A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Report on State Implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act - School Year 1996-97

(NOTE: The tables referred to in this document are available in the PDF version.)

Introduction

The Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) states that each state receiving federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) must have a state law that requires all local educational agencies (LEAs) in the state to expel from school for at least one year any student found bringing a firearm to school. (See Appendix A for a copy of the GFSA.) State laws must also authorize the LEA chief administering officer to modify any such expulsion on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the GFSA states that it must be construed to be consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The GFSA requires states to report information about the implementation of the act annually to the Secretary of Education. In order to meet this requirement and to monitor compliance with the GFSA, the Department of Education (ED) requires each state[1] to submit an annual report that provides the number of students expelled (by type of firearm and school level), the number of expulsions that were modified on a case-by-case basis, the number of modified cases that were not for students with disabilities, and the number of expelled students who were referred to an alternative school or program. Two additional items regarding specific LEA compliance with the GFSA were reported but are not included in this report.

Data Collection and Verification

Westat, under contract to ED, collected the data from each state department of education for 1995-96 and from all but one state for 1996-97[2] .

  • As each survey was received, it was reviewed for accuracy and entered into a database.

  • In approximately 50 cases (over both years), Westat contacted the state to obtain a correction or clarification of the submitted data. For example, the data provider was contacted if the submitted forms were not internally consistent or if rows or columns did not add to printed totals.

  • Once all of the data was received at Westat, all states were contacted and asked to provide a final verification of their data by fax. To date, 53 states have verified their data in this manner[3].

Organization of the Report

This report is divided into three sections and summarizes 1996-97 data submitted by the states. The 1995-96 data are not included in this report because, as it was the first year of the GFSA data collection, there were many problems with the quality of the data collected. The first section is a brief summary of the overall findings. The second section presents a summary of the 1996-97 data in both tabular and graphic form. The tables in this section contain data notes that are critical to the correct interpretation of the data. The third section presents a page for each state. Each page contains the data submitted by the state as well as any caveats or data notes accompanying the data. Finally, a copy of the GFSA state data collection instrument can be found in Appendix B of this report.

Data Quality and Interpretation of Findings

All of the information contained in this report should be interpreted with caution. First, as noted on the summary tables and on the individual state pages, some states attached caveats and data notes to their data that should be considered. This is of particular importance when examining national totals, as they are not made up of data that are comparable from state to state in all cases (for example, some states submitted data on all weapons, not firearms). Second, some states submitted aggregate data that was not broken out by school level and/or type of weapon. The expulsions for these states are included in the overall summary totals but are not included in the figures by type of firearm or school level. This means that the total number of reported expulsions differs for each questionnaire item summarized in this report.

As with all new reporting efforts, we expect the quality of the data submitted under the GFSA will continue to improve. ED will work to assist the states in their data reporting to ensure this improvement.

Finally, this report is not designed to provide information to the reader regarding the rate at which students carry firearms to school. The data reported by the states concern disciplinary actions only.

Summary

  • Overall, 55 states reported data under the GFSA for the 1996-97 school year. These states reported that they expelled an estimated total of 6,093 students from school for bringing a firearm[4] to school out of a total 5- to 17-year-old population of slightly over 51 million in 1996. However, not all states reported data for all of their districts and some states reported total expulsions for all weapons, not just firearms. Therefore, the figures reported by some states may either over- or underestimate the actual expulsions under the GFSA. Refer to Table 1 for more detailed information regarding these over- and underestimates as well as other data caveats.

  • Fifty-six percent of the expulsions reported by school level were students in high school, 34 percent were in junior high, and 9 percent were in elementary school. These data were reported by school level by 49 states. (See Table 2).

  • Fifty-eight percent of the expulsions reported by type of firearm were for bringing a handgun to school. Seven percent of these expulsions were for bringing a rifle or shotgun to school and 35 percent were for some other type of firearm (such as bombs, grenades, or starter pistols). The data were reported by type of weapon by 47 states. (See Table 3).

  • Forty-three states reported on expulsions that were shortened to less than one year. In these states, 34 percent of expulsions were shortened to less than one year. (See Table 4).

