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Highlights in VADIR Reporting for 2007-08

• No Changes have been made to the VADIR Form for 2007-08.ÌýÌý

VADIR Form Reminders:

Use the District VADIR Form only to Report Incidents that are NOT Reported on any of the School FormsÌý

• Do NOT use the district VADIR form to tally the incidents from all of the schools in the district.Ìý The district form should be used to report only incidents that the district must report but that are not attributable to any school or program in the district.ÌýÌý The district form must be completed, even if there are no incidents to report in it.Ìý (In that case, report all zeros.)Ìý As always, a separate VADIR form must be completed for each school in the district.

Item 5 Requirements

• Student offenders reported in item 5 part a) categories 1 and 2 MUST be suspended for an entire year (180 school days),Ìý according to GFSA requirements. ÌýHowever, these incidents may have their corresponding suspensions subsequently shorted (item 5 part c). The total of item 5 part b) must be equal to OR greater than item 5 part a) categories 1 and 2, according to GFSA requirements.

Changes in VADIR Reporting under Consideration for the Future

• To meet State and federal reporting requirements, SED is considering collecting violent/disruptive incident and discipline data through the student repository.Ìý The details and timing of this change to VADIR have not yet been determined.

Overview

The Á½ÐÔÊÓƵ’s (SED’s) Uniform Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting System (known as VADIR) gathers data on violent and disruptive incidents in schools and uses the information to comply with State and federal reporting requirements and to identify schools as persistently dangerous, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.Ìý Beginning in 2006, in addition to the list of persistently dangerous schools, the Department has issued a watch list of schools whose number and types of violent incidents warrant concern and increased monitoring, but are not sufficient to identify them as persistently dangerous.

All public schools, boards of cooperative educational services, charter schools, and county vocational education and extension boards are required to maintain individual incident reports on violent and disruptive incidents occurring on school property, which includes incidents occurring in or on a school bus as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law §142 and at school functions.Ìý These individual incident reports are not submitted to SED, but should be retained by the school for six years and be made available for review upon request by SED.

Each year, school superintendents and chief school officers of charter schools are required to submit to SED a Summary of Violent and Disruptive Incidents report (VADIR Summary Form) for each school in the district or each charter school for the prior school year (July 1st through June 30th).Ìý The VADIR Summary Form includes information derived from the individual incident forms, such as tallies of incidents, offenders, and victims by type of incident, as well as other information relating to school safety.Ìý School superintendents and chief school officers of charter schools complete the VADIR Summary Form online using the web-based Basic Education Data System (BEDS), but SED also makes available a paper version of the form to facilitate recordkeeping and data entry.Ìý In many cases school personnel complete the paper form and then forward it to the superintendent for review, certification, and entry of the data into the online BEDS system’s VADIR Summary Form.Ìý

The VADIR Summary Form and Data Collection Process for 2007-08

SED has not changed the VADIR Summary form since last year.Ìý The Glossary and the Q & A documents have been clarified to provide better guidance regarding criteria for determining whether a specific incident is reportable and, if so, in what incident category it should be reported.Ìý Please review these documents carefully to ensure you report completely and accurately.

Reminders

• School districts must submit a separate VADIR Summary Form in addition to their schools’ VADIR forms.Ìý THE DISTRICT’S VADIR Summary Form CONTAINS ONLY INFORMATION ABOUT INCIDENTS THAT ARE REPORTABLE, BUT NOT ATTRIBUTABLE TO ANY SCHOOL OR BOCES OPERATING WITHIN THE DISTRICT.Ìý An example is an assault that occurred on school transportation where the offender was a district student placed in a private school.Ìý The incident is reportable and must be attributed to the district rather than to a school.Ìý VADIR forms must still be completed for each school in the district.Ìý DO NOT USE THE DISTRICT FORM TO ADD UP THE INCIDENTS FROM THE SCHOOL FORMS.Ìý This would result in double-counting the incidents in the district.Ìý
• Each incident must be reported in only one category.Ìý For incidents that fit more than one category, choose the most serious (the category with the lowest number). ÌýFor example, if a person used intimidation, had a weapon, and stole money from another student (all at the same time), then the incident would involve intimidation, harassment, menacing, or bullying (category 10); robbery (category 3); and weapons possession (category 17).Ìý In this case, the incident should be reported as robbery with a weapon because that category is more serious than intimidation, harassment, menacing, or bullying or weapons possession alone.Ìý
• Incidents must be reported even if the offender has not been identified. ÌýReport these incidents in the appropriate category in item 1, column (a) and column (h) and (i) (if applicable).Ìý Count the offender(s) in column (d).Ìý If the number of offenders is unknown, report one offender in column (d).Ìý
• Schools reporting no incidents must report zero (0) in categories 1-20 column (a).Ìý Questions in item 2, item 6, item 7, and item 8 must be answered.Ìý
• Incidents in categories 1-8, 14, 15, and 17-19 must be reported regardless of whether the offender was disciplined or referred to law enforcement.Ìý All incidents involving a weapon must be reported. ÌýIncidents in categories 9-13, 16, and 20 that did not involve a weapon are reportable if the incident resulted in one of the disciplinary consequences listed in item 1, columns (j) through (o).Ìý If the offender is a staff person or is unknown, offenses in categories 9-13, 16, and 20 are reportable if the incident would have resulted in a disciplinary response if the offender had been identified as a student.Ìý
• Incidents occurring in the following locations are reportable: on school property, in or on a school bus as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law §142, and at a school function, regardless of where the school-sponsored or school-authorized extracurricular event or activity takes place, including any event or activity that may take place in another state. ÌýIncidents occurring at school bus stops are not reportable under VADIR.Ìý
• Use duplicated offender and victim counts in item 1.Ìý Offenders and victims should be counted each time they were involved in an incident.Ìý For example, if ten times during the school year a student engaged in reportable bullying or menacing incidents, then each of the ten incidents would figure in the category 10 incident total, and the student would count as ten offenders in the (b) column.

