Introduction - Page 1  Page 2  Page 3

While all SESIR incidents are serious, not all incidents are necessarily illegal or criminal. Look over these SESIR reporting considerations.

• Law Enforcement Action

In 2023, the SESIR rule changed to require that most SESIR incidents be Reported to Law Enforcement. "Effective for all incidents that occur on or after August 1, 2023, school districts must report the following SESIR incidents, as defined in Rule 6A-1.0017, F.A.C., to law enforcement:
1. Aggravated Battery;
2. Alcohol;
3. Arson;
4. Burglary;
5. Criminal Mischief (Felony Vandalism – $1,000 threshold);
6. Disruption On Campus – Major;
7. Drug Sale or Distribution;
8. Drug Use or Possession;
9. Fighting;
10. Grand Theft ($750 threshold);
11. Hazing;
12. Homicide;
13. Kidnapping;
14. Other Major Incidents;
15. Robbery;
16. Sexual Assault;
17. Sexual Battery;
18. Sexual Offenses (Other);
17. Simple Battery;
20. Threat/Intimidation;
21. Trespassing; and
22. Weapons Possession.
(b) Effective for all incidents that occur on or after August 1, 2023, school districts must report all SESIR incidents to law enforcement where the incident includes one or more of the following related elements, as defined Rule 6A-1.0017, F.A.C.:
1. Alcohol-related;
2. Drug-related;
3. Gang-related;
4. Hate crime-related;
5. Hazing-related;
6. Injury-related, if the injuries are reported as more serious; and
7. Weapon-related."

• SESIR by incident/discipline by student 

SESIR focuses on the specific incident, not the offenders. If ten students are involved in one episode of vandalism at the school, from a SESIR perspective, that would be reported as one incident. Therefore, for accurate SESIR data, be sure to remember that SESIR is by incident. Discipline resulting from the SESIR incident, on the other hand, is by student. Each student involved in the vandalism incident would most likely have a discipline action filed. Your school needs a means to keep this distinction straight when entering the data into your software system. One SESIR report for the incident, then a discipline action filed for each student involved.
 
SESIR Legal and Statutory Basis

1001.212(8), F.S. Office of Safe Schools (review and evaluate reports for compliance)

1001.54(3), F.S. Duties of Principals (school reports are accurate and timely)

1002.33(16), F.S. Charter Schools (charter schools shall comply with SESIR requirements)

1006.07(9), F.S. District School Board Duties... (adopt policies for SESIR reporting)

1006.09(6), F.S. Duties of Principals (standardized form)

SBOE Rule 6A-1.0017 School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting
 
The most fundamental reason for using SESIR is to make schools safer for children. You are familiar with the benefits of a safe school – it promotes academic success, responsible citizenship, and personal growth and it contributes to the future productive employment of its students. 
Here are some of the ways that SESIR contributes to safe schools:
 

1. SESIR standardizes the definitions of serious crimes and violent acts in schools. How does this help make schools safer? When all schools within a district (and state) are using the same definitions to define criminal and/or violent incidents, the accuracy of the data increases. We then get a clearer picture of what’s going on in the schools in each district, schools can more specifically document results to funding agencies, and set more concrete and justifiable goals for interventions. 
    
2. SESIR furnishes the data needed for a strong grant application to fund prevention programs and other interventions to build school safety. The data are compiled and made available in an easy to read report at a school, district, or state level. Not only is the needs assessment completed in this manner, but schools then have a ready means to document on-going progress and the end results of interventions, all of which are appealing to foundations and other funding sources.
   
   The SESIR annual reports also provide relevant incident and discipline data to present to school boards or school advisory councils.
    
3. Our SESIR data are reported to the federal government.

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