| Research shows a direct link between a positive disciplinary climate and high achievement. Issues related to school safety include disruptive behavior in the classroom, student disrespect for teachers, absenteeism, tardiness, use of alcohol and controlled substances, fighting, fear of bullying or attack, gangs, and possession of firearms.
WAYS TO MEASURE
- Percentage of Students Ages 12 to 18 Who Report that in the Previous Six Months:
- That they avoided one or more places in school
- That street gangs were present in school
- That they feared an attack at school or on the way to school
- Percentage of Students Ages 12 to 18 Reporting the Presence of Street Gangs at School by Household Income
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
March 2008 - Snapshots on Minnesota Youth: School Safety - What are the victimization and disciplinary issues impacting school safety in Minnesota? Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Minnesota Department of Education.
According to the Minnesota Student Survey 2007:
- 6th graders were most likely to report that they had been teased or excluded; over half (55%) reported they had been teased or excluded in the past month. Conversely, 55 percent also reported that they had teased or excluded others.
- 9th graders reported the highest rates of bullying others. 12th graders expressed the lowest incidence of bullying behaviors overall.
- Females were more likely to report being bullied monthly or weekly; males were slightly more likely than females to report being bullied daily and were somewhat more likely to report bullying others daily.
Roughly 40 to 50 percent of 9th grade students from all racial backgrounds acknowledged teasing or excluding other students in the past 30 days.
Based on data from the Minnesota Disciplinary Incident Reporting System in the 2006-07 school year:
- there were 857 incidents of bullying resulting in an out-of-school suspension or expulsion, approximately 1.2 percent of the total disciplinary incidents for the school year.
- 3.1 percent of the total incidents were related to harassment (2,249 incidents) and
- 4 percent were related to verbal abuse (2,983 incidents).
Bullying behavior has remained constant between 6 and 7 percent of incidents report in the system until 2005-2006 when it peaked at 9.3%. Currently it has decreased to 8.3 percent of total disciplinary incidents.
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