Safety and security is solid in private schools.

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), published by the National Center for Education Statistics, provides data on public and private schools. The following table, based on 1999-2000 SASS data (the most recent), indicates the extent to which teachers think various behaviors are serious problems in their schools.

In October 2003, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics released Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2003, which provides a comprehensive picture of the exposure of students and teachers to crime in schools. While the report's main focus is public schools, a few of its many charts and rabies also extend to private schools. The following chart captures the major findings of the report that involve private schools.

Each year the Horatio Alger Association issues a back-to-school report on the opinions and altitudes of American teenagers. The 2000 State of Our Nation's Youth report covered how teens feel about a host of issues, including safety and security in school. The following table summarizes what students in public and private schools think about safety.

Percentage of teachers who perceive certain
issues as serious problem in their schools

                                   Public    Private

student desrespect for teachers      17         4
use of alcohol                        7         3
drug abuse                            6         2
student tardiness                    10         3
student absenteeism                  14         3
students unprepared to learn         30         5
lack of parent involvement           24         3
student apathy                       21         4

Percentage of teachers in 1999-00 who
reported that a student ...

                                            Public    Private

threatened them with injury                  10         4
physically attacked them                      4         2

Percentage of students, age 12-18, who in
2001 reported ...

having experienced violent                    1.9       1.0
victimization at school                       8.0       7.3
being bullied at school
fearing being attacked or harmed
at school                                     6.6       4.6
being targets of hate-related
words at school                              12.7       8.2
that they avoided certain places in
school for fear of their own safety           4.9       2.0
that street gangs were present
in school                                    21.6       4.9

Safety and Security in School

                                    Public    Private

Always feel safe in my school        36%        64%
Teachers and administrators have
taken all necessary steps for my
safety and security                  41%        57%