Education
Crime, suspensions, dropouts down in NC schools; expulsions, firearm possession up
North Carolina public schools saw a decrease in crime, suspensions, dropouts and corporal punishment last school year and an increase in expulsions, sexual assaults and possession of firearms, according to data posted Thursday on the State Board of Education's website.
Posted — UpdatedBy Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL education reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina public schools saw a decrease in crime, suspensions, dropouts and corporal punishment last school year and an increase in expulsions, sexual assaults and possession of firearms, according to data posted Thursday on the State Board of Education's website.
The state board will discuss the findings at next week's meeting on Wednesday. Findings in the state's annual Consolidated Data Report included the following:
The number of reportable crimes in grades K-13 decreased by 0.9 percent in 2017-18, and the rate decreased by 1.1 percent. The following categories experienced increases from 2016-17 to 2017-18 (numerical increase and percent increase in parentheses):
- Possession of controlled substance in violation of law (300, 7.0%)
- Sexual offense (23, 48.9%)
- Possession of a firearm (23, 21.9%)
- Possession of an alcoholic beverage (8, 0.9%)
- Sexual assault (8, 0.9%)
- Death by other than natural causes (1)
The reported numbers of the crimes below decreased from 2016-17 to 2017-18 (numerical decrease and percent decrease in parentheses):
- Possession of a weapon excluding firearms and powerful explosives (211, 7.7%)
- Assault on school personnel (169, 11.8%)
- Bomb threat (22, 24.7%)
- Assault resulting in serious injury (21, 32.3%)
- Burning of a school building (14, 93.3%)
- Robbery with a dangerous weapon (8, 87.5%)
- Assault involving use of a weapon (4, 8.3%)
- Taking indecent liberties with a minor (1, 100%)
- Rape (1, 50.0%)
Reportable crimes
- The number of reportable crimes by high school students decreased by 87 from 2016-17 to 2017-18, a 1.6% decrease. The high school reportable crime rate decreased 2.0%. The overall decrease in reportable crimes for all grades was also 87, a drop of 0.9%. The overall crime rate decrease was 1.1%.
- Reportable crimes were most frequently committed by students who were ninth graders and male. Among ethnic groups in high school, black students had the highest rate of school crimes, followed by American Indian students.
- School systems reporting zero grade 9-13 reportable crimes were Clay County, Hyde County and Whiteville City. Of the school systems with more than zero, those with the lowest rates of grade 9-13 reportable crimes were Roanoke Rapids City, Northampton County, Lexington City, Kannapolis City, Martin County, Bertie County and Weldon City.
- School systems with the highest rates of grade 9-13 reportable crimes were Watauga County, Warren County, Madison County, Swain County, Pamlico County, Alexander County, Cleveland County, Haywood County, Lee County and Perquimans County.
- In 2017-18, school systems reporting the largest 3-year decreases (reductions compared to 2014-15) in rates of grade 9-13 reportable crimes were Hyde County, Clay County, Whiteville City, Northampton County, and Kannapolis City.
- School systems with the largest 3-year increases in rates of grade 9-13 reportable crimes were Pamlico County, Alexander County, Cherokee County, Columbus County, and Watauga County. Although Cherokee County had a large increase, the 2017-18 grade 9-13 crime rate was below the state average.
- The most frequently reported reportable crimes in high school were:
- Possession of a controlled substance in violation of the law
- Possession of a weapon excluding firearms and powerful explosives
- Possession of an alcoholic beverage
Short-term suspensions
- There were 82,157 grades 9-13 short-term suspensions reported statewide in 2017-18, a decrease of 1.4% from the 2016-17 total of 83,300.
- One of 10 North Carolina high school students received at least one out-of-school short-term suspension in 2017-18. Many students received only one suspension, but some students received multiple short-term suspensions. High school students who received short-term suspensions in 2017-18 averaged 1.78 suspensions each. The average total duration of short-term suspensions for high school students who received at least one suspension was 6.51 days. The average duration of a single short-term suspension was 3.65 days. The grade 9-13 short-term suspension rate was 1.79 suspensions per ten students.
