Office of Finance & Management

Safe, Drug and Gun Free Schools Web Application

Glossary of Terms

After-school program : Any program, conducted after regular school hours, that encourages drug/violence free lifestyles. Programs may be recreational, instructional, cultural, or artistic in nature.

Alternative education program or school : Any program for students who are not enrolled in the regular school environment, such as students who are at risk of dropping out, students who have been expelled from their regular classes, students who are undergoing outpatient treatment for drug use, etc.

Before-school program : Any program, conducted before regular school hours, that encourages drug/violence free lifestyles. Programs may be recreational, instructional, cultural, and/or artistic in nature.

Community service projects : Activities conducted by students for the benefit of the larger community that encourage students to lead drug/violence free lifestyles or increase students’ sense of community.

Conflict resolution program : Any program offering peer mediation, or conflict and anger management instruction to students.

Curriculum acquisition or development : Purchase of or local development of drug/violence prevention instructional materials for preschool through grade 12 students. It includes acquisition, development, or adaptation of books, workbooks, videotapes, software, and other learning resources.

Drug : When phrases such as "drug use," "drug policies," "alcohol and other drugs (AOD)" are used in this survey, the terms are meant to include tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

Drug prevention instruction : Instruction aimed at drug prevention that is presented in the classroom (e.g., a unit in a health or physical education class that teaches about tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs; drug prevention instruction that is infused into the general curriculum; or stand-alone program or curriculum such as Here’s Looking at You 2000, DARE, Quest, or BABES).

Expulsions: The student was expelled from all school district settings and may or may not have an arrangement for the provision of educational services.

GFSA : Gun- Free Schools Act, Part F of Title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 requires LEAs to expel from school for a period of not less than one year a student found to have brought a firearm to school. Each State’s law also must allow the chief administering officer of the LEA to modify the expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis.

Incident : A violation of a statute or regulation that is reported to a school official or law enforcement agency; it may involve one or more victims and one or more offenders.

For reporting purposes, please include:

• all incidents, whether “committed” by or “victimizing” students, school personnel, or non-school personnel;
• incidents that occur 24 hours a day, not just those that occur during school hours;
• incidents that occur during the twelve-month period beginning with the day following the last day of school of the previous school year and ending with the last day of school in the current school year;
• incidents that occur on school grounds, school property, or school-related and/or sponsored events, including buses and sports arenas; and
• incidents for students at the school where he/she is enrolled at the time of the incident.

Incidents could include any of the following: homicide; sexual battery (including rape); robbery; battery (aggravated assault); breaking and entering/burglary; larceny/theft; motor vehicle theft; kidnapping; arson; threat/intimidation; use or possession of drugs (other than alcohol); alcohol (liquor law violations); sexual harassment; sex offenses (non-forcible); vandalism; weapon possession; tobacco; trespassing; fighting; disorderly conduct; as well as other offenses as defined by the state, district, or municipality. Please see the charts of types of offenses at the end of this glossary.

Local educational agency (LEA) :(Also referred to as a school district) An education agency at the local level that exists primarily to operate public schools or to contract for public school services.

NO Threat or Intent to Harm : Total number of incidents of possession of a weapon in which there was no threat or intent to inflict harm on another person or to intimidate any person. i.e. – Student has a weapon in their vehicle for hunting purposes or student is unaware that a weapon is in their vehicle.

Non-school personnel : An individual who was neither a student nor school personnel for the district reporting the incident.

Non-student : An individual who is not a student in the school or district reporting the incident.

Offender : An individual, whether student or not, involved in committing an incident of prohibited behavior. There may be more than one offender involved in any single incident.

Other disciplinary actions: There was a consequence to the offender because of his/her actions but the consequence was not reported as either a suspension or expulsion.

Other firearms : According to Section 921 of GFSA, firearms other than handguns, rifles or shotguns, including:

--Any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of any explosive;

--The frame or receiver of any weapon described above;

--Any destructive device, which includes:

(A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas

1. bomb;
2. grenade;
3. rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces;
4. missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce;
5. mine; or
6. similar device

(B) any weapon which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter

(C) any combination or parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in the two immediately preceding examples, and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled. Do not include BB guns or other air-powered rifles as firearms. They should be considered “Other Weapons.”

Parent education/involvement : Direct participation of parents or guardians in drug or violence-prevention programs. Types of involvement include the receipt of drug and violence prevention-related programming (education or training); assisting with drug and violence prevention-related instruction or activities in the schools (e.g., as instructors, aides, mentors, etc.).

