Commissioner's Annual Report to the Education Committees of the Senate and General Assembly on Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools, July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006

New Jersey Department of Education. 100 River View Plaza, P.O. Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500. Tel: 609-292-4469; Web site: http://www.state.nj.us/education/

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Weapons; Charter Schools; Substance Abuse; Violence; Vandalism; Trend Analysis; Committees; School Safety; Crime; Educational Environment; Student Behavior; Prevention; State Legislation; School Districts; Educational Legislation; Costs; Discipline; Crime Prevention; Victims of Crime; Criminals; Aggression; Bullying; Public Schools; Data Collection; Hearings; Consciousness Raising; Nontraditional Education; Grants; Surveys; Check Lists; Guidelines; Intervention; Core Curriculum; Referral; Social Attitudes; Social Behavior; Values Education; Peer Influence; Technical Assistance; Cooperative Planning; Professional Development; Child Health; Reports; Student Development; After School Programs; Juvenile Gangs; Agency Cooperation; Federal Legislation

The Commissioner of Education's Report on Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools, submitted annually to the education committees of the Senate and Assembly, provides the Legislature with data in four broad incident categories: violence, vandalism, weapons, and substance abuse. The report also summarizes initiatives implemented by the New Jersey Department of Education to assist schools in addressing problems of school violence, safety and climate, student conduct and the use of illegal substances School districts and charter schools report incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse to the department over the Internet using the Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS). In 2005-06, the total number of incidents reported statewide was 18,796, up 643 (or two percent) from 2004-05. In the Programmatic Response section (and in Appendix C) of this report, the department also notifies the Legislature and the public of the actions taken by the Commissioner, State Board of Education and the Department of Education to address the problems evident in the data. This report contains an increased number of hyperlinks through which the readers may find more detail regarding findings and the department's programmatic response. Appendices include: (1) Public School Safety Law; (2) Data Collection Form; (3) Department Initiatives; (4) Weapons and Substance Detail; and (5) District Totals by County. (Contains 14 figures, 7 tables and 8 footnotes.) [For the 2004-2005 report, see ED514580.]

ERIC

2011

ED514581