RALEIGH, N.C. — New data shows fewer students dropped out of public and charter schools in North Carolina during the last school year, but there were also more safety incidents at campuses across the Tar Heel State.
On Wednesday, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released a consolidated data report from the Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) that showed a nearly 12% decrease in dropouts from the 2021-22 school year into the 2022-23 school year, for grades 1-12. For high school students specifically, a decrease of 13.3% was seen from 10,841 in 2021-22 to 9,612 in the 2022-23 school year. The NC DPI notes this is the lowest number of high school dropouts across the state in a non-pandemic year since the 2013-14 school year.
“It is promising to see a decrease in dropouts across North Carolina’s public schools as we know time in the classroom better prepares students for their future,” State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said in a statement. “I’m hopeful to see this trend continue as education is essential for students’ personal and professional success.”
School safety incidents, however, increased from 11,170 in 2021-22 to 13,193 incidents in 2022-23. This includes acts of crime violence, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a weapon. NC DPI notes that incidents involving weapon possession decreased by 3.7%, but controlled substance incidents increased by 35.7%.
“This data is an important tool for school districts to assess programs and strategies in place that keep students safe while guiding the Center for Safer Schools in its decision-making on the types of training and resources it provides statewide,” Truitt said. “This report demonstrates that our schools are meticulously tracking this data in an effort to curb safety incidents, which is a necessary step in continuing to develop and refine safety improvement programs within schools."
The NC DPI believes the increase in controlled substance incidents is tied to an effort it's been handling to track vaping in schools.
The State Board of Education requires school districts and charter schools to track and report certain incidents annually. This includes students found in possession of substances like marijuana, heroin, LSD, meth, cocaine, or anything else listed in Schedules I-VI of the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act. Incidents involving the following weapons are also to be reported:
- BB guns
- stun guns
- air rifles
- air pistols
- bowie knives
- dirks
- daggers
- slingshots
- leaded canes
- switchblade knives
- blackjacks
- metallic knuckles
- razors and razor blades
- fireworks
- any sharp-pointed or edged instrument
Suspensions and expulsions were also slightly up. The NC DPI said this past school year saw nearly 250,000 short-term suspensions, up from about 218,000 in the 2021-22 school year. There were also 708 long-term suspensions in the last school year, slightly up from 693 previously.
Across the state, 64 students were expelled in 2022-23. The previous school year saw 48 expulsions.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.