Presentation to the Safe and Drug- Free Schools and Communities Advisory Committee October 23, 2006 Archived Information Jerry Barber, CPA, CISA, CGFM Assistant Comptroller Office of the State Comptroller New York State

New York State Education Department Reporting of Violent and Disruptive Incidents by Public Schools Report 2005-S-38

Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE) Becomes Law in July 2000 Establish Codes of Conduct for Students Requires Development of Comprehensive School Safety Plans Update Safety Plans Annually UNIFORM VIOLENT INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM TO BE ESTABLISHED

Background Over 700 Districts in NYS Reporting by District and by Each Individual School Within the District Reporting Started with the School Year NYS Education Department Summarizes Results and Reports Them to the Public

Objectives Do schools properly report incidents? Does the Education Department accurately compile school incidents data? Are schools properly identified as persistently dangerous?

Scope 9/1/02 – 2/6/06 Schools outside of NYC SED databases 15 school districts: 2 large cities, 6 small cities, 4 suburban cities, 3 rural cities. 17 high schools and 3 elementary schools incident data Surveyed 35 other districts

NY’s Uniform Violent Incident Reporting System 17 Different Types of Incidents All Incidents Must Be Reported Additional Requirement for Weapons System’s Name – Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting (VADIR) Report Due in NYS Education Department by October 31 annually Hardcopy Reporting

Audit Results – In Summary System Designed by NYS Education Department Was Comprehensive NYS Education Department’s Oversight of System Was Weak at Best Allowed Schools To Manipulate Data Ignored Obvious Underreporting Compliance With Reporting Requirements Was Poor

Example of Findings Type of Incident Reported by School Documented in School Records Sexual Offenses13 Assault with Serious Physical Injury06 Assault with Physical Injury20126 Robbery20 Reckless Endangerment016 Criminal Harassment025 Intimidation, Harassment, Menacing or Bullying3994 Burglary, Larceny, or Other Theft Offenses317 Criminal Mischief1123 Bomb Threat12 False Alarm50 Other Disruptive Incidents24552 Possession, But Not Use, of a Weapon3738 Use, Sale or Possession of Drugs or Alcohol122 Total144924

Example of Findings Avoidance of Persistently Dangerous Label 21 Schools Received Preliminary Designation 4 Schools Remained On List After Data Was Amended

Is this a case of mistakes or deliberate under reporting? (Or Both?)

Causes of Problems Oversight by NYS Education Department Was Weak and Did Not Verify Data Training May Not Have Been Effective

Solutions Verification of Reported Numbers Analytical Review of Data to Identify Anomalies Training of District Officials

Agency Response 12 recommendations – complete agreement Immediate State Education follow-up to verify data Classification of persistently dangerous schools