Andalusia City Schools was ranked the 17^th safest school district in the state, according to Niche.

Niche said that the 2017 Safest School Districts ranking is based on rigorous analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from parents and students.

To determine which schools were the safest, Niche used the following factors:

• Parents, and student surveys on health and safety, which counted for 50 percent;
• Expenses per student, total expenses divided by the total number students; counts for 10 percent;
• Student absenteeism, percentage of students missing 15 or more days per school, counts for 10 percent;
• In-school suspensions, percentage of students receiving at least one in-school suspension, 7.5 percent;
• Out-of-school suspensions, percentage of students receiving at least one out-of-school suspension, 7.5 percent;
• Expulsions, percentage of students expelled from the district, 7.5 percent;
• Law enforcement referrals, percentage of students referred to law enforcement, 5 percent;
• Schools-related arrests, percentage of students arrested for a school-related incident, 5 percent.

Andalusia City earned the 17^th safest school district. It earns an overall B-plus; and earned an A in Health and Safety.

There are some 1,729 students in the school district.

Andalusia City Schools Superintendent Ted Watson was pleased to be recognized as one of the safest in the state.

“Obviously, any time any survey is conducted that sheds very positive light on our school system, we are happy about it,” he said. “While, I’m not 100 percent sure on all the factors the group used to conduct the survey, I believe it’s a positive tribute to the work our administrators, teachers, staff and students put in every day. “