RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – As state data shows crime and violence increasing at schools across the state, students in possession of a controlled substance in violation of law for a minor are among the biggest issues challenging schools.
At Wednesday’s North Carolina Board of Education meeting, Karen Fairly, director of the Center for Safer Schools said schools across the state reported a total of 13,193 acts of crime and violence for the 2022-2023 school year. The rate for these incidents was 8.77 per 1,000 students, higher than the previous year’s rate of 7.51 per 1,00 students.
CSS’s 2022-2023 Consolidated Data Report states the schools saw a 35.7% increase last year of students found in possession of a controlled substance in violation of law.
“We recognize that what goes on in our communities comes into our schools and vice versa,” Fairley told board members.
NCDPI’s Office for Data and Analytics says a possible cause for the increase in controlled substances is related to an increased effort to report underage vaping on campus as either “possession of a controlled substance” or “possession of tobacco.”