  • Thirty-nine states reported on the disability status of students receiving shortened expulsions. In these states, 63 percent of shortened expulsions were for students who were not considered disabled. (See Table 5).

  • In the 41 states reporting data on alternative placements, 56 percent of the expelled students in these states were referred to an alternate school or placement. (See Table 6)

Expulsions for Bringing a Firearm to School - Overview

Overall, 55 states provided data on the number of students expelled for bringing a firearm to school, for a total of 6,093 expulsions. California[5], Ohio[6], and Texas were the only states with greater than 500 expulsions, and the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Guam, and Puerto Rico reported that they had none during the 1996-97 school year. When viewed as the number of expulsions per 1,000 enrolled students, Colorado[7], Ohio[6], and Missouri[8] had the highest number of expulsions per 1,000 students. However, not all states reported data for all of their districts and some states reported total expulsions for all weapons, not just firearms. Refer to Table 1 for more detailed information on these caveats.

School Level

Forty-nine states provided data on their expulsions by school level. Over two-thirds of all reported expulsions were reported by school level (4,125 of 6,093)[9]. Of these 4,125 expulsions, over half (2,317 or 56 percent) were students in senior high schools, 34 percent (1,416) were students in junior high, and 9 percent (391) were elementary school students. Note that the percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. (See Figure 1 and Table 2)

Type of Firearm

Forty-seven states provided data differentiating the type of firearm brought to school by students. Almost 60 percent of all reported expulsions were reported by type of firearm (3,497 of 6,093).

Of these 3,497 expulsions, 58 percent (2,043) involved handguns, 7 percent (247) involved rifles or shotguns, and the remaining 35 percent (1,207) involved other types of firearms (such as bombs, grenades, starter pistols, and rockets). Note that the percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. (See Figure 2 and Table 3)

Shortened Expulsions and Students with Disabilities

The GFSA allows the LEA chief administering officer to modify any expulsion for firearm violations on a case-by-case basis (for example, by shortening the expulsion to less than one year). The purpose of this provision is to allow the chief administering officer in a school district to take unique circumstances into account as well as to ensure that the IDEA and GFSA requirements are implemented consistently. In order to capture these modifications, states are asked to report the number of students who had their period of expulsion shortened, as well as the number of these cases that were not for students with disabilities.

Shortened Expulsions

Forty-three states reported the number of students whose expulsions were shortened to less than one year as part of the case-by-case review process.

Of the 3,155 expulsions in these states, 1,059 (or 34 percent) were shortened to less than one year. Note that the percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. (See Figure 3 and Table 4)

Disability Status of Students with Shortened Expulsions

Thirty-nine states reported on the disability status of the students with shortened expulsions. Among these 39 states, the overall number of shortened expulsions was 699 (compared to 1,059 for the 43 states shown in Table 4).

Of these 699 students, 441 (63 percent) were not considered disabled under section 602(a)(1) of IDEA. Note that the percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. (See Figure 4 and Table 5)

Referrals

The GFSA has in place provisions that allow local officials to refer expelled students to an alternative school or program. Forty-one states reported information for this data item and among these states, 1,901 students (56 percent) were referred for an alternative placement. Note that the percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. (See Figure 5 and Table 6)

Footnotes:

  1. For the remainder of this report, the term "states" refers to all 56 of the jurisdictions (states and territories) covered under the Gun-Free Schools Act. [Return to text]

  2. The state that has yet to submit 1996-97 GFSA information is American Samoa. Westat continues to work to obtain a completed survey instrument from this state. [Return to text]

  3. The states that have yet to verify their data are Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. [Return to text]

  4. Please see Appendices A and B for a detailed definition. [Return to text]

  5. The expulsions reported by California represent the total number of school crime incidents that involved a gun. [Return to text]

  6. The data submitted by Ohio are for expulsions for the use/possession of weapons, rather than just firearms. [Return to text]

  7. Colorado reported figures that represent expulsions for all weapons, not just firearms. [Return to text]

  8. The expulsions reported by Missouri may include expulsions for other weapons such as knives, air guns, or brass knuckles. [Return to text]

  9. One expulsion was from a non-graded school. [Return to text]


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Last Updated -- May 11, 1998, (pjk)