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Student Support Services

Student Support Services

School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC)

School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) Overview

The New York State Education Department's (SED) School Safety and Educational Climate Summary Data Collection Form is a part of SED's implementation of the Dignity for All Students Act and Violent or Disruptive Incident Reporting (VADIR).  Data regarding violent or disruptive incidents, as well as incidents of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying is compiled to comply with New York State reporting requirements and to designate schools that are persistently dangerous. (8-CRR-NY §120.5)

All public schools, boards of cooperative educational services, charter schools, and county vocational education and extension boards are required to document incidents occurring on school property, including incidents occurring in, or on, a school bus (as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law §142), and at school functions.

Each year, school district/BOCES superintendents are required to certify and submit SSEC data for their district and separately for each school in the district, and charter school leaders are required to report data for each charter school, to SED by the date prescribed by the Commissioner of Education. The SSEC Summary Data Collection Form contains data for the current school year and summer months (July 1st through June 30th), including the summer school session. The SSEC Summary Data Collection Form also includes information (such as the number of incidents, offenders, and targets/victims by type of incident) collected in individual incident reports (IIR), as well as other information relating to school safety and the educational climate. Each incident reported on a district or school form should have been investigated to determine/verify the facts and to identify the appropriate category for reporting.

Violent and disruptive incident reports, reports of DASA infractions, investigation notes, and IIRs must be maintained at the school until the youngest person involved in an incident reaches the age of 27 (Records Retention and Disposition Schedule LGS-1) and must be made available for review upon request by SED and/or auditors.

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SSEC Data Submission

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Field Memos

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Persistently Dangerous School Designation

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Exemption Processes: WIEP, WIEP-OC, and ESCAIS

  • Weighted Incident Exemption Process (WIEP) (revised 2020) - The WIEP application is the process by which a school district demonstrates to NYSED that it should not be designated as persistently dangerous or identified as potentially persistently dangerous because some or all of the weighted incidents reported in the VADIR summary form were allegedly directly related to a student's disability, and that the school/district has taken appropriate corrective steps. When a district school is notified by NYSED that it is identified as potentially persistently dangerous (PPD), or when a persistently dangerous (PD) school is petitioning for removal of the PPD or PD designation, the WIEP application may be submitted by the due date specified by NYSED each year.
  • Weighted Incident Exemption Process - Other Circumstances (WIEP-OC) (revised 2020)- WIEP-OC is designed for use by school district leaders to apply for the exemption of weighted incidents that have been attributed to a student who is NOT classified with a disability. A school district leader must submit evidence in support of the requested exemption. All required forms must be completed and submitted by the due date in order to be considered. (Note: NYC schools that are unsure of their status should contact their Borough Safety Director, NYCDOE Office of Safety and Youth Development or Field Support Center (FSC) before completing WIEP/WIEP OC documentation.)
  • Evidence of Safe Conditions and Actions to Improve Safety (ESCAIS) (revised 2020)- The ESCAIS form is provided for those schools designated as Potentially Persistently Dangerous (PPD) or Persistently Dangerous (PD) to provide evidence that it has taken appropriate action or actions to improve safety at the school, and any other such evidence in support of its position that the school should not be designated as persistently dangerous. These forms can be used for schools that cannot complete a Weighted Incident Exemption Process (WIEP) or Weighted Incident Exemption Process – Other Circumstances (WIEP-OC) due to the specific requirements of those processes.

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Additional Resources

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Technical Assistance and Professional Development

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Laws and Regulations

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Contact

  • Content-related questions, contact the Office of Student Support Services:
  • Difficulties accessing or using the online SSEC form, contact the Office of Information and Reporting Services: