Dive Brief:

• Colorado's annual school violence report failed to mention a fatal school shooting at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. 
• Since the list was supposedly comprised of incidents where students were "disciplined" for violence — and in the case of the school shooting, the gunman killed himself and therefore could not be disciplined — some believed the district had gamed the report and didn't report the violence because of a loophole.  
• The Colorado Department of Education is saying the blame should not be placed on the school district, which did report the shooting, and that the failure to mention the violence was an oversight on its end.  

Dive Insight:

A member of the CDE later covered the department's tracks by indicating that the report was more meant to focus on disciplinary action than violence. While this is a unique situation, it points to the general ability to obscure data. As we move toward a goal of more transparency, it is important to remember that the public will hold schools and their state education departments accountable.