Prevention services/activities : All alcohol and other drug and violence prevention education services or activities, including the following: teacher/staff training; drug prevention instruction; violence prevention instruction; curriculum acquisition, development, or adaptation; student support services (e.g., student assistance programs, counseling, mentoring, identification and referral); alternative education programs; parent education/involvement; after-school or before-school programs; community service projects; services for out-of-school youth (school age); special, one-time events (e.g., assemblies, Red Ribbon Week); conflict resolution/peer mediation; security personnel; and security equipment.

School grounds/property/events : For the purposes of this reporting form, school grounds/property/events should include the school building and immediate grounds, school transportation (e.g., buses), stadiums/gymnasiums, and other facilities. Additionally, an incident that occurs at a school-sponsored event off campus is included in the reported statistics if a student is involved, whether as a victim or offender.

School personnel : An employee of the school system or individual providing services to the school (contracted or unpaid); includes teachers, administrators, and other school staff members such as support staff, bus drivers, maintenance workers, school-based law enforcement officers, and volunteers.

School year : The entire twelve-month period beginning with the day following the last day of school of the previous school year and ending with the last day of school in the current school year.

Security equipment : Any equipment for use in maintaining a drug/violence-free school environment, for example metal detectors, or beepers, cellular phones, and intercoms for security/school personnel.

Security personnel : Specially-trained personnel who ensure safety and security of a school building and its occupants.

Services for out-of-school youth : Drug/violence prevention projects, activities, or services for school-aged youth not currently enrolled in school, such as drop-outs or youth in detention centers.

SDCL 13-27-20: Complaints against persons responsible for truancy -- Contents of complaint -- Verification.

“Each truancy officer shall make and file truancy complaints, and any teacher, school officer, or any citizen may make and file a truancy complaint, before a circuit court judge, against any person having control of a child of compulsory school age who is not attending school or whose attendance is irregular. The complaint shall state the name of the parent, guardian, or person responsible for the control of the child. The complaint shall be verified by oath upon belief of the complainant.”

SDFSCA : The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. Prior to 1994, this was known as the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA).

Special, one-time events : Drug/violence prevention-related activities that occur once during a school year (e.g., Red Ribbon Week, Project Graduation, special assemblies).

State educational agency (SEA) : An education agency at the state level that exists to provide support and administrative services to local education agencies (e.g., a state department of education).

Student: An individual who is enrolled as a K-12 student in the school district reporting the incident at the time the incident occurred.

Students with disabilities : Under section 602 (a) (1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the term “children with disabilities” is defined as:

Children --

(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments including deafness, speech or language impairments, visual impairments, including blindness, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and

(ii) who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services.

Student support services : Programs or activities aimed toward individual students or groups of students for the purpose of prevention or abstinence from alcohol or other drug use. Examples include support groups, help lines, counseling services, and mentoring.

Suspension, in-school: The student was removed for his or her regular classroom and assigned to an in-school suspension program.

Suspension, out-of-school: The student was removed from his or her regular classroom and barred from school grounds for a specified length of time. Student may or may not have continued to receive educational services.

Teacher/staff development : Professional development, training, or technical assistance for teachers, certified personnel, or other staff that addresses drug or violence prevention, curriculum implementation, student support, comprehensive health education, early intervention, or rehabilitation referrals.

Truancy Complaint: complaint filed pursuant toSDCL 13-27-20 (see above definition).

Truant students: Students of compulsory school age, not excused from school attendance, who have not or who have irregularly attended an accredited school.

Unsafe School Choice Option: In accordance with the South Dakota Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO) policy, a public school district should offer, within 10 calendar days, an opportunity to transfer to a safe public school within the school district to any student who has become the victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of the public school that the student attends.

To the extent possible, the public school district should allow the student(s) transferring under these circumstances to transfer to a school that is making adequate yearly progress and has not been identified as being in school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.

If there is not another safe public school in the public school district, district officials are encouraged, but not required, to explore other appropriate options such as an agreement with a neighboring public school district to accept transfer students. The district is not required to pay transportation costs for transferring students, but is encouraged to explore options to help cover costs.

Violence prevention instruction : Instruction that is presented in the classroom as part of a class or separate curriculum for the purposes of preventing violence.

Victim : An individual who is the object of an incident of prohibited act or behavior, reported to a school official or law enforcement agency.

Weapons : Any instrument or object possessed or used to inflict harm on another person, or to intimidate any person.

Weapons possession: Possession of an instrument or object that may inflict harm on other persons.

Weapons-related incident : Any incident that involves possession, use or intention to use any instrument or object to inflict harm on another person or to intimidate a person, as well as any incident that is somehow related to the possession, use or sale of weapons but where the use, possession, or sale of weapons was not the main offense (e.g., burglary, trespassing, vandalism); in other words, any incident for which a weapon is present.