Table 15. Number and percentage distribution of students in public schools involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: 2009

School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

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Table 15. Number and percentage distribution of students in public schools involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device at school receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: 2009–10


	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 suspensions lasting 5 or more days but less than the remainder of the school year				Other disciplinary actions³
School characteristic	Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students		Number of students		Percent of students
All public schools	1,300		‡		‡		‡		3,200	!	‡		‡		‡

Level⁴
Primary	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Middle	‡		‡		‡		‡		600		‡		‡		‡
High school	500		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Combined	‡		‡		#		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Enrollment size
Less than 300	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
300–499	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
500–999	300		‡		‡		‡		900	!	‡		‡		‡
1,000 or more	400		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Urbanicity
City	400		‡		‡		‡		600	!	‡		‡		‡
Suburb	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Town	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Rural	200	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Crime level where students live⁵
High	100	!	‡		‡		‡		400	!	‡		‡		‡
Moderate	700	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Low	400	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Mixed	100	!	‡		‡		‡		600	!	‡		‡		‡

Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students
Less than 5 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
5 to less than 20 percent	100	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
20 to less than 50 percent	300		‡		‡		‡		600	!	‡		‡		‡
50 percent or more	800	!	‡		‡		‡		2,300	!	‡		‡		‡

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		200	!	27.4	!	‡		‡
21–50 percent	300	!	16.5	!	200	!	11.6	!	300	!	18.1	!	1,000	!	52.8
More than 50 percent	900	!	‡		‡		‡		2,700	!	‡		‡		‡

Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		600	!	‡		‡		‡
6–15 percent	400	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
More than 15 percent	700	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	600	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
36–60 percent	400		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
More than 60 percent	300	!	10.5	!	400		14.0		1,200	!	39.7	!	1,100	!	36.6	!

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
26–50 percent	300		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
51–75 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		900	!	‡		500	!	24.8	!
More than 75 percent	400		‡		‡		‡		900	!	‡		‡		‡

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
45–55 percent	1,100		‡		‡		‡		1,500	!	‡		‡		‡
More than 55 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		300	!	‡		‡		64.4

Student-to-FTE ratio⁶
Less than 12 students	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
12–16 students	400	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
More than 16 students	800	!	13.5	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Number of classroom changes ⁷
0–3 changes	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
4–6 changes	500	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
More than 6 changes	500		‡		‡		‡		600	!	‡		2,200	!	53.0

Regular use of law enforcement ⁸
Regular use	900		‡		‡		‡		2,700	!	‡		‡		‡
No regular use	400	!	‡		‡		‡		500	!	‡		‡		‡

Number of serious discipline problems⁹
No problems	500	!	‡		‡		‡		1,100	!	‡		‡		‡
1 problem	200	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
2 problems	‡		‡		100	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
3 or more problems	200	!	25.0	!	‡		14.9	!	‡		‡		‡		30.9	!

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment¹⁰
Less than 6 percent	100	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
6 to less than 11 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		44.2	!	800	!	42.6	!
11 to less than 21 percent	200		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
21 percent or more	700		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions¹¹
No disruptions	1,300		‡		‡		‡		3,000	!	‡		‡		‡
Any disruptions	‡		‡		‡		‡		200	!	‡		300	!	43.7	!

Percent of students absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
3–5 percent	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
6–10 percent	600		23.0		400	!	15.5	!	600	!	22.1	!	1,000	!	41.1
More than 10 percent	100	!	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡

Prevalence of violent incidents¹²
No violent incidents	‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		100.0	¹³
Any violent incidents	1,300		7.4	!	1,300	!	7.4	!	3,200	!	18.4	!	12,000	!	68.3
#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 represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
¹Firearm 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."
²Specialized 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."
³Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
⁴Primary 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.
⁵Respondents 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."
⁶Student-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.
⁷Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁸Respondents were asked, "During the 2009–10 school year, did you have any security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers present at your school at least once a week?"
⁹Serious discipline problems include student racial/ethnic tensions, student bullying, student sexual harassment of other students, student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms, student acts of disrespect for teachers other than verbal abuse, 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.
¹⁰Transfers 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.
¹¹Schoolwide 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.
¹²Violent 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.
¹³Rounds to 100.
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 students 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, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2009–10 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS).

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