School Safety Reporting

James, Kris, Terri, Christy, and Jarrod

Colorado High School Teachers

The Problem

The current School Accountability Report (SAR) provides an inaccurate picture of the school safety environment.

Who Has a Problem?

0.00%

0.20%

0.40%

0.60%

0.80%

1.00%

1.20%

Alcohol

Adams12

Cherry Creek

Jefferson Cty

Denver

0.00%

0.10%

0.20%

0.30%

0.40%

0.50%

Tobacco

Adams12

Cherry Creek

Jefferson Cty

Denver

0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

Assaults/Fights

Adams12

Cherry Creek

Jefferson Cty

Denver

0.00%

1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

4.00%

Drugs

Adams12

Cherry Creek

Jefferson Cty

Denver

Current Policy

Current SAR uses categories for providing data for school safety.

SB 186

Disagreements in Community

Some (school officials) might say the information shouldn’t be reported because it makes schools look bad.

Parents who have students who attend schools where the data looks good or where the data looks bad.

Original creators of the SAR.Governor Owens

Alternative 1: Modify the “Safety and Discipline” statistics to be more specific

Advantages Gives a truer

picture of what the deviations are

Provide information that reflects/means what parents think it reflects/means

Gets rid of some of the inaccuracies

Will make comparisons between schools easier

Alternative 1: Modify the “Safety and Discipline” statistics to be more specific

Disadvantages Might not be continuity between different levels of

government (NCLB, SAR, School Districts) Laws will have to be changed to incorporate new

categories Could end up with something more complex than

what we started with A negative perception of school safety because of

the additional information Number of things that are reported may reflect how

policies are enforced rather than school safety

Alternative 2: Remove “Safe and Orderly School Features” section

Advantages Current categories are

unclear and undefined Current categories are

inaccurately reported Specific words (allows

and encourages) do not have meaning – it does not say whether those things are actually happening

Disadvantages Connects with

“Safety and Discipline” statistics

Provides information that some parents want to have

Shows an action plan to take care of problems

Alternative 3:

Modify the “Safety and School Environment” panel of the SAR to include a single indicator (, ) of the safety and school environment as designated by the school principal.

Advantages: Simple portrayal of safety and school

environment Disadvantages:

May not include an accurate portrayal of safety and school environment

Our Proposed Policy

We are modifying the reporting of the “Safety and Discipline” category in the Safety and School Environment Panel of the SAR.

Our modifications to the SAR will include:

Type of Incident in Column 1 should be re-categorized as follows: Use or possession of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco Distribution of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco Violence towards other students (including, but not

limited to, intimidation, fights, threats) Violence towards staff (including, but not limited to,

intimidation, fights, threats) Violations of school code of conduct* (including, but

not limited to, behavior, truancy, theft, and dress code) not including violence or illegal substances

Possession of weapons as defined by school code of conduct

Modifications (continued)

Column 2 should remain as is. Column 3 will be added to read as follows:

Number of Incidents Reported per 100 students Current column 4 (Action Taken) which is sub-

columned will include the following changes: Referred to Law Enforcement will say Law

Enforcement intervention including ticketing or arrest Delete the Other column

*Include a footnote that states that a school’s code of conduct is annually distributed to students at their perspective school

Is it Constitutional?

YesOur proposed

changes will not violate the state constitution.

Agency of Government

State Government

State Department of Education

Individual School Districts throughout the state

Steps we will follow:

1. Write a draft of our proposed changes.2. Contact a state legislator.3. Work with legislator.

a) Help gain support of Parent/Teacher Organizations.

b) Help gather research/resources1) Meet with State Education officials2) Meet with education-related associations such as

CEA, CASB, CASE, ECS, and Independence Institute

c) Assist with drafting an editorial to assist the legislator with getting the issue into the public.

Steps (continued)

4. Get bill introduced into one of the houses of the General Assembly.

5. Use mafia connections to line up votes.

Supporters

School administrators, faculty, and staff

ParentsSupporters of school choiceThose who believe that accurate

data lead to quality decision-making

Opponents

Original creators of the SARGovernor Owens (?)Those who believe that data cannot

accurately reflect school safety or the school environment

Schools and/or communities that will be shown in a negative light with the new data

Sources

Pam Benigno, Director, Education Policy Center, Independence Institute

Kathy Christie, Vice President, Education Commission of the States

Kristen Engel Waters, Principle, Bruce Randolph Middle School, Denver Public Schools

Alex Halpern, Halpern Law Firm, Boulder State Legislation: 22-7-605 and 22-23-109.1 School Accountability Reports (

www.state.co.us/schools) Senator Sue Windels, Chair, Senate Education

Committee, State of Colorado