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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 233.50. Percentage of public schools with various safety and security measures: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2015-16
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
School safety and security measures 1999-2000 2003-04 2005-06 2007-08 2009-10 2013-141 2015-16
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Controlled access during school hours                                          
Buildings (e.g., locked or monitored doors) 74.6   (1.35) 83.0   (1.04) 84.9   (0.89) 89.5   (0.80) 91.7   (0.80) 93.3   (0.95) 94.1   (0.64)
Grounds (e.g., locked or monitored gates) 33.7   (1.26) 36.2   (1.08) 41.1   (1.25) 42.6   (1.41) 46.0   (1.26) 42.7   (1.53) 49.9   (1.53)
Visitors required to sign or check in 96.6   (0.54) 98.3   (0.40) 97.6   (0.42) 98.7   (0.37) 99.3   (0.27) 98.6   (0.49) 93.5   (0.69)
Classrooms equipped with locks so that doors can be
      locked from inside
  (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 66.7   (1.34)
                                           
Student dress, IDs, and school supplies                                          
Required students to wear uniforms 11.8   (0.82) 13.8   (0.85) 13.8   (0.78) 17.5   (0.70) 18.9   (1.02) 20.4   (1.27) 21.5   (1.36)
Enforced a strict dress code 47.4   (1.50) 55.1   (1.24) 55.3   (1.18) 54.8   (1.20) 56.9   (1.56) 58.5   (1.60) 53.1   (1.22)
Required students to wear badges or picture IDs 3.9   (0.32) 6.4   (0.64) 6.2   (0.47) 7.6   (0.60) 6.9   (0.57) 8.9   (0.81) 7.0   (0.53)
Required faculty and staff to wear badges or
      picture IDs
25.4   (1.39) 48.0   (1.21) 47.9   (1.12) 58.3   (1.37) 62.9   (1.14) 68.0   (1.65) 67.9   (1.36)
Required clear book bags or banned book bags on
      school grounds
5.9   (0.50) 6.2   (0.63) 6.4   (0.43) 6.0   (0.48) 5.5   (0.53) 6.3   (0.81) 3.9   (0.44)
Provided school lockers to students 46.5   (1.07) 49.5   (1.24) 50.5   (1.08) 48.9   (1.17) 52.1   (1.10) 49.9   (1.35) 50.4   (1.24)
                                           
Drug testing                                          
Athletes   (†) 4.2   (0.44) 5.0   (0.46) 6.4   (0.48) 6.0   (0.52) 6.6   (0.59) 7.2   (0.55)
Students in extracurricular activities
      (other than athletes)
  (†) 2.6   (0.37) 3.4   (0.32) 4.5   (0.51) 4.6   (0.47) 4.3   (0.47) 6.0   (0.53)
Any other students   (†)   (†) 3.0   (0.34) 3.0   (0.42) 3.0   (0.26) 3.5   (0.44)   (†)
                                           
Metal detectors, dogs, and sweeps                                          
Random metal detector checks on students 7.2   (0.54) 5.6   (0.55) 4.9   (0.40) 5.3   (0.37) 5.2   (0.42) 4.2   (0.48) 4.5   (0.48)
Students required to pass through metal detectors daily 0.9   (0.16) 1.1   (0.16) 1.1   (0.18) 1.3   (0.20) 1.4   (0.24) 2.0   (0.40) 1.8   (0.32)
Random dog sniffs to check for drugs 20.6   (0.75) 21.3   (0.77) 23.0   (0.79) 21.5   (0.59) 22.9   (0.71) 24.1   (0.97) 24.6   (0.85)
Random sweeps2  for contraband (e.g., drugs or
      weapons)
11.8   (0.54) 12.8   (0.58) 13.1   (0.76) 11.4   (0.71) 12.1   (0.68) 11.4   (0.86) 11.9   (0.78)
                                           
Communication systems and technology                                          
Provided telephones in most classrooms 44.6   (1.80) 60.8   (1.48) 66.9   (1.30) 71.6   (1.16) 74.0   (1.13) 78.7   (1.34) 79.3   (1.14)
Provided electronic notification system for schoolwide
      emergency
  (†)   (†)   (†) 43.2   (1.26) 63.1   (1.40) 81.6   (1.12) 73.0   (1.35)
Provided structured anonymous threat reporting system3   (†)   (†)   (†) 31.2   (1.22) 35.9   (1.19) 46.5   (1.63) 43.9   (1.58)
Had silent alarms directly connected to law enforcement   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 27.1   (1.23)
Used security cameras to monitor the school 19.4   (0.88) 36.0   (1.28) 42.8   (1.29) 55.0   (1.37) 61.1   (1.16) 75.1   (1.31) 80.6   (0.96)
Provided two-way radios to any staff   (†) 71.2   (1.18) 70.9   (1.22) 73.1   (1.15) 73.3   (1.33) 74.2   (1.42) 73.3   (1.22)
Limited access to social networking sites from school
      computers
  (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 93.4   (0.59) 91.9   (0.80) 89.1   (0.88)
Prohibited use of cell phones and text messaging
      devices
  (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 90.9   (0.67) 75.9   (1.07) 65.8   (1.36)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Data for 2013-14 were collected using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), while data for all other years were collected using the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). The 2013-14 FRSS survey was designed to allow comparisons with SSOCS data. However, respondents to the 2013-14 survey could choose either to complete the survey on paper (and mail it back) or to complete the survey online, whereas respondents to SSOCS did not have the option of completing the survey online. The 2013-14 survey also relied on a smaller sample. The smaller sample size and difference in survey administration may have impacted the 2013-14 results.
2 Does not include random dog sniffs.
3 For example, a system for reporting threats through online submission, telephone hotline, or written submission via drop box.
NOTE: 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, 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, and 2015-16 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2016; and Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), "School Safety and Discipline: 2013-14," FRSS 106, 2014. (This table was prepared September 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest