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Digest of Education Statistics
2020 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 233.70. Percentage of public schools with security staff present at least once a week, and percentage with security staff routinely carrying a firearm, by selected school characteristics: 2005–06 through 2017-18
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
School characteristic Percent with one or more security staff1 Percent with any security staff routinely carrying a firearm2 Percent with sworn law enforcement officers routinely carrying a firearm2
2005–06 2007–08 2009–10 2013-143 2015-16 2017-18 2005–06 2007–08 2009–10 2015–16 2017–18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
All public schools 41.7   (1.28) 46.3   (1.29) 42.8   (1.07) 43.0   (1.48) 56.5   (1.29) 61.4   (1.27) 30.7   (1.10) 34.1   (1.11) 28.0   (0.97) 42.9   (1.50) 46.7   (1.06)
School level4                                                                  
Primary 26.2   (1.87) 33.1   (2.04) 27.7   (1.50) 28.6   (2.15) 45.4   (1.95) 51.4   (2.00) 15.7   (1.55) 20.1   (1.68) 12.5   (1.25) 30.6   (2.35) 36.0   (1.68)
Middle 63.7   (1.30) 65.5   (1.59) 66.4   (1.45) 63.3   (2.15) 73.4   (1.65) 80.0   (1.32) 51.8   (1.32) 54.2   (1.92) 51.0   (1.84) 60.0   (1.52) 67.6   (1.68)
High school/combined 62.9   (2.65) 65.5   (2.02) 62.8   (1.74) 64.1   (2.44) 71.3   (2.19) 72.3   (1.67) 51.8   (2.39) 54.9   (1.90) 50.1   (1.80) 60.7   (1.96) 57.1   (1.78)
High school 75.2   (1.66) 79.6   (1.47) 76.4   (1.45) ---   (†) 81.0   (1.40) 84.3   (1.11) 64.0   (1.71) 67.5   (1.51) 63.3   (1.75) 70.9   (1.55) 72.0   (1.55)
Combined 43.5   (5.25) 39.9   (5.59) 36.6   (4.89) ---   (†) 51.2   (5.86) 48.4   (4.86) 32.4   (4.50) 32.1   (4.89) 24.6   (4.26) 39.7   (5.34) 27.5   (4.17)
                                                                   
Enrollment size                                                                  
Less than 300 22.7   (2.65) 27.6   (2.55) 25.6   (2.91) 21.7   (3.05) 34.8   (3.61) 44.7   (3.28) 16.2   (2.17) 16.1   (2.39) 13.5   (2.16) 26.8   (3.38) 34.4   (3.30)
300 to 499 29.8   (2.29) 36.1   (2.66) 33.5   (2.26) 35.4   (2.90) 49.9   (2.66) 51.5   (2.49) 20.5   (1.83) 26.7   (2.37) 19.8   (1.84) 37.8   (2.70) 36.0   (2.06)
500 to 999 50.5   (1.90) 52.7   (1.99) 47.3   (1.60) 50.6   (2.37) 64.6   (1.99) 69.0   (1.62) 36.9   (1.67) 39.5   (1.98) 30.3   (1.42) 46.0   (2.16) 52.4   (1.77)
1,000 or more 86.9   (1.39) 90.6   (1.59) 90.0   (1.37) 87.2   (2.27) 91.4   (1.73) 94.3   (0.97) 70.3   (1.67) 73.5   (1.62) 74.6   (1.75) 80.5   (1.65) 79.4   (1.63)
                                                                   
Locale                                                                  
City 49.1   (2.57) 57.3   (3.05) 50.9   (2.51) 45.5   (3.13) 61.9   (2.87) 63.3   (2.48) 30.5   (1.73) 33.1   (2.32) 27.6   (1.98) 36.0   (2.89) 36.0   (1.76)
Suburban 42.7   (1.67) 45.4   (2.08) 45.4   (1.90) 47.7   (2.70) 57.9   (2.30) 63.3   (1.78) 32.2   (1.51) 33.7   (1.94) 29.6   (1.45) 44.6   (2.28) 51.0   (1.89)
Town 44.4   (3.86) 51.1   (3.50) 39.0   (3.11) 48.0   (4.08) 62.0   (3.55) 68.9   (3.46) 38.1   (3.62) 45.0   (3.54) 31.6   (2.81) 56.5   (3.56) 59.4   (3.82)
Rural 33.8   (1.87) 36.0   (1.98) 35.2   (2.20) 35.5   (2.33) 46.7   (2.54) 53.7   (3.02) 27.1   (1.84) 30.5   (2.05) 25.3   (1.78) 41.3   (2.48) 46.1   (2.58)
                                                                   
