A 1998 law requires schools to report school crime and discipline information to state Department of Education. The center has analyzed that information and issued three reports. The first, issued in November, dealt with statewide and regional crime numbers for the 1999-2000 school year. The second report, issued in February, looked at the relationships between school safety data and grade level, gender, race and school performance. The goal of the reports is to spur discussion and school improvement, said the center's director, John Akers.
Further investigation needs to happen.
The report will serve as a benchmark for schools to measure future progress and failure, Akers said. Everyone needs to be treated equally. Black students are suspended more often than white students because a higher percentage of their population deal with challenges of poverty and high-crime neighborhoods, Illback said. Owensboro High School administrators do not discriminate against blacks because of a discipline policy that's strictly applied, OHS Assistant Principal Chris Gaddis said. The infraction or the violation dictates what level of discipline occurs.