The Alabama Education Lab at AL.com has compiled five years of student incident reports that reflect safety, security and disciplinary issues at schools across Alabama.

The numbers show more reported guns, tobacco, threats, and other incidents at many schools across the state.

Schools recorded the highest number of incidents in 2021-22 since the 2012-13 school year, the earliest year for which AL.com has data available. And numbers of reported incidents increased substantially in just the past year, according to an AL.com analysis.

This analysis is based on information provided by the Alabama state Department of Education. You can see the basic data that formed the foundation for our analysis on the department’s website.

This analysis provides the best known information about the scope of issues Alabama schools, students and teachers are facing after the pandemic.

However, there are serious errors in the dataset. In the course of our reporting, AL.com found instances where incidents were misrecorded in the data. For example, Auburn City Schools’ data includes a homicide. School officials confirmed to AL.com that no homicide occurred on school grounds.

The Ed Lab recommends speaking with your child’s school district if you have concerns or questions about reported incidents.

Tableau dashboards are best viewed on a large screen.

Number of discipline incidents at each Alabama school district and school.

Click here to view a chart showing the number of incidents and the rate per 100 students by school district for a single school year. This dashboard will show the number of incidents reported by school as well as the rate per 100 students.

All discipline incidents reported by all Alabama schools by year.

Click here to see all incidents reported by all schools in a district by year. Use the drop-down menu to choose the district. All incidents will be shown by school.

See which schools reported a type of incident over time.

Click here to view a table your choice of the type of incident reported in all schools within a school district for a single year. Use the drop-down menus to choose the incident and the district. All schools that reported that type of incident will be shown. The columns are sortable by clicking on the column heading.

Who decided to what types of incidents to track?

State and federal officials decide what type of incidents are important to report. They focus on incidents that violate either the law or school policy.

What are my child’s rights in a disciplinary setting?

All students, those with and without disabilities, are entitled to certain rights before they can be excluded for any period of time from public school for disciplinary reasons.

Schools are required to follow state and federal laws, including rules that prevent discrimination based on gender, race and disability.

If your child has an IEP or 504 plan or a known disability, you are entitled to certain supports and due process rights. The Alabama Disability Advocacy Program provides several resources, including this toolkit.

Do you have questions or ideas for future reporting? Email reporter Trisha Powell Crain or fill out the Ed Lab’s survey about school safety.