Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS)

System Training

Spring 2010Modified, August 2010

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Today’s Activities

• Recognizing sources of help• Reviewing the legal basis for the EVVRS and

uses of the data• Learning about changes for 2009-10, and how

to avoid trouble in entering data • Recognizing what to report: Practice Scenarios• Modifying data

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Sources of Help:The Welcome Screen

(Http://homeroom.state.nj.us/index.htm)• The User Manual, FAQ Document• Quick Access to Key Sections of Manual:– Incident Definitions, Scenarios, Problem/Solution Table

• Training Materials (Presentations)– Projected posting date: May 15.

• Notices to Users; “2009-10 Changes” Notice

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Other Sources of Help

• The DVD, Using the EVVRS• Experienced EVVRS users, administrators in

your school or district• EVVRS Mailbox (preferred)– evvrs@doe.state.nj.us• Use also to specify incidents to be deleted

• Phone: 609/292-1288

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Legal Basis of EVVRS

• State Law – Staff observing an incident must report– Principal must report to Superintendent– Superintendent must report to the Commissioner

• State Board of Education Regulations– Specifies information that must be collected– Requires chief school administrator to provide

training to staff on EVVRS annually

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Uses of Data Department of Education

• Commissioner’s Report to the Legislature• Public Access Site

http://www.state.nj.us/education/schools/vandv/index.html

• U.S. Department of Education– The NCLB Consolidated Performance Report• Count of students, discipline enacted

– Gun-Free Schools Report (Count of students, incidents)– Students with Disabilities Suspension Report– Persistently Dangerous Schools Report (used to direct

NJDOE Technical Assistance)

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Uses of DataSchools & Districts, Others

• Identify need for additional resources/training– Analyze trends in Incident location, Specific types of

incidents such as HIBT, fights, theft, substances, Other Suspensions

– Compare schools within the district

• Use data in grant proposals• Others, such as reporters, use the

Commissioner’s Report to compare districts

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Changes for 2009-10Incident Information Page

• Assault, with opportunity to indicate extent of injury, if any – replaces simple and aggravated assault

• Weapon –Used in offense new. Assault with a weapon dropped

• Substance use not confirmed dropped • Fire alarm incident added, $10 “Floor” on Theft• Cost to LEA (district) a check box

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Changes for 2009-10Offender Information Page

• Expulsion indicates permanent removal; thus – days removed/suspended not indicated – Not valid for students with disabilities

• Multiple disciplinary actions with days may be indicated

• Program/services provided has been separated from location of program/services; multiple selections may be made

• Minor and major injury added; caused, incurred

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Minor injury

• Injury such as a cut, abrasion, burn or bruise where the individual was seen by the school nurse and received treatment, e.g., an ice pack, topical preparation, or bandaging; or the individual was referred to a medical practice or facility for observation and/or treatment, and the injury was not considered major as defined below (see following slide).

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Major injury

• Injury which requires medical treatment and includes concussions, injured organs, fractured or broken bones, severe burns, or cuts requiring stitches. The injury could be:

• a serious bodily injury which involves (A) a substantial risk of death; (B) extreme physical pain; (c) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or (D) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty

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Removal

• Most important box on Offender Page• Does it mean “Removed from the building?”– No, it means removed from the classroom or

program the student normally attends daily.

• For non violence and vandalism incidents (“Other Suspensions”), removal must be at least one-half day to be reported.

• If Removal is ‘No’ for VV-SA incident, select Action Taken from Section C (e.g., ‘detention’)

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Counting “Days Suspended”

• If the student is removed to an alternative program, indicate out-of-school suspension and the number of days suspended prior to the beginning of the student’s attendance in the program, and any days in the program during which time the student is suspended.

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Private Schools for the DisabledSending District Information

• Private Schools for the Disabled must indicate the sending district (not school) of the offender and victim

• Information need be entered only once; data is stored in the Student table on the database

• This feature enables NJDOE to satisfy a federal reporting requirement

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Changes for 2009-10Student Information Page

• The Student Identification Number (SID) used in NJSMART added on a test basis. The student ID used for the EVVRS remains at the district’s choosing and is required.

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How to avoid trouble in entering data

• Ensure that the paper record is complete, that all information is accurate

• When beginning data entry for the year, enter 1 or 2 VV-SA incidents and check them in Data Modification. (See next slide.)

• Read all messages on the screen, particularly when an error message appears in red on the top of the screen.

• Check the box for Action Taken, as well as “days suspended”

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Modifying Data

Questions from the field, and answers

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Modifying Data: Reminders

• Incident available immediately in Data Modification – No “next day” waiting.

• Note which fields cannot be changed: school name, offender/victim type, student ID

• If you make a mistake, you do not need to delete the entire incident; you can correct the error through Data Modification

• Go to the Problem/Solution Table for help

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We get requests to delete duplicate offender/victims.

• “Incident No. 565, please remove one of the offenders as I have made a duplicate entry. Thank you.”

• “When looking over the incidents I entered it appears that #1623 victim section has been entered twice. Please remove one. I apologize.”

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Deleting Offenders (or Victims):from the Problem/Solution Table

• Locate the row of the Search Results table that pertains to both the particular incident and the offender you wish to delete. Click on the Offender Type hyperlink in that row to jump to the Offender Information page of that report. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Delete button. An alert will display, asking, “Do you want to delete this offender?” By clicking Yes, you sever the link between this incident and the data on the Offender information page.

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Wrong Offender Type

• “Please delete incident #2605. The student was inadvertently reported as disabled. Student is not classified.” OR

• “For incident number 1746, Offender with ID # 201 is a student with a disability. However, when I had to input that same student in again on incident number 1792 the system would not allow me to make him a student with a disability and I therefore had to make him a general student. Can you please change his status to a disability student?”

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Fixing the Offender TypeMethod 1

• Data Modification > Search>Search Results• Find Incident #, click on it• At bottom of Incident Info page, click on Add

Offender and/or Victim button. • Add Offender with NEW STUDENT ID #• Return to Main Menu > Data Modification >

Search > Search Results • Click on ‘old’ Offender Type > Delete.

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Fixing the Offender TypeMethod 2

• Request Incident be deleted• Re-enter Incident data• Add Offender with NEW STUDENT ID #

(suggestion: add a letter (‘s’, ‘g’) to #• Add victims and other offenders, if necessary

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Method 1 or 2?

• Have you entered information on other offenders and victims? If yes, use Method 1.

• Have you entered data for the incident and the one offender only? If yes, use Method 2.

• Remember, if you choose to delete the incident and re-enter (Method 2), you will not have to re-enter the student information (e.g., name, grade) for other offenders/victims as the system already “knows” these students.

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Recording a Refusal to Submit to Physical Exam for Substance Use

• “On the EVVRS incident page, how do we report a student who refused a drug screen and was suspended as though the results of the screen were positive? If you select Use confirmed, you must choose a substance type which is not known because they refused the test. Please help.”

• *Enter ‘Refused’ in the Incident Description field.

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What’s ahead?• System closes July 10, 2010 (earlier this year)• Conversion of system to new software in the

summer, 2010; Return from Reports to Menu• Posting of revised FAQ document • Posting of Presentation with audio notes

Thank you!

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