By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – An audit of Missouri's Safe Schools Initiative has found problems with policies governing discipline, Internet safety, building security and emergency planning.
Among the audit's findings: Only nine out of 25 school districts have conducted drills for intruders on school property, and eight schools did not hold drills for environmental hazards.
State Auditor Susan Montee says the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is also not properly keeping track of discipline incidents.
"There was a school district that didn't record any discipline incidents for an entire school year, and then when we went in there, there were actually 3400 incidents that should have been reported...in fact, 43% of the school districts weren't reporting any incidents," Montee said.
Recommendations include improving Internet safety training programs for students.
"There should be more coordination, leadership, guidance, and a higher priority set on school safety by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education," Montee said.
The audit also recommends that DESE take a bigger role in making sure the state's 500-plus school districts follow school safety laws.
But Deputy Commissioner Bert Schulte says that won't be easy.
"And that's, I guess, a possibility, but it certainly would require some additional resources throughout the state to provide that kind of oversight and monitoring," Schulte said.
Schulte does not think any new legislation is needed to guarantee accurate reporting of school safety data.