The number of violent incidents reported in Ontario’s schools grew last year to a point that critics call a “crisis,” with a third of all recorded violence concentrated in just five school boards.

New data, obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws , shows the number of violent incidents in Ontario classrooms has shot up by almost 80 per cent over the past seven years.

In 2023-24, the most recent year available, a total of 4,424 incidents were reported, and 1,497 of those were reported in just five boards.

An analysis of the data by Global News show four of the boards with the most violent incidents reported were in or near Toronto, with the fifth located in Ottawa.

The school board with the highest number of violent incidents in the province was the Peel District Sch

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