Crime and Violence in U.S. Public School Systems

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education looks at the number of students who were victims of crimes while at school. During the 2021–22 school year, about 857,500 violent incidents and 479,500 nonviolent incidents were reported at U.S. public schools. More than 70 percent of the schools where students of color made up 50 percent of the student body reported violent crimes. Some 55 percent of schools where students of color were less than 25 percent of the student body reported violent crimes. There were 8,200 hate crime incidents at public schools. Only 3.5 percent of all public schools reported hate crimes. Some 4.7 percent of all schools reported “racial or ethnic tensions.’ Middle school were – by a large margin – the most likely to report such tensions. Bullying was reported in 16.2 percent of schools where persons of color were more than 50 percent of the student body. At schools where students of color were less than 5 percent of the student body, bullying was reported at 9.5 percent of schools. The full report, Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools Findings From the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2021–22, may be downloaded...