Obtaining UserIDs and Passwords

The BEDS-IMF manual has information on obtaining userIDs and passwords for the online BEDS-IMF/VADIR application.Ìý The manual is available online at:

The BEDS home page has additional information about the BEDS-IMF/VADIR application:Ìý

School superintendents, BOCES district superintendents, and chief executive officers of charter schools automatically receive userIDs and passwords for BEDS-IMF/VADIR.Ìý Those individuals may request additional userIDs and passwords so that staff may enter data.Ìý Note, however, that only the superintendent (or chief school officer of a charter school) may certify the data and submit the online form.Ìý Those individuals are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the data submitted.Ìý

Certifying the Data and Submitting the Online Form

The online VADIR Summary Form has three statuses:Ìý "blank," "saved," and "submitted."Ìý When you log into the BEDS-IMF/VADIR application and access your VADIR forms, you will see the name of each school (or district or BOCES) for which you need to complete a form along with the status of each form.Ìý "Blank" means that no data have been saved in the form; "saved" means that some data have been entered but the superintendent has not certified the data; and "submitted" means that the form is complete, it has passed all of the edit checks, and the superintendent has used his or her userID and password to log in and certify the data.Ìý By clicking the "submit" button on the online application, the superintendent certifies that the data are complete and accurate.Ìý Be sure to review your answers carefully before submitting your VADIR form.Ìý

After you complete your form and it is in "submitted" status, you may make additional changes, if necessary, as long as the Department’s VADIR data collection process is not yet complete (at which point the forms are frozen to prevent further data changes).ÌýÌý If, while the forms are still open, any change is made to a "submitted" form, its status automatically reverts to "saved." In order to return to "submitted" status, the form has to pass all the edit checks again and the superintendent has to click the "submit" button again.Ìý

To print out a copy of the data for your records, click on the printer icon next to the box showing the form’s status.Ìý When printing VADIR forms, the page setup should be set to print in "landscape" format.Ìý More detailed instructions for printing are available in the BEDS-IMF manual.Ìý

Item-by-Item Instructions

To complete item 1 (Violent and Disruptive Incidents), sort the individual VADIR incident forms by the VADIR Summary Form categories.Ìý Determine the number of incidents for each category and record them on the VADIR Summary Form.Ìý For categories 1–4, 6–13 and 16, indicate the number of incidents in each category in which a weapon was or was not involved. For categories 1–17, indicate the number of incidents in each category that were drug or alcohol related.Ìý Use category 17 to report counts of incidents involving weapons possession only.Ìý Use category 18 to report counts of incidents involving only the possession, use, or sale of drugs and category 19 to report counts of incidents involving only the possession, use, or sale of alcohol.Ìý Use category 20 to report non-violent incidents that disrupt the educational process and are not reportable in any of the other categories.Ìý

Incidents in categories 1-8, 14, 15, and 17-19 must be reported regardless of whether the offender was disciplined or referred to law enforcement.Ìý ÌýAll incidents involving a weapon must be reported.Ìý

To complete item 2 (Other Information Regarding Intimidation, Harassment, Menacing, or Bullying), report any alleged incident of intimidation, harassment, menacing, or bullying of students or staff reported to the school principal or other school administrator responsible for student discipline by any source, such as a staff member, student, parent, or other concerned citizen, that was not reported under category 10. Incidents of intimidation, harassment, menacing, or bullying resulting in a disciplinary action listed in columns (j) through (o) should be reported under category 10.Ìý Incidents that did not result in a listed disciplinary action must be reported under item 2 if they reached the attention of the principal or person responsible for discipline in the building.Ìý No incident reported under category 10 should also be reported in item 2.Ìý

