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Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 233.50. Percentage of public schools with various safety and security measures: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2019-20
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
School safety and security measures 1999-2000 2003-04 2005-06 2007-08 2009-10 2013-141 2015-16 2017-18 2019-202
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Controlled access during school hours                                                      
Buildings (e.g., locked or monitored doors, loading docks)3 74.6   (1.35) 83.0   (1.04) 84.9   (0.89) 89.5   (0.80) 91.7   (0.80) 93.3   (0.95) 94.1   (0.64) 95.4   (0.52) 97.1   (0.43)
Grounds (e.g., locked or monitored gates) 33.7   (1.26) 36.2   (1.08) 41.1   (1.25) 42.6   (1.41) 46.0   (1.26) 42.7   (1.53) 49.9   (1.53) 50.8   (1.38) 58.9   (1.42)
Visitors required to sign or check in and wear badges4 96.6   (0.54) 98.3   (0.40) 97.6   (0.42) 98.7   (0.37) 99.3   (0.27) 98.6   (0.49) 93.5   (0.69) 94.6   (0.65) 98.1   (0.33)
Classrooms equipped with locks so that doors can be
    locked from inside
---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 66.7   (1.34) 64.8   (1.01) 73.1   (1.28)

Student dress, IDs, and school supplies
                                                     
Required students to wear uniforms 11.8   (0.82) 13.8   (0.85) 13.8   (0.78) 17.5   (0.70) 18.9   (1.02) 20.4   (1.27) 21.5   (1.36) 19.8   (0.87) 18.8   (1.14)
Enforced a strict dress code 47.4   (1.50) 55.1   (1.24) 55.3   (1.18) 54.8   (1.20) 56.9   (1.56) 58.5   (1.60) 53.1   (1.22) 48.8   (1.32) 43.7   (1.32)
Required students to wear badges or picture IDs 3.9   (0.32) 6.4   (0.64) 6.2   (0.47) 7.6   (0.60) 6.9   (0.57) 8.9   (0.81) 7.0   (0.53) 9.2   (0.60) 10.1   (0.54)
Required faculty and staff to wear badges or picture IDs 25.4   (1.39) 48.0   (1.21) 47.9   (1.12) 58.3   (1.37) 62.9   (1.14) 68.0   (1.65) 67.9   (1.36) 69.9   (1.18) 76.8   (1.18)
Required clear book bags or banned book bags on
    school grounds
5.9   (0.50) 6.2   (0.63) 6.4   (0.43) 6.0   (0.48) 5.5   (0.53) 6.3   (0.81) 3.9   (0.44) 3.5   (0.42) 4.4   (0.43)
Provided school lockers to students 46.5   (1.07) 49.5   (1.24) 50.5   (1.08) 48.9   (1.17) 52.1   (1.10) 49.9   (1.35) 50.4   (1.24) 49.0   (1.25) 49.4   (1.06)

Drug testing
                                                     
Students participating in athletics or other
    extracurricular activities5
---   (†) 4.3   (0.44) 5.0   (0.46) 6.6   (0.53) 6.2   (0.51) 6.7   (0.61) 7.7   (0.57) 8.9   (0.57) 9.5   (0.72)
Athletes ---   (†) 4.2   (0.44) 5.0   (0.46) 6.4   (0.48) 6.0   (0.52) 6.6   (0.59) 7.2   (0.55) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Students in extracurricular activities (other than athletes) ---   (†) 2.6   (0.37) 3.4   (0.32) 4.5   (0.51) 4.6   (0.47) 4.3   (0.47) 6.0   (0.53) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Any other students ---   (†) ---   (†) 3.0   (0.34) 3.0   (0.42) 3.0   (0.26) 3.5   (0.44) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)

Metal detectors, dogs, and sweeps
                                                     
Random metal detector checks on students 7.2   (0.54) 5.6   (0.55) 4.9   (0.40) 5.3   (0.37) 5.2   (0.42) 4.2   (0.48) 4.5   (0.48) 4.9   (0.49) 6.0   (0.47)
Metal detector checks on students every day6 0.9   (0.16) 1.1   (0.16) 1.1   (0.18) 1.3   (0.20) 1.4   (0.24) 2.0   (0.40) 1.8   (0.32) 2.2   (0.35) 2.7   (0.34)
Random sweeps (e.g., locker checks, dog sniffs) for
    contraband (e.g., drugs or weapons)7
25.3   (0.77) 26.6   (0.73) 28.0   (0.89) 26.3   (0.77) 27.7   (0.86) 28.2   (1.02) 28.2   (0.89) 27.4   (0.88) 28.7   (0.89)
Random dog sniffs to check for drugs 20.6   (0.75) 21.3   (0.77) 23.0   (0.79) 21.5   (0.59) 22.9   (0.71) 24.1   (0.97) 24.6   (0.85) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Random sweeps (not including dog sniffs) for contraband 11.8   (0.54) 12.8   (0.58) 13.1   (0.76) 11.4   (0.71) 12.1   (0.68) 11.4   (0.86) 11.9   (0.78) ---   (†) ---   (†)

