By Associated Press and WBFO News
Albany, NY – State data released Thursday showed 713 schools -- nearly 2 in 10 statewide -- are in need of mandated and immediate academic correction. But not one of New York's more than 4,000 schools are considered "persistently dangerous" under strongly criticized state criteria.
Sixteen schools in suburban and small cities in Western New York are on the list in addition to the 33 in Buffalo that were past of a list of troubled big city schools released last week. New to the list this year are Sweet Home Middle, Lancaster Middle and Niagara Falls High.
The state Education Department also released its annual list of "persistently dangerous" schools. A year ago, the state was criticized for naming just two schools to the list, which didn't include schools in New York City's own grouping of dangerous schools. This year, the state determined no school statewide is persistently dangerous, but called for improvements in data collection that could result in a more accurate evaluation.
Current data only includes incidents involving possession or use of weapons that are greater than 3 percent of the school's enrollment for two consecutive years. After criticism last year, the department directed schools to include assaults, sexual assaults and other violent crimes as well as weapons-related charges. However, the reports were too inconsistent to be included, according to the state Education Department.
No Western New York schools were on the list of dangerous schools.
For families, the data on schools in need of improvement are important because the federal law empowers parents and guardians to try to transfer their children to better and safer schools. But for the third straight year, the lists were released too late for many families to transfer their children before the school year began.
This year, after two years of criticism, state Education Commissioner Richard Mills said there was enough time for parents to try to transfer their children early in the school year and some schools chose to notify families weeks ago.
"The schools have this data before we do," Mills said at a news conference this week. "They send the data to us, and they are, as far as I can tell, complying with the law. It's the responsibility of the local school under the federal law to issue this information before the beginning of school. The law doesn't say it has to be done on an earlier date."
Some school districts did that this year. New York City, Syracuse, Rochester and some other schools notified parents in July and August. The early action allowed Rochester to make all transfers before school started.
The New York State School Boards Association spokeswoman Barbara Bradley said districts often take time to make sure the data is accurate, to challenge inclusion on the list, and to address the problems in time for the opening of school.
She said she knows of no school, however, placed on the list in error.
"Public school districts are still more accountable to their communities than most other forms of government," she said, noting there are other reports and data that parents can review and request.