Annual Report on School Safety--October 1998

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Public School Policies and Practices Related To School Safety

Schools respond to the challenge posed by school crime in many ways. They are implementing zero-tolerance policies, increasing school security, and implementing formal school violence prevention or reduction programs.

Whatever the approach, it is important to recognize that acting in isolation will not bring about meaningful change in school safety. Instead, research indicates that school safety is best enhanced by schoolwide policies and practices that systemically address needs of students, school personnel, the community, and the physical plant of the school. Examples of successful schoolwide efforts to enhance school safety and successful programs are found in chapter 3 and the descriptions of model schools interspersed throughout the report.

In 1996-97, most public schools reported having zero-tolerance policies toward serious student offenses. A "zero-tolerance policy" was defined as a school or district policy that mandates predetermined consequences or punishments for specific offenses.

• At least nine out of 10 schools reported zero-tolerance policies for firearms (94 percent) and weapons other than firearms (91 percent).

• Eighty-seven and 88 percent of schools have policies of zero-tolerance for alcohol and drugs, respectively. Seventy-nine percent of schools also had zero-tolerance policies for violence and for tobacco.
• In 1996-97, public schools reported that they used a number of measures to increase security:
• Ninety-six percent required visitors to sign in before entering the school building.
• Eighty percent had a closed campus policy that prohibited most students from leaving the campus for lunch.
• Fifty-three percent controlled access to their school buildings.
• Twenty-four percent controlled access to their school grounds.
• Nineteen percent conducted drug sweeps.
• Four percent of schools performed random metal detector checks on students.
• One percent of public schools used metal detectors daily.

In addition to the security measures described above, schools reported using other types of approaches:

• Six percent of public schools had police or other law enforcement representatives stationed 30 hours a week or more at the school in a typical week during the 1996-97 school year.
• One percent of schools stationed police or other law enforcement personnel from 10 to 29 hours per week, and three percent had them stationed from one to nine hours a week.
• Twelve percent did not have police or other law enforcement representatives stationed during a typical week.
• Seventy-eight percent did not have any such persons stationed during the past year.
• A majority of public schools (78 percent) had some type of formal school violence prevention or reduction programs in 1996-97.
• Four percent of all public elementary schools required students to wear uniforms during the 1996-97 school year.

[A National Perspective]

[A State and Local Perspective]