  
More than 16 students          61 !    
                               
Number of classroom changes7                               
0–3 changes              67 !
4–6 changes              88 !
More than 6 changes  # #              
                               
Regular use of law enforcement8                               
Regular use        2,440 ! 45 !   40 !
No regular use  # #       720 !     95  
                               
Number of serious
discipline problems9 
                             
No problems        1,160 !     92 !
1 problem  # #             71 !
2 problems      29 !        
3 or more problems  # #   #   #     95 !    
                               
Transfers as a percentage
of enrollment10 
                             
Less than 6 percent  # #   #   #          
6 to less than 11 percent               
11 to less than 21 percent  # #              
21 percent or more              87 !
                               
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions11 
                             
No disruptions    410 !   2,510 !     86  
Any disruptions               
                               
Percent of students
absent on a daily basis 
                             
0–2 percent  # #             72  
3–5 percent              94 !
6–10 percent  # #              
More than 10 percent  # #         75 ! #   #  
                               
Prevalence of violent incidents12                               
No violent incidents  # #   #   #   #   #     100  
Any violent incidents        3,160 !     81  
# Rounds to zero.
! 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 Firearm or explosive device was defined for respondents as "any weapon that is designed to (or may readily be converted to) expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. This includes guns, bombs, grenades, mines, rockets, missiles, pipe bombs, or similar devices designed to explode and capable of causing bodily harm or property damage."
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 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."
5 Responding schools that did not have race/ethnicity on the sampling frame (2 percent of schools) are excluded from the base.
6 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.
7 Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
8 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?"
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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. 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.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2005–06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006.