Student fights, threats in schools higher than 4 years ago, LAUSD data shows

While the Los Angeles Unified School District has made steady improvements to lower the number of students experiencing fights, threats, drug incidents, weapons issues and suicide risks, school safety experts warn the district has more work to do.

In the 2025-2026 school year, there were 6,131 fights, a 21% jump from four years ago, and 4,015 student threats, an 11.5% increase from the 2022-2023 school year.

"There's no consequences. There needs to be consequences," she said after an anti-bullying assembly at an elementary school on Thursday. "So many kids get in trouble, the students report it, and then, you know, they're back in school the next day. They're not suspended. There need to be tougher restrictions."

"I will tell you from a litigation standpoint, the questions the school district will be asked if something serious happens is, 'What did you know, and when did you know it, with respect to the fighting and aggression and illegal substance, and then, when you learned of it, what did you do about it?' So, it will be important for the school district to take some steps in terms of enhancing their supervision, or some other type of training or intervention or partnership," Stephens explained.

"The school district does indeed have a safe school plan, but clearly, their existing plan, with these other red flags that are emerging, suggests that they will need to do something else to enhance their supervision and support for students at risk."

"With those kinds of numbers jumping over the last few years, it really suggests to go back to the drawing board and talk with students, with parents, with teachers, and get some good advice on what they might suggest, because most of this work in keeping schools safe is not about rocket science," he said. "It's about having a physical presence and a care for students."

"When you talk about bullying, that can lead to a lot of things, from minor to something really serious. You know, as the kids get older, it gets even more problematic. You're dealing with fights and things that escalate from there," Eppolito said. "So, if we can teach someone on the front end to communicate better and to solve their issues through communication, and if that doesn't work, then we can get ahead of the problems."

CBS California Investigates took a closer look at the district's safety data, because parents are furious about school safety in the wake of the death of 17-year-old Xavier Nungaray at Franklin High School last week.

Harmon says she hopes her bullying prevention assemblies, which end with students taking an anti-bullying pledge, will help prevent more tragedies down the road.

The new LAUSD data, presented at a school board meeting in late September, also shows that weapons-related incidents and reported incidents of students considering suicide — what the district calls "suicide risk" — have continued to decline significantly over the last four years.

To read the district's presentations on the data for the 2025-2026 school year, click here. To see the data from the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, click here.

"Student safety and well-being remain a priority for Los Angeles Unified. The latest data show decreases in reported fighting and physical aggression, threats, weapons incidents and suicide risks compared with the previous school year. However, we recognize that reports of student conflict remain a concern, and we must continue working to prevent incidents and ensure students have access to the support they need.