School Safety in Urban Charter and Traditional Public Schools. NCSRP Working Paper # 2007-1

This working paper discusses safety in urban charter schools relative to other urban public schools, using several indicators from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is the nation's most extensive sample survey of elementary and secondary schools and the teachers and administrators who staff them. The indicators measure the frequency of safety problems as reported by teachers and principals. This paper also examines the types of policies in place to promote safe school environments. Among the key findings: (1) Due to differences in charter and traditional school grade structures, direct comparisons between charter and traditional schools are complicated; (2) Threats to person or property and troubling behavioral problems are evident in both charter and traditional public schools; (3) However, teachers and principals in traditional public schools consistently report more frequent safety problems in their schools than do teachers and principals in charter schools; and (4) It is not clear what accounts for these differences. Apart from student dress code and uniform requirements, charters do not seem to consistently use dramatically different approaches to safety policy. Additional tables and figures are appended. (Contains 9 tables, 7 figures, and 6 footnotes.)