Wake County suspensions reach post-pandemic high as disparities, school crime increase

Wake County reported 13,473 short-term out-of-school suspensions last school year, a 5.6% increase from the prior year and 35% higher than the 2018–19 pre-pandemic baseline, even though district enrollment has been flat. State figures list a slightly different total of 13,304 short-term suspensions, a 4.2% rise; the two counts underline a clear increase in removals from class that requires clarification of reporting windows and definitions.

Long-term suspensions remain rare in Wake but climbed sharply: the district recorded 15 long-term suspensions last school year, a 50% increase from the year before and a 400% increase above 2019 levels. Those jumps come as statewide short-term suspensions fell 8.6% and long-term suspensions dropped 6.3%, signaling Wake County is moving against the statewide trend.

School crime reports show parallel growth. Wake schools logged 1,527 in-school crimes last school year, a 20% increase from the prior year. Possession-of-controlled-substance incidents rose 47% and accounted for 55% of the district’s reported crimes. Assaults on school personnel reached 295 cases, a 45% increase, while reports of weapon possession decreased by 25%.

Comparative metrics place Wake’s suspension rate well below many peers even as totals rise. For the 2023–24 school year Wake’s short-term suspension rate was 79.93 per 1,000 students, compared with a state average of 162.34 and Cumberland County’s 215.6 per 1,000. Nearby districts showed wide variation: Chapel Hill-Carrboro saw a 41% increase in school crime with a 5% drop in short-term suspensions, Durham saw a 28% drop in school crime and a 71% decline in short-term suspensions, and Johnston County reported a 132% rise in school crime with a 17% drop in short-term suspensions.

Civil-rights and advocacy groups flagged the discipline numbers. Education Justice Alliance Co-Executive Director Jenice Ramirez called the new Wake County discipline data "deeply disappointing and egregious" and said "the data shows special needs students and students of color continue to be suspended more often than non-disabled and white students." The pattern echoes earlier federal scrutiny: the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into Wake discipline policies in 2010 and the district entered a voluntary settlement with OCR in 2018.

District leaders stress safeguards and alternatives. Wake Superintendent Robert Taylor said the district’s Code of Student Conduct requires principals to take more steps before imposing disciplinary action than other large districts and added, "Having those kinds of safeguards in place are going to keep our numbers low." Wake also reports using restorative practices in schools, though district-level details on program scope and outcomes remain limited in public summaries.

The contrasting totals and sharp increases in specific offense categories make two things clear: Wake faces rising classroom removals and school incidents tied heavily to controlled-substance cases, and the district, the State Board of Education, and federal oversight records will need to provide year-by-year, disaggregated counts and a clear reconciliation of the 13,473 versus 13,304 totals to show whether policy changes and restorative practices are reducing disparities and improving safety.