317-232-2222
dhsschoolsafety@dhs.in.gov
About Bullying
Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively affect learning. Bullying includes unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. The imbalance of power involves the use of physical strength or popularity to access embarrassing information to control or harm others. Bullying can occur anywhere (in school or outside of school) and at any time — both during and after school hours. Bullying can include physical bullying, verbal bullying, social/relational bullying and electronic/written communication.
Indiana recognizes the harm that bullying causes. Indiana's Student Safety Reporting Law (Indiana Code 20-34-6-1) requires school corporations to report student bullying and arrest data for each school to the Indiana Department of Education by July 1 each year. Along with the Department of Education, the Office of School Safety provides parents and school officials with resources and best practices to help prevent bullying.
What Is Bullying?
- Bullying Definitions
Bullying Definitions
Bullying is defined by Indiana Code 20-33-8-0.2 to mean overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures, including verbal or written communications or images transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression or any other behaviors that are committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate or harm the other targeted student and create for the targeted student an objectively hostile school environment that:
- places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to the targeted student's person or property;
- has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted student's physical or mental health;
- has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student's academic performance; or
- has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, and privileges provided by the school.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying, as defined by Indiana Code 20-19-3-11.5, refers to bullying that occurs through the use of data or computer software accessed through a computer, computer system, computer network or cell phone (or other wireless or cellular communications device).
- Categories of Bullying per Reporting Requirements
Categories of Bullying per Reporting Requirements
The following categories are used when reporting incidents of bullying to the Department of Education and may be helpful for schools to better understand these categories when identifying bullying behaviors.
- Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. It includes hitting, kicking, punching, spitting, tripping or pushing, taking or breaking someone’s things, and making mean or rude hand gestures.
- Verbal bullying involves saying mean things. It can include teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, taunting or threatening to cause harm.
- Social/relational bullying involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying involves telling other children not to be friends with someone, leaving someone out on purpose, spreading rumors about someone or embarrassing someone in public.
- Electronic/written communication bullying involves cyberbullying, collective or group note writing, and any bullying undertaken through the use of electronic devices (computer, cell phones).
- Evaluating Behavior That May Qualify as Bullying
Evaluating Behavior That May Qualify as Bullying
There are several considerations when determining if a student’s behavior meets the definition of bullying:
- History: The history between the individuals. Have there been past conflicts? Have these individuals had a dating relationship? (This may not be considered bullying.)
- Power differential: Is there an imbalance of power? (Power imbalance is not limited to physical strength.)
- Repetition: Has this or a similar incident happened before? Is the individual worried that it may happen again?
- Gang affiliation: Are any of the individuals involved with a gang? (This may result in interventions different from bullying.)
Bullying Prevention Policies and Resources
- Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
- Data
Data
Submissions for arrest, bullying and gang data go to the Department of Education and are included on the DOE-ES Report (discipline report) via the DOE Data Center and Reports page with the STN application center data transfer function. Questions related to the submission of this data can be directed to the STN site administrator of each school corporation.
Bullying Data
2023-2024
2022-2023
Arrest Data
Report Codes
- How the Community Can Help
- School Corporation Bullying Prevention Guidance
School Corporation Bullying Prevention Guidance
This section provides guidance to school corporations in the development of bullying prevention programs for the prevention of bullying behavior in schools, in accordance with P.L. 285-2013. Below provides the required content with corresponding statutory requirements. Each school corporation has local control over the content of the bullying prevention programming except that the plan must contain, at a minimum, the following components, as set forth in P.L. 285-2013:
- Development and implementation of a bullying prevention program using age appropriate, research based information (Indiana Code 5-2-10.1-12(d)(1))
- No later than October 15 of each year, each school in the corporation shall provide age appropriate, research based instruction as provided under Indiana Code 5-2-10.1-12(d)(1) focusing on bullying prevention for all students in grades 1 through 12. (Indiana Code 20-30-5-5.5)
- Instruction indicated above should be delivered by a school safety specialist, school counselor or any other person with training and expertise in the area of bullying prevention and intervention. (Indiana Code 20-30-5-5.5)
- Include a definition of bullying as defined in Indiana Code 20-33-8-0.2(a) and that will not be interpreted to impose any burden or sanction on, or include in the definition of the term, any of the actions outlined in Indiana Code 20-33-8-0.2(b)
Recommendations are provided below for the elementary, middle and high school levels. Each section provides a program outline specific to bullying prevention for the targeted level. An overview of developmental characteristics is included to assist with the development of age-appropriate instruction. The outline offers a three-tiered approach when responding to the requirements of P.L. 285-2013:
- (a) tier one minimally meets the requirements of the law,
- (b) tier two builds upon minimum requirements to offer additional program components that contribute to increased program effectiveness, and
- (c) a tier three approach contains all elements of tiers one and two.
Additionally, tier three provides strategies to help schools build a data-driven comprehensive bullying prevention and intervention program. This data-driven programming provides administrators with the information necessary for informed decision-making and continual program improvement that best meets the needs of their students. Resources to aid in your school’s program development are also offered. Please use these resources as you find appropriate.
