About 54 percent of public schools took a serious disciplinary action in the 1999-2000 school year. Of those disciplinary actions, 83 percent were suspensions lasting 5 days or more, 11 percent were removals with no services (i.e., expulsions), and 7 percent were transfers to specialized schools.

The extent to which schools remove students from regular instruction as a result of crime and violence has important consequences for student instruction. In the School Survey on Crime and Safety, public school principals were asked to report the number of disciplinary actions taken during the 1999-2000 school year for specific offenses that were not academic infractions.

About 54 percent of public schools took at least one serious disciplinary action, including suspensions lasting 5 days or more, removals with no services (i.e., expulsions), and transfers to specialized schools, for any of the offenses that occurred in the 1999-2000 school year (table 8.1). Altogether, about 1,163,000 actions were taken. Of those serious disciplinary actions, 83 percent were suspensions for 5 days or more, 11 percent were removals with no services, and 7 percent were transfers to specialized schools (figure 8.1 and table 8.1).

Two percent of all public schools took one or more serious disciplinary actions in response to the use of a firearm or explosive device, and 4 percent did so for the possession of such a device (figure 8.2 and table 8.1). Use of weapons other than firearms resulted in at least one serious disciplinary action in 5 percent of schools, while possession of weapons other than firearms led to a serious disciplinary action in 19 percent of schools.

Ten percent of all public schools took one or more serious disciplinary actions for the distribution of illegal drugs, and 20 percent for the possession or use of illegal drugs or alcohol. In 1999-2000, public schools took serious disciplinary actions for offenses such as fights (35 percent), threats (22 percent), insubordination (18 percent), and other non-academic infractions (14 percent).

This indicator repeats information from the 2003 Indicators of School Crime and Safety report.