Percent minority enrollment5                                                                  
0 to 25 percent 34.9   (1.53) 40.7   (1.55) 35.0   (1.98) ---   (†) 51.1   (2.36) 58.3   (2.34) 27.6   (1.33) 34.3   (1.54) 25.9   (1.56) 45.6   (2.31) 52.5   (2.06)
26 to 50 percent 42.4   (2.64) 44.9   (3.16) 42.8   (2.21) ---   (†) 51.6   (2.83) 59.2   (2.81) 36.7   (2.29) 38.2   (3.01) 32.1   (2.25) 43.3   (3.04) 47.4   (2.81)
51 to 75 percent 47.5   (4.20) 44.8   (4.35) 49.5   (3.17) ---   (†) 62.9   (3.61) 61.5   (4.04) 34.3   (3.12) 31.7   (3.07) 33.4   (2.97) 47.3   (3.29) 48.1   (3.87)
76 to 100 percent 53.9   (3.12) 62.3   (3.14) 54.5   (2.89) ---   (†) 64.5   (2.88) 67.4   (2.36) 28.5   (2.53) 31.6   (2.56) 26.1   (2.00) 35.8   (2.79) 37.4   (2.05)
                                                                   
Percent of students eligible for
     free or reduced-price lunch6
                                                                 
0 to 25 percent 37.9   (2.14) 46.5   (2.33) 39.2   (2.44) 41.6   (3.81) 52.9   (3.77) 53.6   (2.69) 30.3   (1.95) 34.8   (2.12) 27.2   (1.93) 42.5   (3.25) 44.1   (2.78)
26 to 50 percent 42.1   (2.08) 40.8   (2.52) 40.0   (1.68) 39.6   (3.10) 50.8   (2.89) 64.7   (2.69) 33.8   (1.78) 35.2   (2.02) 30.3   (1.59) 41.3   (2.61) 55.4   (2.95)
51 to 75 percent 39.3   (2.21) 46.1   (2.83) 42.3   (2.60) 44.4   (2.71) 58.7   (2.47) 61.6   (2.96) 31.8   (2.05) 35.8   (2.77) 27.4   (2.07) 49.0   (2.76) 51.3   (2.89)
76 to 100 percent 49.8   (2.73) 55.0   (3.68) 49.8   (2.76) 45.8   (3.24) 62.2   (2.62) 63.4   (2.01) 25.6   (2.17) 29.7   (2.68) 26.8   (2.32) 38.9   (3.04) 38.2   (1.79)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Security staff include security guards, security personnel, School Resource Officers (SROs), and sworn law enforcement officers who are not SROs. "Security guards" and "security personnel" do not include law enforcement. SROs include all career law enforcement officers with arrest authority who have specialized training and are assigned to work in collaboration with school organizations.
2 Prior to 2015-16, the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) questionnaire asked respondents whether any of the security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers at their school routinely carried a firearm. In 2015-16 and 2017-18, the SSOCS questionnaire asked respondents only whether any of the sworn law enforcement officers (including SROs) at their school routinely carried a firearm; therefore, direct comparisons with earlier years should be avoided. Data on security staff routinely carrying a firearm were not collected in the 2013-14 Fast Response Survey System (FRSS).
3 Data for 2013-14 were collected using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), while data for all other years were collected using the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). The 2013-14 FRSS survey was designed to allow comparisons with SSOCS data. However, all respondents to the 2013-14 survey could choose either to complete the survey on paper (and mail it back) or to complete the survey online, whereas all respondents to SSOCS had only the option of completing a paper survey prior to 2017-18, when SSOCS experimented with offering an online option to some respondents. The 2013-14 FRSS survey also relied on a smaller sample than SSOCS. The FRSS survey's smaller sample size and difference in survey administration may have impacted the 2013-14 results.
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. Combined schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools. Separate data on high schools and combined schools are not available for 2013–14.
5 Percent combined enrollment of Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students, and students of Two or more races.
6 Because the 2013-14 survey did not collect data on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, the classification of schools by the percentage of eligible students was computed based on data obtained from the Common Core of Data.
NOTE: 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, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2015-16, and 2017-18 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2018; Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), "School Safety and Discipline: 2013-14," FRSS 106, 2014; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2013-14. (This table was prepared August 2019.)

2020 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest