School leaders know better than just about anyone that today’s young people face an ever-growing number of risks, even if they don’t live in the most dangerous states for students. The chances of being sexually assaulted, threatened with a weapon, bullied, or exposed to illegal drugs are among the key measurements used in a new ranking of the most dangerous states for students.
Some states, for instance, are not as safe as they used to be, according to the poll by Scholaroo, a college scholarship search platform. Florida, for example, fell out of the top 20 safest states down to 32nd on the list because of increasing rates of reported rapes or attempted rapes, and of students bringing guns or explosives to school.
The list also tracks the number of students who were absent because they felt unsafe at school and whether districts have practices to prevent bullying and sexual assault.
Here are the 10 most dangerous states overall:
- Nevada
- California
- Louisiana
- South Carolina
- Arizona
- Rhode Island
- North Carolina
- New Mexico
- Hawaii
- Illinois
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Most dangerous states in detail
Here are the top safety risks students face in each state with its overall safety rank (“1” is the safest):
- Alabama (33): Students absent because they felt unsafe at school
- Alaska (37): Bullying
- Arizona (46): Exposure to illegal drugs at school; also had a high rate of absenteeism due to students feeling unsafe
- Arkansas (39): Students bringing firearms or explosives to school; also had a high rate of sexual assault
- California (49): Exposure to illegal drugs on school property; also had high rates of bullying and assaults with weapons
- Colorado (11): Students absent because they felt unsafe at school
- Connecticut (25): Exposure to illegal drugs on school property
- Delaware (7): Attacks without a weapon
- Florida (32): Students absent because they felt unsafe at school
- Georgia (34): Attacks without a weapon, rape, and attempted rate
- Hawaii (42): Sexual assault; also ranked near the bottom for bullying and sexual assault prevention plans in high schools
- Idaho (19): Sexual assault
- Illinois (41): Attacks or fights with a gun or explosive device, students bringing firearms or explosive devices to school
- Indiana (40): Robbery with a gun or other weapon, fighting, attacks, and threats with guns and other weapons
- Iowa (22): Bullying and lack of bullying and sexual assault prevention plans in high schools
- Kansas (30): Sex assault, rape, and attempted rape
- Kentucky (28): Bullying and threats of gun violence
- Louisiana (48): Attacks without weapons and threats of attacks, and students bringing firearms or explosives to school
- Maine (3): Bullying
- Maryland (26): Robbery or attack without a weapon
- Massachusetts (14): Rape or attempted rape and sexual assault
- Michigan (38): Robberies and physical attacks with weapons
- Minnesota (20): Threats of attacks with weapons
- Mississippi (11): Attacks or fights with a gun or explosive device
- Missouri (36): Rape and attempted rape, robberies and attacks with firearms
- Montana (27): Attacks with a gun or explosive device
- Nebraska (16): Threats of physical attack with weapons
- Nevada (50): Robberies with or without weapons, threats of attacks with weapons and lack of plans to prevent bullying and sex assault in high schools
- New Hampshire (6): Bullying and attacks with guns
- New Jersey (1): Exposure to illegal drugs at school
- New Mexico (43): Threats of physical attack with weapons and students bringing firearms or explosives to school
- New York (23): Students absent because they felt unsafe at school
- North Carolina (44): Rape or attempted rape, students absent because they felt unsafe at school and attacks with weapons
- North Dakota (10): Lack of plans to prevent bullying and sexual assault in high schools
- Ohio (5): Threats of attacks with weapons
- Oklahoma (13): Robbery without a weapon
- Oregon (9): Exposure to illegal drugs at school and robberies without weapons
- Pennsylvania (18): Lack of plans to prevent bullying and sexual assault in high schools and robbery with guns
- Rhode Island (45): Attacks and fights with weapons, threats of attacks with weapons, robberies with firearms, and sex assaults
- South Carolina (47): Threats of attacks without weapons and bullying
- South Dakota (8): Threats of attacks without weapons
- Tennessee (35): Exposure to illegal drugs at school and students bringing firearms or explosives to school
- Texas (12): Exposure to illegal drugs at school and lack of plans to prevent bullying and sexual assault in high schools
- Utah (21): Students bringing firearms or explosives to school and sexual assault
- Vermont (4): Attacks and fights with weapons and threats of gun violence
- Virginia (24): Robberies and attacks without weapons
- Washington (17): Attacks, fights, and robberies with weapons
- West Virginia (31): Bullying, exposure to illegal drugs at school and lack of plans to prevent bullying and sexual assault in high schools
- Wisconsin (29): Attacks, and threats of attacks with and without weapons
- Wyoming (15): Students bringing firearms or explosives to school and lack of plans to prevent bullying and sexual assault in high schools
