13 Schools Named "Persistently Dangerous" Under NCLB

The State Education Department announced today that 13 schools have been identified as "persistently dangerous" under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.  Last year 19 schools were identified.

Eight new schools have been added to the list of persistently dangerous schools this year and 14 have been removed. The eight newly identified schools are located in New York City; the 14 newly removed schools are all located in New York City as well. Schools were removed from the list because they reported fewer serious incidents.

Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said, "There is no issue more important to the Regents than ensuring the safety of our children. So we will make the criteria for identifying dangerous schools more rigorous. And we will closely monitor them to be certain the data they report to us accurately reflects the realities within those schools."

Five schools on the list were identified in previous years. Of those five “carry-over” schools, two of them – Schenectady High School and P.S. 12, Lewis Clark in New York City – did not petition the Commissioner to be removed from the list.

The list of persistently dangerous schools, as well as the list of schools removed this year, is attached. The Education Department attributes the decrease in the number of schools identified to better tracking of student behavior and early intervention efforts by school districts as well as professional development opportunities provided by the Department throughout the year.

Schools are designated "persistently dangerous" if they have two successive years of serious incidents that meet or exceed criteria established by the Department. States set their own criteria for identifying schools.

Serious incidents include: homicide, forcible and other sexual offenses, robbery, assault resulting in serious physical injury or in physical injury, arson, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and possession, use or threatened use of a weapon.

The standard is a ratio of violent incidents to enrollment in a school and is determined by the number and type of incidents. Each incident is given a weighting based on the seriousness of the incident. The weightings are added. The result is then divided by enrollment. This yields a numerical index of school violence.

A school is considered "persistently dangerous" if for two consecutive years, it has either:  

• A School Violence Index (SVI) of 1.5 (This is approximately 6 incidents per 100 students, more or less depending on the seriousness of the incidents.)

       OR

• At least 60 serious incidents and an SVI of at least .50.

All schools designated as "persistently dangerous" must provide school choice to students where transfer options exist. Each school also receives financial support and technical assistance to help improve school safety. School districts must submit to the State Education Department for approval an Incident Reduction Plan for each designated school to show the specific steps the district will take to reduce the number of violent incidents and improve safety at the school. Staff from the New York State Center for School Safety and the Regional School Support Centers also provide help to designated schools to improve safety.           

Schools that have been successful in creating a safer environment for students have adopted one or more of the following strategies:

• • Develop and equitably enforce the district code of conduct.
  • Develop safety plans and building response plans to deal with serious situations as well as conduct drills and exercises to increase preparedness.
  • Personalize the school environment to allow students opportunity for personal growth through close support from adult mentors and guides.
  • Analyze data to provide information regarding areas of concern that may call for intervention.

2007-08 school by school Violent and Disruptive Incident Report (VADIR) data will be available later this week.

PERSISTENTLY DANGEROUS SCHOOLS
2009-10

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