New Report: Charter Schools are Safer than Traditional Public Schools

NEW YORK, NY – New York City’s students and teachers enjoy a safer learning environment in charter schools than in traditional schools, a new report from Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Max Eden finds.

In comparing charter schools with nearby traditional schools, Eden examines the answers that students and teachers gave to questions about safety on annual school-climate surveys.

Key findings include:

• Overall: 64 of 150 charter schools provide a safer climate than their neighboring traditional public schools, 24 charters are less safe, and 62 charters are roughly as safe.

• Elementary schools: 24 charters are safer than their neighboring traditional public schools, 12 are less safe, and 20 are roughly as safe.

• Middle schools: 26 are safer than their neighboring traditional public schools, 3 are less safe, and 25 are roughly as safe.

• High schools: 14 are safer than their neighboring traditional public schools, 9 are less safe, and 17 are roughly as safe.

• After demographic differences between students are accounted for, the charter school safety advantage remains statistically significant.

These findings come on the heels of Eden's earlier work, which shows a student-reported, district-wide decline in safety as NYC has shifted away from traditional school discipline in an effort to reduce school suspensions.

Click here to read the full report.