- Ninth grade students received the largest number of short-term suspensions. The number of short-term suspensions for male students was 2.77 times higher than for females. Black students received the highest rate of short-term suspensions, followed by American Indians. Short-term suspension rates increased slightly in 2017-18 for all racial/ethnic groups except black students.
- Lexington City Schools reported zero grade 9-13 short-term suspensions in 2017- 18. Other school systems reporting the lowest rates of grade 9-13 short-term suspensions were Clay County, Elkin City, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Ashe County, Yancey County, Mitchell County, Camden County, Macon County and Cherokee County.
- School systems with the highest rates of grade 9-13 short-term suspensions were Anson County, Northampton County, Wilson County, Hertford County, Robeson County, Perquimans County, Halifax County, Pitt County, Vance County and Pasquotank County.
- In 2017-18, school systems with the largest 3-year percentage decreases (reductions compared to 2014-15) in rates of grade 9-13 short-term suspensions were Bertie County, Clay County, Bladen County, Asheville City, and Allegheny County. Lexington City Schools has not reported a grade 9-13 short-term suspension since the 2011-12 school year.
- School systems with the largest 3-year percentage increases in rates of grade 9-13 short-term suspensions were Granville County, Watauga County, Tyrrell County, Mooresville City, and Asheboro City. Each of these districts except Tyrrell County had 2017-18 rates that were below the state average.
Long-term suspensions
- The number of long-term suspensions (11 or more days) for all students declined 3.2% from 695 in 2016-17 to 673 in 2017-18. Average school days per suspension decreased from 73.9 to 65.3 school days. High school students received 419 long-term suspensions, an 8.5% decrease from 2016-17.
Expulsions
- The number of expulsions increased 33.3% from 18 in 2016-17 to 24 in 2017-18. High school students received all 24 of the expulsions.
Alternative schools and programs
- Alternative schools and programs (ALPs) reported 12,750 student placements in 2017-18, a 4.8% decrease from 2016-17. There were 11,322 individual students placed in ALPs during the 2017-18 school year. School systems made 5,056 assignments of students to ALPs as disciplinary actions.
Dropouts
- High schools in North Carolina reported 10,523 dropouts in 2017-18. The grade 9-13 dropout rate in 2017-18 was 2.18%, down from the 2.31% reported for 2016-17. The decrease in the dropout rate was 5.6%.
- There were reductions in the dropout counts in 53.9% (62 of 115) of the school systems. Eight school systems stayed the same as the previous year. There were increases in 39.1% (45 of 115) of the school systems.
- The 10,523 dropouts recorded in grades 9-13 represented a 5.2% decrease from the count of 11,097 recorded in 2016-17.
- School systems reporting the lowest high school dropout rates were Yadkin County, Polk County, Hyde County, Jones County, Ashe County, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Newton Conover City, Washington County, Greene County, and Pitt County.
- School systems reporting the highest dropout rates were Halifax County, Warren County, Durham County, Thomasville City, Richmond County, Tyrrell County, McDowell County, Wilson County, Swain County, and Anson County.
- School systems with the largest 3-year percentage decreases in high school dropout rates were Yadkin County, Ashe County, Polk County, Scotland County, and Pitt County.
- School systems with the largest 3-year percentage increases were Newton Conover City, Graham, Clinton City, Currituck, and Mount Airy City. However, all five still had rates below the state dropout rate of 2.18.
General
- The consolidated reporting of safety, discipline, and dropout data permits an overview of high-performing school districts in these areas. Four school systems were on two of the three "top 10" lists of superior performance in achieving low high school rates of crime, short-term suspensions, and dropouts. These school systems are:
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro
- Clay County
- Hyde County
- Lexington City
- Clay County
- Hickory City
- Lexington City
Corporal punishment
- There were 60 uses of corporal punishment statewide in 2017-18, a 20.0% decrease from the 75 uses reported in 2016-17. Corporal punishment was used by only two school systems. Charter schools and the remaining 113 school systems did not use corporal punishment.
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