Application Closed | School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)

Please have this questionnaire filled out by the person(s) most knowledgeable about school crime and policies to provide a safe environment. Please complete and submit the survey within two weeks.

Some questions refer to the 2021–22 school year. Please report for the school year to date.

Definitions are available for many terms. Defined terms are in blue throughout the survey. Definitions for these terms can be accessed by clicking directly on these words within survey items or by visiting the “Definitions” tab.

Some questions ask for counts or percents of items. Please select the “None” box, rather than leaving the item blank, if the number of such items at your school is zero.

Please use the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of each page to navigate through the survey, rather than your browser's back button.

Each time you complete a page, your answers are saved.

If you do not have the time to dedicate to the entire survey now, you may complete what you are able to and log out by clicking the “Save and Continue Later” button in the upper right hand side of the toolbar. Your responses for all prior items will be saved but your responses for the current item will not be saved. If you wish to save your responses on the current item before logging out, you must click the “Next” button prior to clicking the “Save and Continue Later” button.

Sessions will expire (requiring you to log back in) after 15 minutes of inactivity.

This is a list of frequently asked questions and their responses that you can refer to if you would like additional information about the School Survey on Crime and Safety.

Why did our school get selected?

From all the public schools in the United States, we selected a random stratified sample of about 4,800 schools that represent the nation for the School Survey on Crime and Safety. Your school happened to be one of those selected. Your responses will represent schools with similar demographics that were not selected for the survey.

What kinds of questions does the School Survey on Crime and Safety ask?

Description of school policies and programs concerning crime and safety;
Description of the pervasiveness of student and teacher involvement in efforts that are intended to prevent or reduce school violence;
Responsibilities of sworn law enforcement officers and SROs;
Mental health services available to students at school;
Description of staff training and practices;
Description of limitations on crime prevention;
Frequency and types of crimes at schools, including rape, sexual assault, attacks with or without weapons, robbery, theft, and vandalism;
Frequency and types of disciplinary actions such as removals, transfers, and suspensions for selected offenses;
Perceptions of other disciplinary problems such as bullying, verbal abuse, and disorder in the classroom; and
General school characteristics.

What is the purpose of this survey?

The SSOCS is the primary source of school-level data on crime and safety for the U.S. Department of Education. This study collects information on school crime and safety from school principals in primary, middle, high, and combined schools across the United States. As an ongoing survey, the SSOCS measures changes over time on key issues. Gathering this information will help schools compare their policies and programs to schools nationwide. It will also help researchers and policymakers identify trends in crime and safety issues across time and identify emerging problems or issues.

Why should I participate in this survey?

Although this is a voluntary survey, your cooperation is essential to make the results of this survey comprehensive, accurate, and timely. Policymakers and educational leaders rely on data from this survey to inform their decisions concerning school programs and policies to reduce crime. Since it is a sample survey, your responses represent the responses of many schools that serve similar student populations. Higher response rates give us confidence that the findings are accurate.

The letter says this is a U.S. Department of Education Survey. Who is NCES and why is the Census Bureau involved?

We understand this is confusing. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States. NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. NCES fulfills a Congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally. While NCES conducts the surveys, we partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to fulfill the data collection operations. This is why you see mailing labels, email addresses, and contact information with Census Bureau information.

How will my information be reported?

The information you provide will be combined with the information provided by others in statistical reports. No individual data that links your name, address, or telephone number will be included in the statistical reports.

How will the names of participants and their responses be kept confidential?

Under law, the information provided by schools may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed or used in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law [Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002), 20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151]. All staff working on the study have signed an Affidavit of Nondisclosure where they swear to abide by this law. Employees, including temporary employees, or other persons who have sworn to observe the limitations imposed by this law, who knowingly publish or communicate any individually identifiable information will be subject to fines of up to $250,000, or up to 5 years in prison, or both (Class E felony).

How will these data be used?

These data are being collected for the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Results from the study will be used to increase knowledge of policies and programs schools use to address school crime and safety. Results will also show comparisons on crime and safety data across time from the 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020 surveys.
Summary data from the study will be placed into a public-use dataset for researchers and policymakers. The dataset is rigorously tested prior to release to ensure no individual schools can be identified.
Reports will be published based on the SSOCS data. You will be able to compare your school’s problems and policies with those of schools that are similar to yours.

