School climate reflects whether students feel connected, safe, respected, and fairly treated, as well as how schools respond to harm and disruption. Recent U.S. estimates show a mixed picture: 55% of high school students felt close to people at school in 2023, while 19% of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied during the 2021–22 school year. Public schools also reported extensive safety planning and access controls, but serious disciplinary actions varied substantially by school level.
Table of contents
- School connectedness and belonging
- Bullying and peer relationships
- Safety, violence, and attendance
- Fairness, racism, and discipline
- School safety infrastructure and preparedness
- Classroom management and disciplinary conditions
School connectedness and belonging
The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023 describes U.S. high school students, generally in grades 9–12. In 2023, 55% agreed or strongly agreed that they felt close to people at their school. That overall estimate included important differences among student groups.
In 2023, 50% of female students and 60% of male students reported feeling close to people at school. The same measure was 50% among Black students and 59% among White students. LGBTQ+ students reported a lower level of school closeness: 46%, compared with 59% among cisgender and heterosexual students. These figures are estimates for the 2023 survey period, not a measure of every student or every school.
An earlier CDC analysis, School Connectedness and Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021, found that 61.5% of U.S. high school students reported feeling connected to others at school in 2021. The 2021 and 2023 measures should be read in their respective survey years; the available figures do not by themselves establish why the percentages differ.
| Measure | Estimate | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Students who felt close to people at school | 55% | 2023 |
| Female students who felt close to people at school | 50% | 2023 |
| Male students who felt close to people at school | 60% | 2023 |
| LGBTQ+ students who felt close to people at school | 46% | 2023 |
| Students reporting connection to others at school | 61.5% | 2021 |
Sources: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023 and School Connectedness and Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021.
Bullying and peer relationships
According to the National Center for Education Statistics report Student Bullying, 19% of U.S. students ages 12–18 reported being bullied during school in 2021–22. This NCES measure concerns bullying during school and covers students ages 12–18, rather than only high school students.
Among students who reported being bullied, 22% said it happened online or by text. The reported frequency varied: 32% said bullying occurred on one day during the school year, 18% said it occurred on two days, 31% reported three to 10 days, and 18% reported more than 10 days. These categories describe the distribution among bullied students, not all students ages 12–18.
About 44% of bullied students said they notified an adult at school. Reported negative effects included feelings about themselves for 28%, schoolwork for 20%, and physical health for 13%. The figures suggest that school climate monitoring needs to include both the occurrence of bullying and whether students communicate it to adults.
The CDC’s 2021 high school survey gives two related but differently defined estimates: 15.0% of U.S. high school students reported bullying on school property during the previous 12 months, and 15.9% reported electronic bullying victimization during the previous 12 months. The NCES and CDC estimates use different populations, time references, and survey measures, so they are not interchangeable.
Source: Student Bullying and School Connectedness and Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021.
Safety, violence, and attendance
In 2023, 9% of U.S. high school students said they had been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property during the previous year, according to the CDC’s 2013–2023 trends report. The estimate was 18% among American Indian or Alaska Native students, 2% among Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and 14% among LGBTQ+ students.
Safety concerns also affected attendance. In 2023, 13% of U.S. high school students missed school at least once during the previous 30 days because they felt unsafe at school or on the way to or from school. The percentage was 16% among female students, 22% among Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and 19% among LGBTQ+ students.
The available trend estimates show increases on both measures: the percentage reporting that they were threatened or injured with a weapon at school rose from 7% in 2021 to 9% in 2023, while the percentage missing school because of safety concerns rose from 9% to 13% over the same period. These are published survey estimates for U.S. high school students; they do not describe all grades.
Fairness, racism, and discipline
School climate also includes students’ experiences of racism and discipline. In 2023, 32% of U.S. high school students reported ever experiencing racism in school. The estimate was 34% among female students, 57% among Asian students, 46% among Black students, 17% among White students, 49% among multiracial students, and 36% among LGBTQ+ students.
The CDC’s Report of Unfair Discipline at School and Associations with Health Risk Behaviors and Experiences — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023 found that 19.3% of U.S. high school students reported receiving unfair discipline at school. Among Black students, the estimate was 23.1%.
For Black high school students, bullying at school or electronically was reported by 29.8% of those who reported unfair discipline, compared with 13.6% of those who did not report unfair discipline. This is an association within the 2023 survey analysis, not evidence that one experience caused the other.
Sources: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023 and Report of Unfair Discipline at School and Associations with Health Risk Behaviors and Experiences — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023.
School safety infrastructure and preparedness
NCES reported on safety and security practices in U.S. public schools during 2021–22. Ninety-seven percent controlled access to school buildings during school hours, and the same percentage required visitors to sign in or check in and wear badges. Security cameras were used by 93% of public schools.
Less common measures included daily metal-detector checks of students at 2% of public schools, clear-book-bag requirements or book-bag bans at 4%, and random metal-detector checks at 6%. These figures describe reported school practices, not the effectiveness of those practices.
Written emergency planning was widespread for some scenarios. In 2021–22, 96.2% of public schools had a written plan for an active-shooter scenario, while 56.4% had a written plan for a hostage scenario. Ninety-six percent drilled students on a lockdown procedure. In addition, 84% provided training on positive behavioral intervention strategies.
Source: Safety and Security Practices at Public Schools.
Classroom management and disciplinary conditions
Serious disciplinary actions provide one indicator of the conditions educators manage, although they do not capture routine classroom behavior or the full range of school responses. NCES reported that 33.3% of U.S. public schools took at least one serious disciplinary action for a specified offense in 2021–22.
The offense-specific estimates were 24.1% for physical attacks or fights, 6.0% for alcohol offenses, 17.8% for illegal-drug offenses, 2.1% for firearm or explosive-device offenses, and 11.2% for weapon offenses other than a firearm or explosive device. These are percentages of public schools taking the specified action, not percentages of students disciplined.
The school-level pattern was notably different by grade span. In 2021–22, 60.9% of U.S. middle schools took serious disciplinary action for at least one specified offense, compared with 68.5% of U.S. secondary or high schools. The available NCES figures do not establish whether the difference reflects enrollment, incident frequency, school policies, or other factors.
| Public-school measure | Estimate | School year |
|---|---|---|
| At least one specified offense | 33.3% | 2021–22 |
| Physical attacks or fights | 24.1% | 2021–22 |
| Illegal-drug offenses | 17.8% | 2021–22 |
| Other weapon offenses | 11.2% | 2021–22 |
| Middle schools: at least one specified offense | 60.9% | 2021–22 |
| Secondary/high schools: at least one specified offense | 68.5% | 2021–22 |