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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
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 15th 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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