1. EVVRS Training
February 2008

2. Agenda EVVRS Background Summary of Changes USCO Accessing the EVVRS
Data Entry and Modification
Scenario Exercises
Annual District Report
Public Access
I will add this at the end.

3. Why the EVVRS? Implementing the Law
Public School Safety Law 18A:17-46
“Any school employee observing or having direct knowledge from a participant or victim of an act of violence shall, in accordance with standards established by the commissioner, file a report describing the incident to the school principal in a manner prescribed by the commissioner.”
Weapons is considered part of violence and substance abuse offenses are also reported.

4. Why the EVVRS? Reporting Other Suspensions
In order to report to the federal government on the removal from the normal instructional setting of students with disabilities, the EVVRS is also used when a student with a disability is suspended for reasons other than violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse. (Examples in Appendix B, User Manual)

5. EVVRS Data – What happens to it?
Every year, the N.J. Commissioner of Education uses EVVRS data to report to the N.J. Legislature on violence, vandalism, and substance abuse in N.J. public schools.
The NJDOE uses the data to report to the U.S. Department of Education on public school safety and the suspension of students with disabilities.

6. EVVRS Data – What happens to it?
Districts are legally bound to hold an annual public hearing at which information about district incidents of violence and vandalism is presented.
Recommended documents for the hearing are:
Annual District Report (required)
Incident Listing
Incident Category Summary

7. Summary of Changes to the EVVRS 2007-08
Incident Header Changes
School Entrance was added to Location.
The definition of Bias was broadened.
Gang Related was added to the header and can apply to any incident. Check Yes if gang related.

9. Bias
Bias means that an incident is reasonably perceived as motivated by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, a mental, physical, or sensory disability, or any other distinguishing characteristic.

10. Bias Bias can play a role in any EVVRS-defined incident.
The EVVRS does not distinguish who exhibits bias, only that bias is associated with the incident as a whole.

11. Bias To determine whether bias played a role, consider if there was:
Admission by the perpetrator of bias motivation.
Obvious signs of bias – such as utterance of racial epithets or use of hate graffiti.
A victim expressing that bias motives were involved.
A history of bias incidents among the involved students.

12. Gang Related
Select “Yes” if there is confirmation from a law enforcement official, the victim, or the offender that the incident is gang related.

13. Off-Site Program
When you select Off-Site Program from the location menu you must enter a name in the Incident Description field.
It must be entered the same way each time.

14. Enter the name of the off-site program here.

15. Summary of Changes to the EVVRS
Incident Detail Changes
Gang/Group Fight has been removed. You can select Fight and Gang Related.
Threat is no longer a separate category. It has been added to Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying.
Terroristic Threat has been changed to Criminal Threat and the definition has been revised.
Unauthorized Over the Counter Drugs has been added to Substance Type.

17. Summary of Changes to the EVVRS
Incident Detail Changes Continued
Air Gun, Pellet Gun, and BB Gun category has been moved to Other Weapon Type. (Don’t count under policy of automatic one-year removal for firearm offense.)
Toy Gun has been removed from Other Weapon Type and is no longer reported on the EVVRS.

18. The Other Weapons Offense list has been organized differently and toy gun has been removed from the list.

19. Summary of Changes to the EVVRS
Additions to Offender Information
Medical Treatment provided for bodily injury.
Grade (Select Un-Graded for a student with a disability who does not have a grade-level assignment).

22. NEW
User Manual
The latest version of the EVVRS User Manual reflects significant changes and will help you use the EVVRS.
It is available through the Homeroom in Word and HTML formats.
The User Manual contains bookmarks (similar to hyperlinks) that will move you directly to a specific section of the manual.

23. Unsafe School Choice Option
Students have the option to transfer to another school in their district if:
Their school is Persistently Dangerous*, or
They are the Victim of a Violent Criminal Offense.
A referral is made to law enforcement.
The offense is among those listed in Appendix C of the User Manual.
* Fights are not included in calculation.
I really don’t know how to make this part short and sweet. If I take what Marie did in the UM it will take many slides. HELP!!!

