About SESIR – School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting

Teasing is generally a less serious, locally-defined incident and is not reported in SESIR. Bullying is defined as “Systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees. Bullying includes instances of cyberbullying.” When we refer to Bullying, it is always repeated, intentional and involves a power imbalance between the students involved. So a one-time offense, a misunderstanding, or an incident between students of similar “power” (not only physical power, but social, emotional, psychological or economic power) would not be considered Bullying.

Section 790.001, Florida Statutes, excludes the common pocketknife from the Weapon definition. Possession of a pocketknife alone is not a SESIR incident; wielding/threatening with a pocketknife is a SESIR incident.

Context is very important here. If a student is pictured merely holding a legal weapon, law enforcement generally would not take action. But if there is a text (in the case of a social media posting) or a verbal threat that accompanies the student showing the photo, this could be considered Threat/Intimidation (TRE).

Generally no. But if a student threatens someone with a BB gun or realistic toy weapon and instills fear of harm with it, it is considered a weapon and should be reported as Weapon Possession (WPO), with a Weapon, Description of “Other Weapon”. Section 1006.07(2)(g), Florida Statutes, reads:

Notice that the possession of a firearm or weapon as defined in chapter 790 by any student while the student is on school property or in attendance at a school function is grounds for disciplinary action and may also result in criminal prosecution. Simulating a firearm or weapon while playing or wearing clothing or accessories that depict a firearm or weapon or express an opinion regarding a right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is not grounds for disciplinary action or referral to the criminal justice or juvenile justice system under this section or s. 1006.13. Simulating a firearm or weapon while playing includes, but is not limited to:

1. Brandishing a partially consumed pastry or other food item to simulate a firearm or weapon.

2. Possessing a toy firearm or weapon that is 2 inches or less in overall length.

3. Possessing a toy firearm or weapon made of plastic snap-together building blocks.

4. Using a finger or hand to simulate a firearm or weapon.

5. Vocalizing an imaginary firearm or weapon.

6. Drawing a picture, or possessing an image, of a firearm or weapon.

7. Using a pencil, pen, or other writing or drawing utensil to simulate a firearm or weapon.

However, a student may be subject to disciplinary action if simulating a firearm or weapon while playing substantially disrupts student learning, causes bodily harm to another person, or places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm. The severity of consequences imposed upon a student, including referral to the criminal justice or juvenile justice system, must be proportionate to the severity of the infraction and consistent with district school board policies for similar infractions. If a student is disciplined for such conduct, the school principal or his or her designee must call the student’s parent. Disciplinary action resulting from a student’s clothing or accessories shall be determined pursuant to paragraph (d) unless the wearing of the clothing or accessory causes a substantial disruption to student learning, in which case the infraction may be addressed in a manner that is consistent with district school board policies for similar infractions. This paragraph does not prohibit a public school from adopting a school uniform policy.

The act of injuring another student in that way could be considered Simple Battery (PHA) if the injury is less serious or Aggravated Battery (BAT) is the injury is more serious. If the pencil was used as a weapon, the incident would also be coded as Weapon-Related.

Generally, no. Section 790.001, Florida Statutes, excludes common pocketknife from the Weapon definition. So mere possession of a common pocketknife by a student would not be a SESIR Weapon Possession (WPO) incident. But if a student wielded a common pocketknife as a weapon, in a threatening manner and instilling fear, then the pocketknife would be considered a weapon.

Generally, no. Section 790.001, Florida Statutes, excludes common pocketknife, plastic knife, and blunt-bladed table knife from the Weapon definition. Other statutes refer to “common pocketknife” and “ordinary pocketknife”, but section 1003.57(1)(i)2., Florida Statutes, which addresses the instruction of exceptional students, does define Weapon, but excludes “a pocketknife having a blade that is less than 2½  inches in length.”

The length of a fight is not a determining factor when considering if it is a SESIR Fighting (FIT) incident. The two factors to consider are 1) if physical intervention is required to stop the fight or 2) if someone is injured. Fights that stop without physical intervention and where no one is injured would be coded as a locally-defined incident based on the specific circumstances (such as Horseplay, Pushing/Shoving, Non-SESIR Fighting, etc.)

Bullying is defined as “Systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees. Bullying includes instances of cyberbullying.” When we refer to Bullying, it is always repeated, intentional and involves a power imbalance between the students involved. So a one-time offense might meet the definition of Harassment in SESIR.

Since Bullying is always repeated, intentional and involves a power imbalance between the students involved, a one-time offense might meet the definition of Harassment.

If student issues one time threat (example - young student on bus says “I’m going to bash your brains in.”) - is this actually threat? Student shows another student a picture of himself holding a bb gun or hunting rifle and says “This is what I will use to hurt you.”  Is this a threat?

The school’s threat management team should be engaged to investigate school-related threats. Often very young children do not understand the gravity of using threatening language and may have no intent of harming another person. The threat management process takes input from the students involved, their parents, witnesses and school staff. Even if the team determines that the expression is not a threat, such an expression of anger may merit attention; generally low-level threats involve some level of intervention.

With regards to threats, anything more serious than a low-level threat may be reportable in SESIR. Generally, there are 2 options when coding threats in SESIR. If a threat is medium or high level and is targeted toward a person or persons, then Threat/Intimidation (TRE) would probably be the best fit: An incident where there was no physical contact between the offender and victim, but the victim felt that physical harm could have occurred based on verbal or nonverbal communication by the offender. This includes nonverbal threats (e.g., brandishing a weapon) and verbal threats of physical harm which are made in person, electronically or through any other means.

