Feds tell states to deem more schools dangerous. Georgia says it has none.

Only five states reported having any persistently dangerous schools in the 2023-2024 school year, according to the letter. The states are not named in the letter.

Georgia does not have any persistently dangerous schools, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Education said.

States set their own criteria for what classifies a school as “persistently dangerous.” In Georgia, it takes three years for a school to be identified as such.

In each of those years, at least one student would have to have committed a violent criminal offense, like battery, rape or murder, or a certain number of students would have to commit another identified criminal offense, like possessing drugs or weapons. The offenses would have to take place at school or at a school-sponsored event.

“Georgia already has clear and consistent criteria for identifying persistently dangerous schools,” Georgia Department of Education spokesperson Meghan Frick said in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “but we are reviewing the Dear Colleague letter to see if any additional actions are necessary.”

The letter suggested that states revise their definitions of dangerous schools ― possibly by reducing the amount of time it takes to earn the designation, considering academic performance as a criteria, labeling all schools without school resource officers as persistently dangerous or setting a requirement to designate a certain percent of their schools as persistently dangerous every year.

“The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring parents have options for their children to attend a safe school where they can learn and thrive, which is a goal we all share,” the letter said.