Annual N.J. schools report shows drop in violence, rise in prescription abuse
Published: Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 8:00 PM
Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks, pictured at a September Board of Education meeting, today released a report on the state of New Jersey's public schools.New Jersey’s schools are getting safer, but prescription drug abuse is a rising problem, a new state report shows.
The trends are shown in the state’s annual report in violence and vandalism in public schools, a document that covered the state’s 600 public school districts which have a combined 1.38 million K-12 students.
The reported decrease in violence, bullying and weapons incidents was credited to education efforts, and schools must now shift greater focus to the drug and alcohol problems, said educators and legislators.
The number of reported incidents of violence dropped 5 percent from 2007-08 to 2008-09; vandalism declined 3 percent; weapons incidents fell 15 percent and, at a time when bullying is a leading concern, reported incidents of