City Audit Finds Underreporting of School Violence
[Editor’s note: City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. released an audit on Sept. 19 that found that many safety incidents in New York City public schools are not being reported as required under state law. For the 10 large high schools audited, 21 percent of the sampled incidents were not reported, including 14 percent of those incidents deemed serious.]
While we know the mayor and the chancellor want schools to be safe, this audit confirms a practice educators and the UFT have complained about for years: the failure to report all school incidents. Now with data driving all education decision-making, this audit couldn’t have come at a more important time.
I think there is a lot of under reporting here in Madison as well. I know that the elementary school filed no police report when my child was trapped and robbed in one instance, and violently assaulted in another. In the second situation, the teacher did not even report it to the principal.
I’m sorry that your child had to go through that. I am curious. Did you report the incidents to the police?
No, at the time I was shocked and trying to sort it all out – a large dose of denial and belief in the system too.
Reporting the crimes might not have made a difference. The teachers, staff and probably police know who the troubled kids are. Does your child still attend the same school? How was this resolved?