Return completed survey by January 10, 2003,
to:
Office of Safe Schools
Florida Department of Education
325 West Gaines Street, Room 301
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
(850) 410-1667, Suncom 210-1667
Fax: (850) 410-1796, Suncom 210-1796
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DIVISION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
FEDERAL GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY ACTIVITIES REPORT
Name and Title of Person Completing This Report:
School District:
Telephone Number of Person Completing This
Report:
Fax Number of Person Completing This Report:
The Gun Free Schools Act (GFSA), Part F of Title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965,
requires that each state have in effect a state law requiring local educational agencies (LEAs) to expel from school, for a
period of not less than one year, a student found to have brought a weapon to school. In addition, under the GFSA, LEAs
receiving ESEA funds must adopt a policy requiring referral to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system of any
student who brings 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. The GFSA also states that nothing in the GFSA shall be construed to prevent a state from allowing a local
educational agency that has expelled a student from such student’s regular school setting from providing educational
services to that student in an alternative setting.
The GFSA also requires states to provide annual reports to the Secretary of Education concerning implementation of the
Act’s requirements. The Secretary is required to report to Congress if any state is not in compliance with the GFSA.
PLEASE USE THE ATTACHED FORM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GFSA.
NOTE:
?
The language (other than references to school districts) on DOE Pages 2-4 of this form is verbatim to the
language on the federal form that FDOE must complete and submit to the federal government.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE REPORT
1.
The time period covered by this report is the 2001-2002 school year.
2.
Please complete this entire form. If questions are left blank, we will not be able to interpret the results and will have
to follow up with a phone call.
If a response to a question is “0” or “none,” be sure to enter “0” or “none.”
If
information is not available, please indicate by using the following abbreviation: MD = Missing Data
3.
Please retain a copy of the competed form for your files so that you will have a copy on hand to refer to if we have
questions about your responses.
4.
Please complete the attached form and mail or fax no later than January 10, 2003, to:
Office of Safe Schools
Florida Department of Education
325 West Gaines Street, Room 301
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
If questions arise about completing any of the items on the attached form, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of
Safe Schools, (850) 410-1667, Suncom 210-1667; Fax: (850) 410-1796, Suncom 210-1796.
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Florida Department of Education
FEDERAL GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT
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LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY ACTIVITIES REPORT
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ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
LEA
Local educational agency
GFSA
Gun-Free Schools Act
IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
ESEA
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Elementary
school
A school classified as elementary by state and local practice and composed of any span of grades
not above grade 6. Combined elementary/junior high schools are considered junior high schools
and combined elementary and secondary schools (e.g., K-12 buildings) are classified as high
schools for this report.
Junior high
school
A separately organized and administered school intermediate between elementary and senior high
schools, which might also be called a middle school, usually includes grades 7, 8, and 9; grade 7
and 8; or grades 6, 7, and 8. Combined elementary/junior high schools are considered junior high
schools for this report; junior/senior high school combinations are defined as senior high schools.
Senior high
school
A school offering the final years of school work necessary for graduation, usually including grades
10, 11, and 12; or grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Combined junior and senior high schools are
classified as high schools for this form; combined elementary and secondary schools (e.g., K-12
buildings) are classified as high schools.
Other firearms
Firearms other than handguns, rifles or shotguns as defined in 18 USC 921. According to Section
921, the following are included within the definition:
(Note: This definition does not apply to items such as toy guns, cap guns, bb guns, and pellet
guns.)
•
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 an explosive;
•
the frame or receiver of any weapon described above;
•
any firearm muffler or firearm silencer;
•
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.
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FEDERAL GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT
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LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY ACTIVITIES REPORT
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1.
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Please indicate the number of students in your school district who were found to have brought a firearm to school.
Include all infractions.
[Any student found to have brought a firearm (meeting the definition at 18 U.S.C. 921) to
school should be reported as an infraction, even if the expulsion is shortened or no penalty is imposed. Any
incidents in which a student covered by the provisions of IDEA brings a firearm to school should also be
included, even if it is determined that the incident is a manifestation of the student’s disability. Modifications
of the one-year expulsion requirement should also be reported in item #2 of this report.]
School Level
Number of
Students Found to
Have Brought a
Handgun
Number of
Students Found to
Have Brought a
Rifle/Shotgun
Number of
Students Found to
Have Brought
Other Firearms
Total
Elementary
School
Junior
High
School
High
School
Total
2.
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How many of the incidences reported
in item #1 were shortened to a term of less than one year by the district school
superintendent under the case-by-case modification provision of Section 14601(b)(1) of the Gun-Free Schools Act,
Title XIV of P.L. 103-382?
[Include in your response only cases where the expulsion was shortened or no
penalty was imposed.
Do not include modifications other than those that shortened the term of the
expulsion to less than one year.]
Number of Modifications:
3.
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How many of the modifications reported in item #2 were for students who are not students with disabilities as defined
in Section 602(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Number of Modifications in Item #2 NOT Disabled:
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FEDERAL GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT
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LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY ACTIVITIES REPORT
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[The GFSA explicitly states that the Act must be construed in a manner consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). Compliance with the GFSA can be achieved consistent with the IDEA as long as discipline of
such students is determined on a case-by-case basis under the GFSA provision that permits modification of the
expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis. A student with a disability who brings a firearm to school may be
removed from school for ten school days or less, and in accordance with State law, placed in an interim alternative
educational setting that is determined by the student’s individualized education program team, for up to 45 calendar
days.
If the student’s parents initiate due process proceedings under the IDEA, the student must remain in that
interim alternative educational setting during authorized review proceedings, unless the parents and school district
can agree on a different placement. Before an expulsion can occur, the IDEA requires a determination by a group of
persons knowledgeable about the student on whether the bringing of a firearm to school was a manifestation of the
student’s disability.
A student with a disability may be expelled only if this group of persons determines that the
bringing of a firearm to school was not a manifestation of the student’s disability, and the school follows applicable
IDEA procedural safeguards before the expulsion occurs. Under IDEA, students with disabilities who are expelled in
accordance with these conditions must continue to receive educational services during the expulsion period. Under
section 602(a)(1) of the 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.]
4.
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How many of the incidences reported in item #1 resulted in a referral of the students to an alternative school or
program?
Number of Students in Item #1 Referred to an Alternative
Placement:
___________________________________________________________ _____________________________
Superintendent’s
Signature
Date
___________________________________________________________
School
District
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