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RALEIGH—North Carolina has the fourth highest suspension rate in the country according to the latest research.

Statistics show that one in 10 North Carolina students experienced a suspension during the last academic year. On Friday, nearly 150 educators, experts and policymakers attended a statewide summit in Raleigh to address the issue. They're working closely with the juvenile justice system to keep teenagers in school and out of the courts.

The statistics are a sobering reality for Linda Hayes, secretary of Department of Juvenile Justice.

“For people who think we deal with horrible kids. 8 out of 10 complaints were not coming from serious felony activities,” said Hayes.

The statistics show that most suspensions occur during the eighth and ninth grades.