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Table 25.  Percentage of public primary schools reporting use of specified school practices: School year 2005–06
School practice  Percent of Schools  
Require visitors to sign or check in  97  
Control access to school buildings during school hours1  88  
Control access to school grounds during school hours2  44  
     
Require students to pass through metal detectors each day  1 !
Require visitors to pass through metal detectors  1 !
Perform one or more random metal detector checks on students  2  
     
Close the campus for most or all students during lunch  60  
Use one or more random dog sniffs to check for drugs  4  
Perform one or more random sweeps for contraband, but not including dog sniffs3  2  
     
Require drug testing for athletes  1 !
Require drug testing for students in extracurricular activities other than athletics  1 !
Require drug testing for any other students  1 !
     
Require students to wear uniforms  16  
Enforce a strict dress code  47  
Provide school lockers to students  27  
     
Require clear book bags or ban book bags on school grounds  2  
Require students to wear badges or picture IDs  2  
Require faculty and staff to wear badges or picture IDs  51  
     
Use one or more security cameras to monitor the school  31  
Provide telephones in most classrooms  67  
Provide two-way radios to any staff  73  
Prohibit all tobacco use on school grounds  88  
! Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is from 30 percent to 50 percent of the estimate’s value.
1 Examples of controlled access to school buildings provided to respondents were locked or monitored doors.
2 Examples of controlled access to school grounds provided to respondents were locked or monitored gates.
3 Examples of contraband provided to respondents were drugs or weapons.
NOTE: 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.