How often is the SSOCS administered?

The SSOCS was administered in the spring of the 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2019–20 school years.

Where can I see the results of the SSOCS?

Downloadable reports from the 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2015–16, and 2017–18 collections of the SSOCS such as Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools in 2017–18 are available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs. Also included on the website is a table library with hundreds of tables that provide estimates on school crime and violence by selected school and student characteristics, including select results from the most recent 2019–20 collection of the SSOCS.

How do I know this survey is legitimate?

You can verify the legitimacy of our survey or find out more information on the survey's website at https://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs. You may also contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 or by email at ssocs@census.gov.

How long will the survey take to complete?

The length of the survey will depend on the characteristics of your school, but for most people it will take about 50 minutes to complete. That time includes time spent filling out the survey itself, as well as referring to additional information sources for the information requested.

What is the importance of this survey?

Measuring the extent of school crime is important for many reasons. The safety of students and teachers is a primary concern, but the nature and frequency of school crime have other important implications as well. Safety and discipline are necessary for effective education. In order to learn, students need a secure environment where they can concentrate on their studies. Dealing with school crime requires school resources. Gathering this information should help researchers and policymakers devise strategies to address these problems in our schools.

Who authorizes this survey?

The survey is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. Data collection is being administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of NCES as authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, 20 U.S. Code §9543. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved this survey. The OMB control number is 1850-0761 and the approval expiration date is 07/31/2024.

Who can answer general questions regarding this survey?

Please contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-888-595-1332 if you have any questions about the survey. Someone will be available to take your call Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). At any other time, please leave a message and someone will return your call as soon as possible. The U.S. Census Bureau is also available to answer your questions via e-mail at ssocs@census.gov.

The following words are blue wherever they appear in the questionnaire. You may also click on these words while you are completing the questionnaire, and the definition will be displayed. Please use these definitions as you respond.

