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Presentation to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Advisory Committee October 23, 2006 Archived Information

Presentation to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Advisory Committee October 23, 2006 Archived Information. Jerry Barber, CPA, CISA, CGFM Assistant Comptroller Office of the State Comptroller New York State jbarber@osc.state.ny.us. New York State Education Department.

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Presentation to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Advisory Committee October 23, 2006 Archived Information

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  1. Presentation to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Advisory CommitteeOctober 23, 2006Archived Information Jerry Barber, CPA, CISA, CGFM Assistant Comptroller Office of the State Comptroller New York State jbarber@osc.state.ny.us

  2. New York State Education Department Reporting of Violent and Disruptive Incidents by Public Schools Report 2005-S-38 www.osc.state.ny.us

  3. Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE) • Becomes Law in July 2000 • Establish Codes of Conduct for Students • Requires Development of Comprehensive School Safety Plans • Update Safety Plans Annually • UNIFORM VIOLENT INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM TO BE ESTABLISHED

  4. Background • Over 700 Districts in NYS • Reporting by District and by Each Individual School Within the District • Reporting Started with the 2001-02 School Year • NYS Education Department Summarizes Results and Reports Them to the Public

  5. Objectives • Do schools properly report incidents? • Does the Education Department accurately compile school incidents data? • Are schools properly identified as persistently dangerous?

  6. Scope • 9/1/02 – 2/6/06 • Schools outside of NYC • SED databases • 15 school districts: • 2 large cities, • 6 small cities, • 4 suburban cities, • 3 rural cities. • 17 high schools and 3 elementary schools • 2003-2004 incident data • Surveyed 35 other districts

  7. NY’s Uniform Violent Incident Reporting System • 17 Different Types of Incidents • All Incidents Must Be Reported • Additional Requirement for Weapons • System’s Name – Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting (VADIR) • Report Due in NYS Education Department by October 31 annually • Hardcopy Reporting

  8. Audit Results – In Summary • System Designed by NYS Education Department Was Comprehensive • NYS Education Department’s Oversight of System Was Weak at Best • Allowed Schools To Manipulate Data • Ignored Obvious Underreporting • Compliance With Reporting Requirements Was Poor

  9. Example of Findings

  10. Example of Findings • Avoidance of Persistently Dangerous Label • 21 Schools Received Preliminary Designation • 4 Schools Remained On List After Data Was Amended

  11. Is this a case of mistakes or deliberate under reporting? (Or Both?)

  12. Causes of Problems • Oversight by NYS Education Department Was Weak and Did Not Verify Data • Training May Not Have Been Effective

  13. Solutions Verification of Reported Numbers Analytical Review of Data to Identify Anomalies Training of District Officials

  14. Agency Response • 12 recommendations – complete agreement • Immediate State Education follow-up to verify data • Classification of persistently dangerous schools

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