24. EVVRS Demo The EVVRS Welcome Page Entering Data Modifying Data
Printing Reports
Verifying Data of the Annual District Report

25. Accessing the EVVRS http://homeroom.state.nj.us
Do not use ‘w w w.’ Use the following address:

27. If you became an EVVRS user midway through the year, please check Notices for important updates and information that you may have missed.

31. Data Entry

32. EVVRS Data Entry Overview
The DOE recommends entering incident data monthly or at a minimum, 3 times a year:
July-December, in January
January-March, in April
April-June, end of June.

33. What Districts Must Report
An incident that takes place on school grounds, at a school-sponsored event or on a school bus.
Student behavior that meets one of the incident definitions.
The offender must be cognitively and developmentally mature enough to understand the consequences of his/her actions.
Age and Cognitive /Developmental Maturity Standard is explained in more detail in the User Manual on page 26.
School grounds is defined on page 31 of the User Manual.

34. In-District Reporting v. EVVRS Reporting
A district board of education’s Code of Student Conduct may specify consequences for behaviors other than EVVRS-defined offenses and the school may wish to collect data on these. However, these incidents should not be reported using the EVVRS unless the consequence is the suspension of a student with disabilities.

35. Some Examples of What Not to Report on the EVVRS as a VV-SA Incident:
A minor push or scuffle.
A threat lacking true intent or verbal attacks that are not threats.
A suicide threat.
The lighting of a match.
Possession of a toy gun.
A shouting match between students.
A fight between students at a bus stop.

36. Two Categories of Incidents
VV-SA – An incident of violence, vandalism, weapons, or substance abuse involving any student.
Other-Spec. Ed. – The suspension or removal of a student with a disability (of at least one full day) for any reason other than violence, vandalism, weapons, or substance abuse.

37. Other Incidents Involving Students with Disabilities
Districts must report, as specified by IDEA, all in-school suspensions of at least one full day in duration as well as all out-of-school short- and long-term suspensions for which a student with a disability is removed from his or her regular classroom.
If the suspension resulted from an incident involving violence, vandalism, weapons or substance abuse, report the incident using the VV-SA button not the Other-Special Ed data entry button.

38. Program Provided Upon Disciplinary Action
If you select short-term suspension to indicate an in-school suspension, select in-school suspension from the Program Provided drop-down list below.

39. Who Enters Data?
All staff members are responsible for reporting incidents to the principal or their designee.
Assigning responsibility for entering EVVRS data is the district’s decision.
To ensure integrity of EVVRS data, as few people as possible should be assigned this role.
There can be one or more central users who report for all schools. Or there can be one or more users at each school. School users only see their school’s data.

40. Ensuring Accurate Reporting Requires:
In-depth knowledge of incident definitions.
In-service training (pg xv of User Manual).
Reliance on staff who are experienced with EVVRS.
Developing a “team” approach.
Staying current by visiting the Welcome page regularly and checking for EVVRS notices.

41. Reporting Tips
There can be multiple offense categories in one incident report.
Kidnapping, Bomb and Firearm Offense incidents require an entry in the Incident Description Field. The DOE recommends you enter a description for all incidents.
The EVVRS reporting year ends June 30th. Incidents in the summer months should be reported in the fall of the following year.

42. One Incident Can Have Many Offenders and/or Many Victims
Remember to write the incident # on your paper forms! .
A maximum of six offenders and six victims can be reported with a single incident.
Enter data for six offenders and/or victims with most serious involvement/injuries.
Data must be entered for ever victim who can be considered a victim of a violent criminal offense.

43. To add, change or view data:

44. Always identify the school first.
Searching for Records
Always identify the school first.
Your Search Results Page will display data entered through yesterday. Data entered today may be viewed tomorrow.
Duplicate Incident Numbers?
Editing/searching is covered in-depth in the User Manual on pages
These are most likely not duplicates, as there is one listing of an incident for each offender/victim.

