North Carolina schools saw a decrease in crimes for the third year in a row last school year, according to the latest numbers released Wednesday from the state Department of Public Instruction.

The number of crimes reported at North Carolina schools fell by around 6.1% to 11,470. The rate fell by about 8% to 7.43 incidents per 1,000 students.

Incidents falling under one of nine “violent” categories increased from 250 to 302. But these remain rare, occurring at a rate of 0.2 incidents per 1,000 students. They account for just 2.6% of all incidents.

DPI Chief Accountability Officer Michael Maher said the data shows crime is not widespread across the system, but is concentrated among a smaller number of schools and students.

Around 78% of schools reported 0-5 incidents this year. And data shows 9,966 students out of the state’s roughly 1.5 million accounted for all of the incidents — that means more than 99% of students were not involved in any violent or reportable offense.

“It’s not a picture of system-wide disorder, it’s a picture of concentration,” Maher told the state Board of Education Wednesday. “It’s concentrated in specific grades, it’s concentrated in key transition years and in students who are already facing multiple overlapping challenges.”

Incidents involving possession of a weapon fell by around 20%, and incidents involving possession of a firearm fell by 34%.

But possession of drugs remains a thorny issue, ticking up slightly and accounting for around 60% of all incidents.

“So while every incident matters, the data show that severe violence is rare, and the most common challenges schools are managing are behavioral and substance-related — not widespread physical harm,” Maher said. “So any policy, procedure or programmatic recommendation we make should be proportional to that evidence.”

The student subgroups with the highest incident rates were students with disabilities, Black students, economically disadvantaged students and male students. But Maher said this paints a complicated picture.

“I want to be clear: These are descriptive patterns, they are not causal explanations. The same pattern shows up across multiple education outcomes, including attendance, course and test performance and dropout — not just discipline,” Maher said. “That tells us that discipline is not a standalone issue. Effective solutions need to connect attendance, behavior, academic support and student services.”

Still, while these groups show persistent disparities, they’ve also seen significant improvements, with significant declines this year.

Maher made several recommendations based on the data – including establishing a targeted middle-to-high school transition initiative,

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools saw a decline in the number of crimes — from 1,414 to 1,267 — and its crime rate — from 10.1 to 8.8 per 1,000 students.

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Many schools across western North Carolina will be closed, delayed or on a remote learning day on Wednesday, Feb. 4, due to the lingering impacts from this weekend’s snowstorm.

Buncombe County Schools will operate on a remote learning/optional teacher workday on Feb. 4 due to “many ice-covered secondary roads across the county,” the school system announced.

To make up for multiple days of in-person learning lost to winter weather, Buncombe County Schools also announced adjustments to next week’s calendar. Instead of an early dismissal day, students will now have a full day of school on Thursday, Feb. 12. Additionally, students will have a full school day on Friday, Feb. 13, in place of an optional teacher workday.

MORE CLOSINGS AND DELAYS ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

The following schools and school districts will operate on a two-hour delay on Wednesday, Feb. 4:

• Asheville Christian Academy
• Asheville City Schools
• Graham County Schools
• Henderson County Public Schools
• Polk County Schools
• Swain County Schools

The following schools and school districts will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 4:

• Avery County Schools
• IC Imagine K-12 Public Charter School
• Brevard Academy

The following schools and school districts will have a remote learning and/or optional teacher work day on Wednesday, Feb. 4:

• Burke County Schools
• Haywood County Schools
• Madison County Schools
• Mitchell County Schools
• Transylvania County Schools

Stay updated with all other closings and delays at this link.