The Kentucky Center for School Safety has publicly released its latest Safe Schools Data Project Report, which tracks disciplinary action involving the state's public school students.Center Director Jon Akers says generally speaking, the latest numbers are encouraging.He says over the past five years, there's been a significant drop statewide in the number of students disciplined for serious violations of school board rules or crimes committed on campus, which are recorded separately. He credits the drop to more diligence on the part of administrators and school boards."We've had a 34-percent decrease in drug abuse instances, a ten percent reduction in suspensions for board violations. So we're feeling good about that but we're certainly not going to rest on our laurels," Akers said.Akers says there are still areas of concern, including a sharp increase in the number threats of bodily harm made between students, and there's been a smaller jump in the number of discplinary actions for alcohol violations.In Jefferson County, there was a decrease over the past five years in the number of disciplines for board violations but an increase in law violations.The complete report can be found here.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.