For (serious) substantive or very serious substantive threats that are broader in nature, Disruption on Campus-Major (DOC) would be more appropriate: Disruptive behavior that poses a serious threat to the learning environment, health, safety, or welfare of others. Examples of major disruptions include bomb threats, inciting a riot, or initiating a false fire alarm.

Both TRE and DOC are Level III incidents. Schools should be certain to use any related elements that apply when reporting threats.

Prior to the 2020-21 school year, there were 5 SESIR incidents that required reporting to law enforcement and another 16 that required consultation with law enforcement. In 2023, the legislature required that “The State Board of Education shall adopt rules establishing the requirements for the school environmental safety incident report, including those incidents that must be reported to a law enforcement agency. The updated SESIR Rule 6A-1.00179)(d) includes incidents that are required to be reported to law enforcement. Additionally, s. 1006.13(4)(a), F.S., requires, “Each district school board shall enter into agreements with the county sheriff’s office and local police department specifying guidelines for ensuring that acts that pose a threat to school safety, whether committed by a student or adult, are reported to a law enforcement agency.” These interagency agreements should include procedures for law enforcement response to drug and alcohol incidents.

The updated SESIR Rule 6A-1.0017 reads:

(9)(d) Required reporting to law enforcement.

1. School districts must report all SESIR incidents to law enforcement, except for Bullying, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Tobacco.

2. School districts must report all SESIR incidents to law enforcement, including Bullying, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Tobacco, where the incident includes one or more of the following related elements:

a. Alcohol-related;

b. Drug-related;

c. Gang-related;

d. Hate crime-related;

e. Hazing-related;

f. Injury-related, if the injuries are reported as more serious; and

g. Weapon-related.

3. This rule does not limit school districts and charter schools from reporting other incidents to law enforcement that are not listed in subparagraph (9)(d)1. and 2.

(Note: in our system, when reported to law enforcement is changed from No to Yes, a box appears asking for case number.)

Since the case number field is not reported to the state, this is a local issue. This would be reported as “No Law Enforcement Action – No official action was taken by a School Resource Officer (SRO) or local law enforcement officer in response to a SESIR incident.” Some possible remedies to the local coding issue would be addressing this in the district’s MOU with local law enforcement agencies, using the law enforcement officer’s agency code and badge number as a substitute, etc.

If a student gets arrested during the summer or on weekends and the offense has absolutely nothing to do with the school, not school related/sponsored – why is it not considered a SESIR  incident (for example, a student gets arrested in another city and the school wants to enter the Robbery into our system)? Is it appropriate to enter that offense into our SIS discipline system? Our schools want this to show on the students discipline records. If they just code it as the locally-defined incident “off-campus felony” what information can they enter?

This would not be entered as a SESIR incident – the school would be over-reporting if they did report this as a SESIR Robbery. The information is important for many reasons, one being that arresting authorities are required to notify school districts when a juvenile is arrested (ss. 985.04 and 985.101, F.S.). While there is no requirement for the off-campus felony to be reported in SESIR, districts generally tailor their student information systems to collect the data they need locally, beyond what is required for state and federal reporting.

School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting grew out of the public’s concern that children be safe in the school environment. In 1995-96 in response to this concern, the SESIR system was initiated to enable schools to track incidents and analyze patterns of violent, criminal or disruptive activity. The intent is for there to be complete and objective data from which to design interventions to improve the learning environment.

Updates to SESIR reporting requirements are made when there are changes at the federal or state level, or whenever there is a need for corrections or clarifications. Some years there are no changes, but in advance of the 2020-21 school year there were many changes due to the adoption of the new SESIR Rule by the State Board of Education. Further changes were made during the 2022-23 school year at the direction of the SESIR Workgroup.

School and district-level SESIR data is posted on the Department’s web page: https://fldoe.org/safe-schools/discipline-data.stml

The federal Unsafe School Choice Option requires the following: “Each State receiving funds under this chapter shall establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that a student attending a persistently dangerous public elementary school or secondary school, as determined by the State in consultation with a representative sample of local educational agencies, or who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense, as determined by State law, while in or on the grounds of a public elementary school or secondary school that the student attends, be allowed to attend a safe public elementary school or secondary school within the local educational agency, including a public charter school.” 

The Florida Department of Education issued a technical assistance paper in 2003 that outlined the state policy (https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Version-839/SSAttach%202.pdf). Two conditions determine if a school is designated as “persistently dangerous” in Florida if, for three consecutive years, each of the two following conditions persists: 1) The school has a federal Gun-Free Schools Act violation, and 2) The school has expelled one percent (1%) or more of its student body (for schools with more than 500 students) for certain serious criminal offenses.

The first communication of any changes to the SESIR and discipline data collection is at the annual FAMIS Conference where school district MIS directors meet on a variety of database issues. The Department also publishes regular Database Manual Updates that can be found at: http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/data-sys/database-manuals-updates/updates.stml. If there are significant changes to SESIR and discipline, the Department may issue a DPS memo or technical assistance paper outlining the changes.

The SESIR Fighting definition was changed in 2019 from “physical restraint” to “physical intervention” – it currently reads: When two or more persons mutually participate in use of force or physical violence that requires either physical intervention or results in injury requiring first aid or medical attention. Lower-level fights, including pushing, shoving, or altercations that stop on verbal command are not required to be reported in SESIR.

Physical Restraint is defined as: A personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs, or head freely. The term physical restraint does not include a physical escort. Physical escort means a temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or back for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out to walk to a safe location.