DPI report shows decline in school crime and dropouts, but challenges remain

Crime in North Carolina public schools dropped 7.7% during the 2023-2024 school year compared to the previous year, according to new data from the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).

The report, presented to the State Board of Education on Feb. 6, also highlighted the lowest high school dropout rate in the past decade, at just under 2%. Ninth-graders accounted for the highest percentage of dropouts at 33%.

During the 2023-24 school year, 77% of North Carolina public schools reported zero to five acts of school violence.

“While crime and acts of violence in schools are always unacceptable and hinder the learning and growth of students, I’m optimistic that reductions in the rate of crime, violence, and dropouts in high schools reflect positive change,” said state superintendent of public instruction Mo Green in a statement.

Dr. Michael Maher, chief accountability officer for DPI, added, “The way classrooms operated in 2018-19, let alone 10 years ago, to now is vastly different given the use of technology and other factors. While crime and violence in schools is never what we want, it is promising to see that rates have dropped this year.”

But the overall picture is not without concerning trends. Though there was a reduction from the previous year, the reported acts of crime and violence are still 9.3% higher than in 2021-22. Incidents involving assault on school personnel and bomb threats increased, even as other major categories, such as possession of weapons, declined.

Long-term suspensions increased slightly from 47.09 per 100,000 students in 2022-23 to 48.40 in 2023-24. Additionally, the rate of in-school and short-term suspensions rose by 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively.

Black students, male students, students with disabilities, and those identifying with two or more races had higher rates of disciplinary actions.

The newly released report comes against a backdrop of heightened concerns about school safety and discipline following the COVID-19 pandemic. As previously reported by Carolina Journal, there were worsening trends in suspensions and school crime during the 2022-23 school year, with disciplinary actions and violent incidents spiking significantly.

A DPI report released in January 2024 showed that public schools reported 13,193 acts of crime and violence in the 2022-2023 school year, an 18% jump from 11,170 incidences in 2021-2022.

Instances of students’ possessing a controlled substance had spiked in particular, up nearly 36% over the previous year, while possession of a weapon ticked down slightly with a decrease of around 4%. Possession of a controlled substance means a student either possessed or had in their immediate control any amount of drugs such as marijuana, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, or cocaine.

Within that context, the new NCDPI is a welcome sign for school administrators and families.

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