It’s hard for kids to learn anything in an educational environment if they don’t feel safe and secure in the classroom or on the school grounds.

A new report by the Pennsylvania-based Commonwealth Foundation reports that nearly four of 10 public schools are “persistently dangerous.”

These are schools that often had multiple incidents of assault, sexual assault, rape, bomb threat, arson, vandalism, criminal trespass, theft, suicide attempt, vandalism, and possession of weapon.

That’s an abysmal record. We’ve come a long way from when you could get suspended for chewing gum in class or launching a spit ball.

But here’s what’s worse: The state doesn’t rate a single school as dangerous. The Commonwealth report finds that Pennsylvania is “violating state and federal law by failing to identify dangerous schools and neglecting to provide safe school choice alternatives.”

Apparently, forcing kids to attend government-run schools is a higher priority than ensuring the kids don’t come home with a bloody nose – or worse.