Report No. 2008-52
August 2008
Complete Audit Report

Our office conducted an audit of the Safe Schools Initiatives.

The audit of Safe Schools Initiatives identified significant weaknesses in school districts' safe schools policies, procedures, and programs. These weaknesses include incomplete discipline policies, inadequate communication of said policies, and inaccurate incident data. There are insufficient violence prevention programs, anti-bullying policies, safety procedures and programs, and emergency management plans and drills. In addition, Missouri school districts need to better address Internet safety, sex offenders, and the state violence hotline (866-748-7047), and should consider evaluating their policies, procedures, and programs to determine the extent to which improvements are needed. These weaknesses should also be considered when safe schools issues and programs are proposed, discussed, evaluated, and monitored by school districts, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, other state agencies, and the General Assembly.

The state should also improve its oversight of school safety issues both at the school district and state level. A comprehensive, coordinated safe schools program may help assist school districts in improving safety, and additional laws or regulations may be needed to address significant safe schools issues such as emergency management plans and emergency drills.

The DESE should better monitor school districts' policies and procedures related to safe schools issues, ensure school districts report complete and accurate data in its Core Data system, and increase the level of discipline incident detail in the system. In addition, the department needs to better communicate the Missouri Violence Prevention Curriculum Framework to school districts, evaluate school districts’ violence prevention programs, evaluate the effectiveness of the framework and better publicize the state violence hotline. Finally, the DESE should document their determination of persistently dangerous schools, and ensure reports of school discipline data are accurate and complete.

Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov