State Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy credited the decline in school violence to the state's anti-violence programs.
The 4 percent increase in substance abuse incidents she blamed in part on abuse of prescription drugs, which she said children have increased access to.
"It's something we certainly will be focusing on going forward," Davy said yesterday.
The drugs most frequently found to be abused in the school setting, however, remained marijuana, with alcohol running second. School alcohol abuse, however, has been on the decline in the state over the last three years for which statistics are available, according to the report.
The report provides data on incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse in the New Jersey public schools. It is required by the Legislature and includes data reported by the schools.
From the 2006-2007 school year to the 2007-2008 school year, total incidents fell by almost 1,000, from 18,633 to 17,666. That was a 5 percent drop. Total enrollment during that time fell 1 percent from 1,387,604 to 1,378,613.
In the four categories studied, total incidents of violence went from 11,534 to 10,998. Vandalism fell 11 percent from 3,350 to 2,997. Weapons offences fell 14 percent from 1,355 to 1,164.
In substance abuse, the 4 percent increase meant 2,653 incidents in 2006-2007 compared to 2,763 in 2007-2008.
In addition, Davy announced that no school was classified as a "persistently dangerous school" under the state's definition in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
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