Active shooter - one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s).
Alternative school - a school that addresses the needs of students that typically cannot be met in a regular school program and is designed to meet the needs of students with academic difficulties, students with discipline problems, or both students with academic difficulties and discipline problems.
Arrest - the act of detaining in legal custody. An “arrest” is the deprivation of a person's liberty by legal authority in response to a criminal charge.
At school/at your school - activities happening in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Unless otherwise specified, this refers to normal school hours or to times when school activities or events were in session.
Bullying - any unwanted, aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying occurs among youth who are not siblings or current dating partners.
Children with disabilities - children having intellectual disability; hearing impairment, including deafness; serious emotional disturbance; orthopedic impairment; autism; traumatic brain injury; developmental delay; other health impairment; specific learning disability; deaf-blindness; or multiple disabilities and who, by reason thereof, receive special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) according to an Individual Education Program (IEP), Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), or services plan.
Cohorting - dividing students and teachers into distinct groups that stay together throughout an entire school day during in-person classroom instruction. Limit mixing between groups such that there is minimal or no interaction between cohorts.
Contact tracing - the process of notifying people (contacts) of their potential exposure to an infectious disease, providing information about the virus, and discussing their symptom history and other relevant health information.
Cyberbullying - bullying that occurs when willful and repeated harm is inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices.
Diagnostic mental health assessment - an evaluation conducted by a mental health professional that identifies whether an individual has one or more mental health diagnoses. This is in contrast to an educational assessment, which does not focus on clarifying a student's mental health diagnosis.
Distance learning - education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously.
Evacuation - a procedure that requires all students and staff to leave the building. The evacuation plan may encompass relocation procedures and include backup buildings to serve as emergency shelters. Evacuation also includes “reverse evacuation,” a procedure for schools to return students to the building quickly if an incident occurs while students are outside.
Firearm or explosive device - any weapon that is designed to (or may readily be converted to) expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. This includes guns, bombs, grenades, mines, rockets, missiles, pipe bombs, or similar devices designed to explode and capable of causing bodily harm or property damage.
Gang - an ongoing loosely organized association of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, that has a common name, signs, symbols, or colors, whose members engage, either individually or collectively, in violent or other forms of illegal behavior.
Gender Identity - one's inner sense of one's own gender, which may or may not match the sex assigned at birth.
Harassment - conduct that is unwelcome and denies or limits a student's ability to participate in or benefit from a school's education program. All students can be victims of harassment and the harasser can share the same characteristics of the victim. The conduct can be verbal, nonverbal, or physical and can take many forms, including verbal acts and name-calling, as well as nonverbal conduct, such as graphic and written statements, or conduct that is physically threatening, harmful, or humiliating.
Hate crime - a committed criminal offense that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias(es) against a race, national origin or ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity; also known as bias crime.
Hybrid learning model - some students participate in virtual learning and other students participate in in-person learning.
Lockdown - a procedure that involves securing school buildings and grounds during incidents that pose an immediate threat of violence in or around the school.
Mental health disorders - collectively, all diagnosable mental disorders or health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.
Mental health professionals - mental health services are provided by several different professions, each of which has its own training and areas of expertise. The types of licensed professionals who may provide mental health services include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric or mental health nurse practitioners, psychiatric or mental health nurses, clinical social workers, and professional counselors.
Physical attack or fight - an actual and intentional touching or striking of another person against his or her will, or the intentional causing of bodily harm to an individual.
Rape - forced sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral penetration). This includes sodomy and penetration with a foreign object. All students, regardless of sex or gender identity, can be victims of rape.
Restorative practices - a formal mediation process led by a facilitator that brings affected parties of a problem together to explore what happened, reflect on their roles, find a solution, and ultimately restore harmony to individual relationships and the larger community.
Robbery (taking things by force) - the taking or attempting to take anything of value that is owned by another person or organization, under confrontational circumstances, by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. A key difference between robbery and theft or larceny is that robbery involves a threat or assault.
School Resource Officer (SRO) - a sworn law enforcement officer with arrest authority, who has specialized training and is assigned to work in collaboration with school organizations.
Sexual assault - an incident that includes threatened rape, fondling, indecent liberties, or child molestation. All students, regardless of sex or gender identity, can be victims of sexual assault. Classification of these incidents should take into consideration the age and developmentally appropriate behavior of the offender(s).
Sexual harassment - conduct that is unwelcome, sexual in nature, and denies or limits a student's ability to participate in or benefit from a school's education program. All students, regardless of sex or gender identity, can be victims of sexual harassment, and the harasser and the victim can be of the same sex. The conduct can be verbal, non-verbal, or physical and can take many forms, including verbal acts and name-calling, as well as non-verbal conduct, such as graphic and written statements, or conduct that is physically threatening, harmful, or humiliating.
Sexual misconduct - any act, including, but not limited to, any verbal, non-verbal, written or electronic communication or physical activity, directed toward or with a student regardless of the age of the student that is designed to establish a romantic or sexual relationship with the student. School staff have power over students by virtue of their position, thus student-staff relationships are not equal and students cannot be consenting parties to romantic or sexual relationships.
Sexual orientation - one's emotional or physical attraction to the same and/or opposite sex.
Shelter-in-place - a procedure that requires all students and staff to remain indoors because it is safer inside the building or a room than outside. Depending on the threat or hazard, students and staff may be required to move to rooms that can be sealed (such as in the event of a chemical or biological hazard) or without windows, or to a weather shelter (such as in the event of a tornado).
Site assessment - an assessment that evaluates the safety, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of the school’s buildings and grounds. Site assessments can be conducted internally or by an external party, but should be structured, such as by using checklists or applications to evaluate the school setting.
Theft or larceny (taking things worth over $10 without personal confrontation) - the unlawful taking of another person's property without personal confrontation, threat, violence, or bodily harm. This includes pocket picking, stealing a purse or backpack (if left unattended or no force was used to take it from owner), theft from a building, theft from a motor vehicle or of motor vehicle parts or accessories, theft of a bicycle, theft from a vending machine, and all other types of thefts.
Threat assessment - a formalized process of identifying, assessing, and managing students who may pose a threat of targeted violence in schools.
Trauma - an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.
Treatment - a clinical intervention addressed at lessening or eliminating the symptoms of a mental health disorder. This may include psychotherapy, medication treatment, and/or counseling.
Vandalism - the willful damage or destruction of school property, including bombing, arson, graffiti, and other acts that cause property damage. This includes damage caused by computer hacking.
Violence - actual, attempted, or threatened fight or assault.
Weapon - any instrument or object used with the intent to threaten, injure, or kill. This includes look-alikes if they are used to threaten others.