ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Every year, Virginia public schools are required to send a report on student behavior to the state’s Department of Education, which is called the Student Behavior and Administrative Response. With 10 News being your Back-to-School Authority, we are breaking down what the report looks like for Roanoke County Public Schools.
The Virginia Department of Education is still compiling data from last year, but here’s what 10 News found for the 2022-23 school year.
In one of the more severe categories that require police involvement, there was one case at Hidden Valley High where a student intended to distribute or sell drugs.
Another category is called the Behaviors that Endanger Self or Others. Under this one, there were 17 reports of written threats, intimidation or instigating violence, injury or harm to another student. Law enforcement was only contacted if the threat was made to a staff member that is unless the student making the threat had a disability. Some of the schools they happened at were William Byrd Middle, Cave Spring High, Glenvar Middle and Hidden Valley High.
That same category reported two cases of bomb threats that were made at William Byrd High. The school division called the police when this happened. Meanwhile, there were also 73 non-written threats and 23 threats made to staff members. There were also nine assault and battery cases reported.
In the Student Behavior and Administrative Response report’s Behaviors of a Safety Concern category, Roanoke County had 233 cases of students having, using or distributing tobacco products or paraphernalia, E-cigarettes or vaping equipment. The division had 227 reports of shoving, pushing, striking or biting and 102 cases of students leaving school grounds without permission.
Roanoke County Public Schools told 10 News that the principals report this data to the state Department of Education annually. It also said there are several intervention methods in place to address students’ behavioral issues. Some of the intervention methods include systems to monitor all school-issued devices. 10 News is told that this has saved students’ lives. Roanoke County also installed vape detectors in its high schools’ bathrooms and locker rooms.