North Dakota public schools have the lowest number of bullying incidents in the US, data finds

FARGO — Recent data included in a national survey showed that North Dakota public schools have the least amount of bullying incidents in the nation, a ranking that is closely contested by Delaware.

The survey was published by

Innerbody, an analytical team of researchers, scientists and medical professionals

that began publishing findings about health issues in 1997. The survey looked at the prevalence and impacts of bullying across the United States and what intervention strategies are used to reduce the risk of being bullied in schools.

While North Dakota took the top spot, Delaware wasn’t far behind, according to Innerbody’s data.

“North Dakota technically won overall due to having some of the lowest rates of bullying-related truancy and suicide attempts, along with a fairly low incidence of cyberbullying,” the survey findings reported. “However, Delaware was the state with the lowest levels of bullying across the board but had higher rates of bullying-related truancy and suicide attempts than North Dakota.”

The survey results reflect positively on the state’s school districts, especially in Fargo, where reports over six years ago

showed an increase in student assaults on teachers

.

Despite the report, a local district leader and union leader said more work is needed to be done to end bullying altogether.

AnnMarie Campbell, spokeswoman for Fargo Public Schools, said while it’s “heartening” to hear the news, “we do not feel it would be appropriate to comment nor do we feel comfortable commenting on why,” she said.

“Simply, we wouldn’t have an answer,” Campbell said, adding that there is still work to be done.

The Fargo School District has a comprehensive anti-bullying policy and investigates all reports of bullying thoroughly, but does not track the numbers of bullying incidents, she said.

In Fargo, the school district also uses restorative practices focused on addressing harm and repairing relationships, as well as ensuring self-responsibility in response to negative behaviors,

according to the district’s published philosophy.

Grant Kraft, president of the Fargo Education Association, echoed Campbell’s sentiment saying there is still work to be done to end bullying.

“It’s an odd topic to take a victory lap on; if there is one incident of bullying, it’s too many. If there is one staff member injured on the job, it’s too many,” Kraft said.

He addressed

issues from 2019 when Fargo teachers pleaded

with the district for help in workplace safety,

citing rising incidents in which educators were injured

because of behavioral incidents involving students.

Now, the district has a safety committee composed of administrators, teachers and paraeducators. The group meets once a month for two hours to discuss ongoing strategies that include bullying issues.

The Innerbody survey is an opportunity for the safety committee, the district, and others to “look at what we’ve done, but remind ourselves of the work that is left to do,” Kraft said. “I don’t think we can look at this and become complacent; rather, let’s continue doing what is working and then add on layers to ensure all students and staff are protected.”

The state Legislature does not give the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction the authority to collect incidents of bullying or the type of anti-bullying strategies and programs, said Dale Wetzel, NDDPI spokesperson.

Bullying is an optional reporting area and any data reported involving bullying incidents is used primarily at the district level, he said.

According to a

34-page North Dakota High School survey from 2021

, the percentage of students being bullied either physically, sexually or digitally has primarily decreased during the past decade.

The percentage of students bullied on school property was 15.8% in 2021, a decrease of roughly 9% from 2017.

The percentage of students who were electronically bullied through texting, Instagram, Facebook and other social media outlets also dropped from 17.4% in 2011 to 13.6% in 2021.

But the percentage of students across the state who experience sexual violence, including kissing, touching, or being forced into sexual intercourse they did not want, saw a slight increase to 9.4% in 2021, up 0.2 percentage points from 2019, and 0.7 percentage points from 2017.

Kristen Baesler, superintendent of NDDPI, said the Superintendent’s Student Cabinet advises her on education issues and has been instrumental in strengthening the state’s anti-bullying laws, especially related to social and digital media.

“We know that bullying is an issue in our schools,” she said. “Our legislature has required all of our school districts to recognize this, and to have policies to deter bullying in schools, whether it occurs on or off campus. We want all of our students to feel safe and comfortable in our schools, and we can always improve our strategies for addressing the bullying issue.”

Generally, the Innerbody survey found that bullying in schools is less in northern states, and asked the question if northern states have better proactive education programs.

While there is no federal legislation regarding bullying in the United States, the U.S. Department of Education does provide a framework, but individual states set their own anti-bullying laws, policies and regulations.

“This means there can be quite a bit of variation between states regarding the consequences of bullying behavior,” the survey reported.

Louisiana, Alaska and Mississippi were the top three worst states overall for bullying issues, highlighting several areas of concern that include physical fights, bullying online and attempted suicides, according to the survey.

California had the worst rate of on-campus bullying behind Alaska, which could be due to the state’s high student-to-counselor ratio, the survey stated.

A look at Google search analytics also revealed that states with the lowest bullying rates had the least amount of online interest.

“For example, states like South Dakota, Montana, Hawaii, Delaware, and North Dakota all ranked in the bottom 10 for both bullying and searching the internet for bullying solutions, which could be due to these states having effective bullying prevention strategies in place, negating the need for residents to seek out information online,” the survey reported.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Louisiana, California, North Carolina and Arkansas all ranked in the top 10 for both bullying and Google searches for bullying solutions, according to the survey.

Other takeaways from the survey are:

• Alaska has the highest percentage of students being bullied on campus and attempting suicide from being bullied.
• More bullying is reported in the southern states than in any other region of the U.S.
• 62% of survey respondents said they “always” or “often” see hurtful comments on social media.
• Around 29% of those bullied experience it in high school, but 20% of college students are also victims of bullying.
• A majority of people (90%) believe that anti-bullying policies are at least somewhat effective.

Lastly, not all those who are bullied are children, the survey reported. About 30% of those who are bullied are between 18 and 25 years old. The majority (40.6%) of those bullied are between 13 and 17 years old. Children between 1 and 12 years old comprise about 24.5% of those who are bullied, and older adults comprise the smallest portion at 4.5%.