Table 15. Number of students in public high schools involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device at school, and the number and percentage of students receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003

Crime and Safety Surveys

Publications & Products|SSOCS & SCS Table Library|Staff

Back

Download Excel

(42 KB)

Download SE Excel

(44 KB)

Table 15. Number of students in public high schools involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device at school, and the number and percentage of students receiving various disciplinary actions, by selected school characteristics: School year 2003–04

School characteristic		Disciplinary actions taken for students involved in the use or possession of a firearm or explosive device at school
	Total students involved in recorded offenses	Removals without continuing services		Transfers to specialized schools¹		Out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days		Other disciplinary action²
	Number	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All public schools	18,967	504	3	921	5	4,879	26	12,608	67

Enrollment size
Less than 300	16,803	#	#	147	1	4,259	25	12,397	74
300–499	111	32	33	31	32	33	34	#	#
500–999	369	153	43	92	26	57	16	55	15
1,000 or more	1,684	319	19	652	39	530	32	156	9

Urbanicity
City	824	193	23	404	49	159	19	69	8
Urban fringe	14,922	123	1	286	2	4,537	30	9,946	67
Town	2,749	100	4	51	2	61	2	2,522	92
Rural	471	88	19	181	39	123	26	72	15

Crime level where students live³
High	221	27	12	109	49	67	30	18	8
Moderate	3,141	187	6	286	9	113	4	2,555	81
Low	15,046	140	1	340	2	4,499	30	10,020	67
Mixed	559	151	27	186	34	200	36	14	3

Percent minority enrollment⁴
Less than 5 percent	132	27	20	58	44	42	32	5	4
5 to 20 percent	17,229	96	1	159	1	4,437	26	12,501	73
20 to 50 percent	507	147	29	131	26	176	35	54	11
50 percent or more	1,002	196	20	561	57	198	20	27	3

Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–20 percent	14,819	94	1	275	2	4,426	30	9,970	68
21–50 percent	933	247	26	300	32	305	33	81	9
More than 50 percent	3,215	163	5	346	11	149	5	2,557	80

Percent of students below 15^th percentile on standardized tests
0–5 percent	333	98	29	96	29	106	32	33	10
6–15 percent	15,040	176	1	360	2	4,470	30	10,022	67
More than 15 percent	3,594	230	6	465	13	303	9	2,553	72

Percent of students likely to attend college
0–35 percent	3,096	159	5	207	7	150	5	2,546	83
36–60 percent	726	201	28	266	38	216	31	23	3
More than 60 percent	15,145	145	1	448	3	4,513	30	10,039	66

Percent of students who consider academic achievement important
0–25 percent	284	82	33	99	40	62	25	6	2
26–50 percent	589	116	20	261	45	171	29	34	6
51–75 percent	524	191	36	164	31	120	23	49	9
More than 75 percent	17,570	116	1	398	2	4,526	26	12,519	71

Percent male enrollment
0–44 percent	142	83	68	9	7	31	25	#	#
45–55 percent	4,618	414	9	866	19	594	13	2,707	59
More than 55 percent	14,207	7	#	47	#	4,253	30	9,900	70

Student-to-teacher ratio⁵
Less than 12 students	2,897	115	4	175	6	76	3	2,520	87
12–16 students	15,191	275	2	419	3	4,531	30	9,949	66
More than 16 students	878	114	13	326	38	272	32	139	16

Number of classroom changes⁶
0–3 changes	100	40	47	19	23	17	20	8	10
4–6 changes	3,872	261	7	550	14	359	9	2,675	70
More than 6 changes	14,994	204	1	351	2	4,503	30	9,925	66

Regular use of law enforcement⁷
Regular use	18,634	429	2	758	4	4,820	26	12,608	68
No regular use	333	76	25	163	55	59	20	#	#

Number of serious discipline problems⁸
No problems	3,535	167	5	500	14	231	7	2,613	74
1 problem	487	140	31	128	28	131	29	57	13
2 problems	436	127	29	115	26	162	37	32	7
3 or more problems	14,509	70	#	178	1	4,354	30	9,906	68

Transfers as a percentage of enrollment⁹
0 to 6 percent	436	125	31	153	37	122	30	9	2
6 to 11 percent	311	26	9	124	41	115	38	38	12
11 to 21 percent	17,590	171	1	462	3	4,468	25	12,470	71
21 percent or more	629	183	29	181	29	174	28	91	15

Prevalence of schoolwide disruptions¹⁰
No disruptions	18,654	443	2	765	4	4,796	26	12,594	68
Any disruptions	313	61	19	156	50	83	26	14	4

Percent of students
absent on a daily basis
0–2 percent	2,668	6	#	88	3	68	3	2,506	94
3–5 percent	602	156	28	134	24	139	24	138	24
6–10 percent	15,258	218	1	464	3	4,623	30	9,935	65
More than 10 percent	438	124	28	235	54	49	11	29	7

Prevalence of violent incidents¹¹
No violent incidents	31	14	47	#	#	16	53	#	#
Any violent incidents	18,936	490	3	921	5	4,863	26	12,608	67
# Rounds to zero.
¹ Specialized school was defined for respondents as "a school that is specifically for students who were referred for disciplinary reasons. The school may also have students who were referred for other reasons. The school may be at the same location as your school."
² Other disciplinary actions include suspension less than 5 days, detention, etc.
³ 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."
⁴ These estimates exclude data from Tennessee because schools in this state did not report estimates of student race.
⁵ 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.
⁶ Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
⁷ 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?"
⁸ 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.
⁹ 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.
¹⁰ Schoolwide 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.
¹¹ 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: The numbers of students involved in offenses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about discipline issues at the school. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 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, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2004.

Back

Download Excel

(42 KB)

Download SE Excel

(44 KB)