FACT BRIEF

Did Las Vegas schools experience a spike in violence during the 2021-22 school year?

Friday, February 10, 2023

By Austin Tannenbaum

View this fact brief on The Nevada Independent

Copy link

Copy featured image

YES

School violence is an ongoing issue in the Clark County School District, but climbed to even higher levels last year.

During the 2021-22 school year, around 8,300 calls were made from Clark County schools to police dispatch reporting incidents of violence — an increase of about 1,300 calls compared to the 2018-19 school year.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark County schools shifted to remote learning for a year and three months — longer than many districts. The rise in violence followed the return to in-person learning in the fall of 2021.

Pandemic ills such as social isolation and mass layoffs hit Las Vegas particularly hard due to its entertainment-centric economy. The mental-health toll this has taken on students has largely gone unaddressed by Nevada’s ill-equipped mental health care system, which ranks last in the nation for youth.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

NPR Las Vegas struggles with rising violence in schools

City of Las Vegas How The Pandemic Has Affected The Mental Health Of Our Youth

Mental Health America Ranking the States 2022

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

The Nevada Independent

The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

FACT BRIEF BY

Latest fact briefs from The Nevada Independent

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.