Critics: Violence remains big problem in Los Angeles schools

However, external watchdogs argue the picture is worse for the nation's second-largest school district if comparisons are made to the pre-pandemic era.

Comparing current figures to the 2018–19 school year shows fighting incidents have multiplied more than two and a half times, surging from 2,315 to 6,131, said Maria Luisa Palma, executive director of Oleada Inc., a nonprofit that promotes parental involvement at schools.

This worsening school climate is further magnified by a sharp drop in district enrollment, which plunged from 486,259 to 389,438 students over the same timeframe.

"There are many more incidents despite fewer students," said Palma, who questioned the integrity of LAUSD’s internal data tracking. She told The Center Square there are discrepancies in reports and a lack of transparency with parents during the development of school safety plans.

For years, parents have protested outside the 29-story district headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to demand an increased police presence, which has been absent from LAUSD campuses for the last five years.

Lance Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute in nearby Pasadena, argues that stripping campuses of law enforcement removed a vital layer of deterrence.

"When you remove the police from campuses, you're removing a lot of deterrence from students doing violent acts and hurting other students," Izumi told The Center Square.

Noting that LAUSD has eliminated more than 100 school police positions, Izumi added that it is “not surprising that when you have no law enforcement in the vicinity that kids, especially ones who want to commit mayhem, are going to take advantage of that and the victims are going to be other children.”

Izumi also criticized the district's heavy reliance on "restorative justice practices" to combat bullying and misbehavior. Under these practices, Izumi said, perpetrators and victims are brought together to talk and apologize — a process Izumi contends offers no real consequence for the aggressor and no real justice for the victim.

"Sure, somebody can apologize for an act, but that doesn't mean that that is then a disincentive for them to go out and do it again tomorrow," Izumi said.

Moms for Liberty said the answer is discipline.

“When schools rely on 'restorative practices' instead of real consequences for violence, fights and threats increase and students lose the safe classrooms they deserve," said Tina Descovich, CEO and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a parental rights nonprofit.

"Teachers unions have driven these soft discipline policies through contracts and political influence, and parents must insist on consistent discipline, proper supervision, and school leaders who put safety first so every child can learn without fear," Descovich told The Center Square in an email.

Upstate, critics argue the problem extends beyond local district choices to broader state-level mandates.

Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, points to legislation such as Senate Bill 274, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and authored by then-Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. The law extended a statewide ban on suspending students for "willful defiance" through middle and high schools.

"For more than a decade, LAUSD and Sacramento have treated discipline as the problem, instead of defiance, fighting and students threatening their classmates," Burt said in an email to The Center Square. "Meanwhile, LAUSD pulled police off its campuses, and fights nearly doubled. Every child, of every race, deserves a classroom where the rules mean something. SB 274's ban for middle and high school students expires in 2029. The Legislature should let it."

LAUSD has defended its safety record by highlighting year-by-year decreases in reported fighting, threats, weapons incidents and suicide risks compared to the previous school year. To address ongoing student conflict, LAUSD said it is strengthening its prevention efforts through "positive behavior interventions and supports" alongside restorative justice practices, while expanding mental health training and resources for staff, students and families.

Meanwhile, Izumi warns that the challenges facing Los Angeles are not isolated. Citing federal FBI statistics tracking over a million criminal incidents and roughly 1.5 million crime victims on school campuses nationwide, Izumi emphasizes that campus safety is an issue hitting America's backyards.

"When you're talking about a million and a half crime victims on school campuses across America, that is happening in everybody's backyard,” said Izumi.