Data from the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and the State's Center for the Prevention of School Violence are presented in an effort to delineate these trends and to identify salient concerns regarding school-related crime and violence. Generally, school crime was more prevalent during the early 1990's, peaked around 1995, and has declined in the last 5 years; however, the problems that plague the Nation's schools are also endemic to North Carolina's public schools. Despite the recent declines in school crime at both the national and State levels, school crime remains a concern for criminal justice policymakers and educators. Drugs, weapons, and assaults, especially those committed against adult teachers and staff, still pose serious threats to the learning environment. Although gang activity in the schools has declined, gangs are nonetheless present in many school, including some of North Carolina's junior and senior high schools. Educators, school administrators, criminal justice professionals, parents, and legislators must continue to work together to develop effective prevention and intervention programs that successfully counter school crime and violence. This will guarantee that the predicted militaristic schools of the future will not be present in North Carolina. 3 figures and 13 references