45. Click on Incident Number to:
Add an offender record.
Add a victim record.
Change incident information.

46. Click on Offender Type to:
Change an action.
Change number of days.
Change program provided.
Delete an offender.

47. Click on Victim Type to:
Delete a victim.
Change Victim of Violent Criminal Offense information.

48. Click on Student ID to: Change student information such as: Name
Gender
Grade
Race
Student Disability Category

49. Can I change Student ID? Can I change Offender Type?
NO!
Delete the offender record
and re-enter the information.

50. Can I delete an incident?
NO!
Re-enter the information as a new incident, then the EVVRS to delete the original incident.

51. Can I change user information?
The User Maintenance page allows you to modify:
Name
Phone
address
Password
To establish a new user:
Request your District Web User Administrator to create a new account. Then, delete the old user.

52. EVVRS Password Tips
If you temporarily give your password to someone so they can enter data on your behalf, be sure to change it when you return.
An account should be deleted by the Web User administrator if a user is no longer responsible for entering data.

53. Scenario Exercises Would you report it over the EVVRS?
If so, how would you report it, that is, what type of incident would it be?
Could something like this occur in your school?
*The scenarios can be found in a separate document on the Welcome Page.

54. Scenario Tips
The student behavior must meet one of the incident definitions.
The decision to report an incident to the state is independent of the school’s disciplinary actions.
The offender must be cognitively and developmentally mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions.

55. “The Stick”
Scenario 1

56. Simple Assault
A person attempts to cause – or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes – bodily injury to another.

57. “The Ruler”
Scenario 2

58. Assault with Other Weapon
Attacking or physically harming someone with a knife, club, stun gun, chain, pepper spray, or any other instrument, other than a firearm, that is readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury.

59. “The Boy’s Room”
Scenario 3

60. Simple Assault
A person attempts to cause – or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes – bodily injury to another.

61. Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Threat – H,I,B,T
Any gesture, written, verbal, or physical act, or electronic or wireless communication that:
a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, the act will have the effect of alarming (i.e., fear created by imminent danger) or harming (e.g., physically, emotionally) a student or staff member, or of damaging their property; OR

62. Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Threat – H,I,B,T (continued)
Any gesture, written, verbal, or physical act, or electronic or wireless communication that:
has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students in such a way to cause a substantial disruption in, or to substantially interfere with, the orderly operation of the school.

63. Bias as a Factor when Determining Punishment for Fighting (from Ed Daily)
A teacher steps into the middle of a fight in progress. Both students are equally injured. But do they deserve equal punishment? A district should always consider what led to a fight when fashioning a fitting punishment. If one pupil was motivated by racism, or if another was defending himself against a racially inspired attack, a district must factor this in or risk a discrimination claim.
Punishment for fighting should reflect whether racism was a factor
A teacher steps into the middle of a fight in progress. Both students are equally injured. But do they deserve equal punishment? A district should always consider what led to a fight when fashioning a fitting punishment. If one pupil was motivated by racism, or if another was defending himself against a racially inspired attack, a district must factor this in or risk a discrimination claim.
In San Juan Union Sch. Dist., No , 107 LRP (OCR 2007), a district faced just such a charge when it meted out identical discipline to a black and white student caught fighting. As the district's own investigation revealed, on the day of the altercation, the white student, who was wearing white supremacist indicia, bumped into a black student and hurled racial slurs at him. Later, the white student initiated a fight with the black student, and both were injured. The district's investigation also showed that several students had heard the white student make racist comments throughout the school year, including "Blacks need to go back to Africa." However, the district's report of the investigation labeled the incident "mutual combat." It suspended both students for five days. The parent of the black student complained that the punishment was discriminatory because it failed to take into account that her son was defending himself against a racist attack.
Office for Civil Rights Team Leader Robert E. Scott investigated and concluded that the district violated Title VI when it failed to respond to the complaint in an effective manner. Specifically, OCR noted that the district's identical discipline of the two students showed that there was "no acknowledgement of misconduct enhanced by the racial hostility of the discriminating party. Nor is there any recognition of the interest of the victim in resisting the attack." The district's failure to address the racist element of the confrontation communicated to students who witnessed the racial slurs and ensuing fight that it was not serious about its antidiscrimination policy.
A district may become vulnerable to Title VI claims if it does not take appropriate disciplinary action when racial harassment leads to violence among students. This OCR letter of finding illustrates that to help avoid such claims, districts should:
Document reports of a student's racist conduct in their student file and discipline them appropriately.
When determining appropriate discipline for a student caught fighting, take into account whether he was acting on the basis of racial hostility, and whether he was acting in response to racial hostility.
Following a fight involving racial hostility, communicate to the student body that such discrimination will not be tolerated, through classroom lectures or other methods.
--Joseph Pfrommer, Esq., covers special education issues for LRP Publications.
January 23, 2008