Communication systems and technology
                                                     
Provided telephones in most classrooms 44.6   (1.80) 60.8   (1.48) 66.9   (1.30) 71.6   (1.16) 74.0   (1.13) 78.7   (1.34) 79.3   (1.14) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Provided electronic notification system for schoolwide
    emergency
---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 43.2   (1.26) 63.1   (1.40) 81.6   (1.12) 73.0   (1.35) 71.6   (1.17) 70.4   (1.34)
Provided structured anonymous threat reporting system8 ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 31.2   (1.22) 35.9   (1.19) 46.5   (1.63) 43.9   (1.58) 49.3   (1.32) 65.7   (1.30)
Had silent alarms directly connected to law enforcement ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 27.1   (1.23) 29.1   (1.15) 40.0   (1.26)
Used security cameras to monitor the school 19.4   (0.88) 36.0   (1.28) 42.8   (1.29) 55.0   (1.37) 61.1   (1.16) 75.1   (1.31) 80.6   (0.96) 83.5   (1.09) 91.1   (0.79)
Provided two-way radios to any staff ---   (†) 71.2   (1.18) 70.9   (1.22) 73.1   (1.15) 73.3   (1.33) 74.2   (1.42) 73.3   (1.22) 77.8   (1.06) 83.2   (0.91)
Limited access to social networking sites from school
    computers
---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 93.4   (0.59) 91.9   (0.80) 89.1   (0.88) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Prohibited non-academic use of cell phones or smartphones
    during school hours9
---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 90.9   (0.67) 75.9   (1.07) 65.8   (1.36) 70.3   (1.30) 76.9   (1.03)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 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, the mode of the 2013-14 FRSS survey differed from that of SSOCS, which evolved over time. Specifically, 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. All respondents to SSOCS had only the option of completing a paper survey prior to 2017-18. In 2017-18, SSOCS experimented with offering an online option to some respondents. In 2019-20, SSOCS switched to using primarily an online survey instrument. 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.
2 The coronavirus pandemic affected the 2019-20 data collection activities, while the change to virtual schooling and the adjusted school year may have impacted the data collected by SSOCS. Readers should use caution when comparing 2019-20 estimates with those from earlier years. For more information, see Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools in 2019–20: Findings From the School Survey on Crime and Safety (NCES 2022-029).
3 Prior to 2017-18, the examples of controlled access to buildings included only "locked or monitored doors" and did not include loading docks.
4 Prior to 2015-16, the questionnaire asked only if visitors were required "to sign or check in" and did not include the requirement to wear badges.
5 The 2017-18 and 2019-20 questionnaires included only a single item about drug testing "for students participating in athletics or other extracurricular activities." Prior to 2017-18, the questionnaire included two separate items: one item about testing for athletes and one about testing for students in other extracurricular activities. For years prior to 2017-18, schools are included in this row if they answered "yes" to either or both of the separate items; each school is counted only once in this row, even if it answered "yes" to both of the separate items.
6 The wording of this item was revised in 2015-16. Prior to 2015-16, the item asked whether students were required "to pass through metal detectors each day."
7 The 2017-18 and 2019-20 questionnaires included only a single item about random sweeps for contraband, and they provided locker checks and dog sniffs as examples of types of sweeps. Prior to 2017-18, the questionnaire included one item about dog sniffs for drugs, followed by a separate item about sweeps not including dog sniffs. For years prior to 2017-18, schools are included in this row if they answered "yes" to either or both of these items; each school is counted only once in this row, even if it answered "yes" to both items.
8 For example, a system for reporting threats through online submission, telephone hotline, or written submission via drop box.
9 Prior to 2017-18, the questionnaire asked about prohibiting the "use of cell phones and text messaging devices during school hours." It did not refer to "non-academic" use or "smartphones."
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, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2019-20 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020; and Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), "School Safety and Discipline: 2013-14," FRSS 106, 2014. (This table was prepared October 2021.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest