June 12, 2024
NCES data also show the majority of public schools have a behavioral threat assessment team to identify potential risk for violent or harmful behavior from students.
WASHINGTON (June 12, 2024) — Thirty-eight percent of public school leaders reported they moderately or strongly agreed that traffic patterns around their schools pose a threat to students’ physical safety while commuting to school, according to data released today from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The new data also shed light on public school emergency preparedness and safety procedures. Eighty-five percent of public schools have a behavioral threat assessment team or other formal group to identify students who might be a potential risk for violent or harmful behavior toward themselves or others, an increase from 82 percent in the 2022–23 school year.
“These new data highlight two important issues facing schools: transportation and school emergency preparedness," said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “In the latest School Pulse Panel survey, public school leaders agreed with the statement that traffic patterns (38 percent) and crime (11 percent) around their school pose a threat to their students’ physical safety while commuting to school. Both transportation and the safety of students are vital to providing learning environments that supports students. These data explore experiences of schools and the challenges they face, and should spark important conversations.”
Highlights:
Additional key findings from the 50 states and Washington, D.C., are provided below.
The findings released today are part of an experimental data product from the School Pulse Panel, NCES’s innovative approach to delivering timely information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on public K–12 schools in the U.S. The data, collected between April 9 and 23 of 2024, came from 1,718 participating public K–12 schools from every state and the District of Columbia.
Additional data collected from 103 public K–12 schools in the U.S. outlying areas—American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—are also available. Results from this collection include the finding that 44 percent of outlying area public school leaders reported they moderately or strongly agreed that traffic patterns around their schools pose a threat to students’ physical safety while commuting to school.
Experimental data products are innovative statistical tools created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data may not meet all of NCES’s quality standards but are of sufficient benefit to data users in the absence of other relevant products to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental data products upon their release.
All data released today can be found on the School Pulse Panel dashboard, at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/spp/results.asp.
Key Findings
Transportation
School Emergency Preparedness and Safety Procedures
Event | Percentage |
Inclement weather | 69 |
Suicide threats or incidents | 52 |
Natural disasters | 44 |
Utility or systems failures | 44 |
Pandemic diseases | 42 |
Intruders | 40 |
Shooting threats | 37 |
Bomb threats or incidents | 29 |
Active shooters | 27 |
Active armed individuals with a weapon other than a firearm |
26 |
Chemical or industrial hazards | 19 |
Technical Note
Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and non-sampling error. All comparisons in this statistical press release have been tested and found to be statistically significant unless otherwise noted. NCES statistical tests are generally conducted at a 95 percent level of confidence.
Additional details regarding the methodology, including the survey questionnaire, may found on the School Pulse Panel methodology webpage.
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The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition and progress of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.
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The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent and nonpartisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
CONTACT:
Josh De La Rosa, National Center for Education Statistics, ARIS.NCES@ed.gov