64. “The Knife”
Scenario 4

65. Criminal Threat
Expressing – either physically or verbally – the intent to commit one of the following violent criminal offenses: homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, kidnapping or arson. The threat must be made for the purpose of placing another in imminent fear of one of these violent acts, under circumstances that would reasonably cause the victim(s) to believe the immediacy of the threat and the likelihood that it will be carried out.

66. Aggravated Assault
A person attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury purposely or knowingly, or under circumstances manifesting indifference to the value of human life, recklessly causes such injury (e.g., injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ).

67. “The Threat”
Scenario 5

68. Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Threat – H,I,B,T
Any gesture, written, verbal, or physical act, or electronic or wireless communication that:
a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, the act will have the effect of alarming (i.e., fear created by imminent danger) or harming (e.g., physically, emotionally) a student or staff member, or of damaging their property

69. “Is it Simple or Aggravated Assault?”
Extra Credit Scenario

70. Fight in the Hallway (based on true events)
Two sophomore students, Tom and Eli, got into a fist fight in the hallway of Ridgemont High. A school resource officer (SRO) and a teacher tried to separate the boys. The boys struck both the teacher and the SRO several times even after the SRO instructed them to stop. The teacher was treated for an abrasion on his cheek. The SRO filed a complaint with the police.

71. How would this be reported?
While law enforcement may upgrade the charge from simple assault to aggravated assault because the incident involved a staff member and/or a law enforcement official, the EVVRS does not. The incident would be reported on the EVVRS based on the severity of the offense.

72. How would this be reported?
This would be reported as a Fight with both boys as offenders.
It would also be reported as either a Simple Assault or Aggravated Assault (it would depend on the severity of the assault) with both boys as offenders and the teacher and SRO as victims.

73. Simple Assault & Fight in the Same Incident
Unduplicated Counts - This would only count as one incident of violence.

74. The Annual District Report
The report provides year-end information about all violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse incidents that were reported using the EVVRS.
Near the end of every reporting year, districts are required to carefully check, or verify, the Annual Report to determine its accuracy and to correct any information that is incorrect.
Demo “Exporting the Incident Listing”.

75. Steps in Verifying Your Data in the Annual District Report
Check to make sure all schools’ data are entered.
Review the incidents listed for each school in the Incident Listing Report; click the incident # hyperlink to check incident details. Or, after printing incident listing, have each school review records of all its suspensions to determine if any incidents have been left off the EVVRS.
This is described in detail on pages of the User Manual.

76. Steps in Verifying Your Data in the Annual District Report (continued)
Make changes, including request to DOE to delete incidents, if necessary.
Conduct a final review of the Annual Report.
Have Superintendent or his/her designee sign the Fax-Back Verification form.
Fax in form only. Due July 18, 2008
This is described in detail on pages of the User Manual.

77. Where is the Verification Form?

80. The document can be opened from here or saved directly to your files.

81. Verification Form

82. Public Access Multiple years’ data District and State trends
Any district or school’s data
Data, however, is limited to summary reports.
Only verified data are displayed.

87. Questions? EVVRS@doe.state.nj.us
If about students with disabilities: Attention Andrew
All other questions: Attention Theresa
For EVVRS account users and the public
if you are a private school for the disabled
Call