To complete item 3 (Incidents Where the Offender is Not an Enrolled Student), report the number of staff or any paid employee of the school or district or other offenders not enrolled in the school involved in a violent or disruptive incident.Ìý Report the duplicated number of staff or other student offenders referred to the school of enrollment, law enforcement, or subjected to other disciplinary action.Ìý

To complete item 4 (Location, Time, and Nature of Incidents), report the number of the incidents reported in categories 1–20 of the VADIR Summary Form by location and time.Ìý The sum of incidents reported by location (4(a) + 4(b)) must equal the sum of incidents reported in item 1, column (a).Ìý Those sum of incidents occurring before and after regular school hours must also equal the sum of incidents reported in item 1, column (a).Ìý Use item 4(e) to report the total number of gang-related incidents reported in item 1, and 4(f) to report the number of bias-related incidents reported in item 1.Ìý

Note: ÌýFor reporting purposes, school transportation is considered to beÌý"on school property."Ìý Incidents occurring on school transportation to and from school are reported before or after regular school hours unless the incident occurred during regular school hours.Ìý

Item 5 (Weapon Type and Firearms-Related Suspensions): For every incident involving weapons use or possession (categories 1–4, 6–13, 16 or 17) provide:

• Duplicated counts of the enrolled students involved as an offender in the weapons incidents by weapon type.Ìý
• Duplicated counts of students suspended or transferred to alternative programs for bringing a firearm to school.Ìý Report students with disabilities separately from general education students.
• Please note that student offenders reported in 5a (1)Handguns and /or 5a (2)Rifles/Shotguns MUST equal the total of 5b according to GFSA requirements.

Each weapon type is numbered.Ìý If a student offender possessed or used multiple weapons of different types, count the offender under each applicable weapon type.Ìý For example, if an incident involved both a handgun (1) and a knife (4), count the offender in the handgun (1) category and in the knife (4) category.ÌýÌýÌý

Item 6 (Victims of Violent Criminal Offenses and Unsafe School Transfers): Under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, schools must allow victims of violent criminal offenses an opportunity to transfer to another school within the district or Local Educational Agency (LEA) if such a transfer is possible (i.e., the district has another school with that grade level).Ìý In addition, schools on the list of persistently dangerous schools must offer students an opportunity to transfer to a safe school within the district, including a charter school, if such a transfer opportunity exists.Ìý Report in 6(a) the number of students who were victims of a violent criminal offense pursuant to NCLB.Ìý (Refer to the Q & A document, section E, question 8 for more information.)Ìý In 6(b) report the number of students in part (a) who were offered a transfer to another school in the district.Ìý In 6(c) report the number of students in part (b) who accepted the offer and transferred to another school.Ìý In 6(d) indicate whether the school was on the list of persistently dangerous schools during the 2007-08 school year.Ìý (Note that once a school is designated as persistently dangerous, the designation remains until the school superintendent (or chief school officer of a charter school) petitions to have the designation removed and the Commissioner of Education or his designee approves the petition.)Ìý Report in 6(e) the number of students offered a transfer to a safe school within the district.Ìý If the school was not on the list of persistently dangerous schools during 2007-08, leave the item blank.Ìý In 6(f) report the number of students in part (e) who accepted the offer and transferred to another school in the district.Ìý

The Department’s guidance for implementing the unsafe school choice provisions of NCLB is available on the following web pages:Ìý

/memo/student-support-services/public-school-choice-option

A list of crimes that the Department has determined may constitute "violent criminal offenses" is available on the on the following web page:Ìý

Item 7 (Police or Safety Officer in the School):Ìý Indicate whether a police or other safety officer is present in the school on a regularly scheduled basis and whether that officer provided information for this report.Ìý

Item 8 (Unduplicated Offender Count for Serious Incidents):Ìý Report the number of unique individuals who were offenders involved in serious violent incidents.Ìý The categories of serious violent incidents for the purpose of completing item 8 are categories 1-8, plus any incident in categories 9-17 that involved a weapon.Ìý Count each offender only once regardless of the number of serious violent incidents in which the person was involved as an offender.Ìý Treat unknown offenders as separate individuals.Ìý

Item 9 (Superintendent Certification):Ìý Fill in the school contact information on the last page of the VADIR Summary Form and send the form to the school superintendent for the superintendent’s review and certification.Ìý The superintendent should complete the Unsafe School Choice Certification question by indicating whether or not the district is in compliance with the unsafe school choice provisions of NCLB.Ìý If the school had no students who were determined to be victims of a violent criminal offense and the school is not designated as persistently dangerous, then the answer to the question is "yes."Ìý You are in compliance with the policy if the circumstances that trigger unsafe school choice have not occurred.Ìý

Once the form is completed and has passed all the edit checks, the superintendent may submit the form by clicking the "submit" form as described in the "Certifying the Data and Submitting the Online Form" section above.

Links to Additional Guidance and Resources