What’s really going on in Michigan’s schools? What problems are students facing and how have those problems changed over the years?
The Investigators at Local 4 built an interactive investigative report that allows you to explore data from Michigan’s student safety program (OK2SAY) and Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI).
This is just one part of Local 4’s investigation into Michigan school safety. Here’s what’s in the entire report:
- Data from Michigan’s student safety program (OK2SAY) dating back to 2014.
- Data from Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) that breaks down incidents of bullying and the number of violent crime victims in Michigan’s schools.
- District-level data on bullying and violent crime numbers for districts in Southeast Michigan.
---> Click here to view the interactive investigative report.
Victims of violent crime in Michigan schools
According to the data from Michigan’s Official Education Data Source, during the 2023-24 school year there were 770 victims of violent crime in Michigan schools. In the 2024-25 school year there were 893.
A student is only considered a victim of a violent crime if they’re assaulted during the school year, on school property, or at a school-sponsored event. A written complaint must be made to the school and to police.
The written complaint is enough, there does not need to be an investigation for the student to be counted.
Detroit Public Schools Community District is the largest school district in Michigan. During the 2023-24 school year there were 146 victims of violent crime in the district. During the 2024-25 school year, the district reported 408 victims of violent crime.
Detroit Public Schools Community District released the following statement:
“The statistics included in this report are misleading for several reasons. Firstly, we are not only the largest school district in Michigan from a total number of employees, students, and buildings, but we also are the only District with a police department. This means that actual incidents and simple calls to our District police department about possible incidents are reported through this report. This makes the numbers seem particularly high when compared to other districts in the state. Therefore, this report is not the best way to assess the District’s climate and culture. Instead, we rely on employee, student, and family surveys and actual incidents that occur in our schools. That data, including student bullying numbers, certainly point to improvement and we can definitely talk to you about that if you would like. If the report only focuses on students were police action was taken then the number would be 146.”
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Incidents of bullying in Michigan schools
The state gets thousands of reports of bullying each year. In the 2024-25 school year there were 10,920 incidents of bullying reported in Michigan.
In the 2024-25 school year, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, with a student count of only 420, reported 118 incidents of bullying. Local 4 reached out to the school for a statement but have not yet heard back.
Editor’s Note: On Oct. 15, 2025, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy responded to Local 4’s request for comment. They stated that a school administrator who filled out the paperwork “misunderstood the questions that were being asked which resulted in incorrect data points” when reporting to the CEPI.
Jalen Rose Leadership Academy said the data that “should have been submitted” for the 2024-25 school year were 2 incidents of student bullying and 1 victim of violent crime.
In the 2023-24 school year Detroit Public Schools Community District reported 932 of bullying incidents. In the 2024-25 school year DPSCD reported 675 of bullying incidents.
In the 2024-24 school year Utica Community Schools reported 16 of bullying incidents. In the 2024-25 school year Utica Community Schools reported 21 of bullying incidents.
In the 2024-24 school year Dearborn City School District reported 108 of bullying incidents. In the 2024-25 school year Dearborn City School District reported 56 of bullying incidents.
In the 2024-24 school year Ann Arbor Public Schools reported 30 of bullying incidents. In the 2024-25 school year Ann Arbor Public Schools reported 41 of bullying incidents.
In the 2024-24 school year Plymouth-Canton Community Schools reported 82 of bullying incidents. In the 2024-25 school year Plymouth-Canton Community Schools reported 33 of bullying incidents.