9,396 bullying incidents reported at Indiana schools last year

More than 9,000 bullying incidents were reported by Indiana's public schools for the 2013-2014 school year, according to statewide data released for the first time this week.

Of the 9,396 incidents reported, 44 percent were verbal incidents and 21 percent were physical. Other types of incidents, making up a smaller percentage, included written or electronic threats and social shunning at the lunch table or elsewhere.

David Woodward, Indiana Safe Schools coordinator, said it's too early to assess bullying in Indiana based on the initial data. But he said it provides a starting point to understand the extent of the problem.

A 2013 law supported by parents of bullying victims required the state's traditional public schools to begin collecting data on bullying incidents. Woodward said it would take a few more years until trends can be spotted and addressed through policy changes or new student-focused education efforts.

"I think now it is most helpful at the local school district to see what trends are going on and how they can deal with it," Woodward said.

Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis, author of the legislation, called the report a big step forward for Indiana's anti-bullying initiatives.

"The whole point is to look at the education atmosphere of our children," he said. "This is why we have the data, to give schools tools to address it."

But Porter questioned why more than 240 schools, of the more than 1,000 individual schools in the data, reported no incidents.

When the legislation was debated, Porter said, there was concern some schools might not report to avoid "looking bad," he said. That makes it difficult for meaningful comparisons among the schools.

The school with the most incidents was Emma Donnan Middle School in Indianapolis, where 128 acts of bullying were reported among its 322 students. The school is under state intervention and is operated by Charter Schools USA.

Sherry Hage, CSUSA's chief academic officer, said school's strict behavior code and staff policy to report all discipline issues is why so many incidents were noted.

"The culture at Emma Donna has changed dramatically," Hage said, about when the company took over the school in 2012. "Students (now) work through and learn to mediate conflict peer-to-peer with adult facilitation ... Do I believe that we have a serious bullying issue? No I do not. I believe that our students feel comfortable going to an adult to mediate conflict."

Fifteen schools reported more than 50 bullying incidents, including Warren Township's Stonybrook Intermediate Academy with 92 and Warren Central High School with 89.

Tony Burchett, Warren's chief of school services, said he doesn't view those numbers in a negative light. Programs addressing bullying at the district, he said, create an atmosphere where students are not hesitant to call out bullies and report other negative behavior.

"I believe in our schools we are open and responsive to bullying instead of couching these issues," Burchett said. "Really and truthfully, it is a matter of us paying attention and listening to our student and our parents and following the expectations set forth by the state of Indiana and the law."

The intent of the law was to better define bullying so schools can identify it and react to it. Teachers now receive training on how to spot signs of bullying and report such incidents to school administrators. Administrators are then required to report the incidents to parents and submit an annual report to the state.

Indiana law defines bullying as overt and unwanted repeated acts, including verbal or written communications by phone of computer, that create a hostile school environment for targeted students that place them in reasonable fear of harm or affects their mental health or school performance.

The bullying data, posted on the Department of Education website, does have some flaws, Woodward said.

Some school districts provided a total number of incidents, instead of the required individual tally for each school. Also, some schools reported several incidents by category, but then inexplicably reported a total of zero.

Woodward said the Department of Education decided to report the information as is. Schools are still learning the reporting requirements and he expects it will be improved next year.

Tammy Moon, president of local nonprofit Bully Prevention Alliance, said she was pleased the data was released but would like the DOE to do more to make sure all schools are honestly reporting bullying incidents going on in the classrooms, hallways and buses.

"If the state wants to see better changes, and better reporting, then the state better make certain that the entity that is responsible for getting that information and training to our school districts is absolutely carried out and signed off on as having been carried out," she said.

Call Star reporter Eric Weddle at (317) 444-6222. Follow him on Twitter: @ericweddle.