Recommendations and Best Practices
The following are zipped folders. They will download automatically.
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Additional Resources
- School Employee Staff Training
School Employee Staff Training
One of the key components of P.L. 285-2013 is for school administrators to train all employees and volunteers who have ongoing contact with students regarding the school corporation's bully prevention and intervention policy. The legislation states:
- Sec. 34.2. A school corporation shall provide training to the school corporation's employees and volunteers who have direct, ongoing contact with students concerning the school's bullying prevention and reporting policy adopted under Indiana Code 20-33-8-13.5.
It is important for school employees and volunteers to understand accurate definitions of bullying and school procedures, timetables and expectations for the in-school reporting of observed bullying incidents. Increased employee and volunteer awareness will allow for compliance with the section of P.L. 285-2013 that call for school policy to include:
- Sec. 13.5(iv) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to school counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, or law enforcement, if it is determined that reporting the bullying incident to law enforcement is necessary
- Sec. 13.5(v) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an investigation of a bullying incident
Policies, Tools and Resources
Some of the following are zipped folders. They will download automatically.
- Addressing bullying as a school counselor (Moodle video)
- Anti-bullying school policy and resources
- Bullied student support
- Follow-up bullying packets and anti-bullying contracts
- Guidance from U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights
- Indiana School Counselor Association
- PACER National Bullying Prevention Center
- P.L. 285-2013 webinar
- Staff training resources
- StopBullying.gov
Additional Reading
For Educators
- Bullying Prevention and Intervention: Realistic Strategies for Schools (Swearer, Espelage, Napolitano)
- Behavioral Interventions in Schools: A Response-to-Intervention Guidebook (Hulac, Terrell, Vining, Bernstein)
- Blueprint for Violence Prevention – Book 9, Bullying Prevention Program (U.S. Department of Justice)
- Empowering Teen Peers to Prevent Bullying: The Bully Busters Program for High School (Horne, Nitza, Dobias, Jolliff, Raczynski, Voors)
- Bullying Prevention: Creating a Positive School Climate and Developing Social Competence (Orpinas, Horne)
- The Bullying Prevention Handbook: A Guide for Principals, Teachers and Counselors (Hoover, Oliver)
- Bully Proof: A Teachers Guide to Teasing and Bullying for Use with Fourth and Fifth Grade Students (Sjostrom, Stein)
- Understanding Girl Bullying and What to Do About It (Field, Kolbert, Crothers, Hughes)
- Cyber Savvy: Embracing Digital Safety and Civility (Willard)
- The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander (Coloroso)
For Students
Use the table below to search for books recommended by Indiana school counselors.
| Title | Author | Level |
|---|---|---|
121 Strategies for Bully Proofing Your School! | Erika Karres, Ed.D. | Middle |
A Midsummer Night’s Dork | Carol Gorman | |
Ant Bully | John Nickle | Preschool/Elementary |
Bailey the Bully | Lizi Boyd | |
Beany and the Meany | Susan Wojciechowski | |
Being Bullied | Petty/Firmin | Elementary |
BFF’s Best Friends Forever | Jennifer E. Calvert | Middle (girl bullying) |
Blue Cheese Breath and Stinky Feet | Catherine DePino | Elementary |
Bootsie Barker Bites | Barbara Bottner | Elementary |
Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain | Trevor Romain | Elementary |
Bully | Judith Caseley | |
Bully on the Bus | Carl Bosch | Elementary |
Bully Trouble | Joanna Cole | |
Chrysanthemum | Kevin Henkes | Elementary |
Cliques, Phonies, & Other Baloney | Trevor Romain | Elementary |
Dealing With Bullying | Marianee Johnston | Elementary |
Don’t Laugh At Me | Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin | Preschool/Elementary |
Feather Boy | Nicky Singer | Elementary/Middle |
Goggles | Ezra Jack Keats | |
Hands Are Not for Hitting | Martine Agassi | Preschool/Elementary |
Hey Little Ant | Phillip Hoose and Hannah Hoose | Elementary |
Hooway for Wodney Wat | Helen Lester | |
Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity and Putdowns | Sandra McLeod Humphrey | Elementary/Middle |
How To Handle A Bully | Susanna Palomares, Dianne Schilling | Elementary |
Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns about Bullies | Howard Binkow and Susan F. Cornelison | Elementary |
Incredible Me! | Kathi Appelt | Elementary |
Just Kidding | Trudy Ludwig | Elementary |
King of the Playground | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | Elementary |
Mean, Mean Maureen Green | Judy Cox | |
Mr. Lincoln’s Way | Patricia Polacco | Elementary |
Mr. Peabody’s Apples | Madonna | Elementary |
My Secret Bully | Trudy Ludwig | Elementary |
Myrtle | Tracey Pearson | |
Nobody Knew What to Do: A Story About Bullying | Becky Ray McCain | Preschool/Elementary |
Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade | Barthe DeClements | Elementary/Middle |
Odd Girl Speaks Out | Rachel Simmons | Middle/High |
Pinky, Rex, and the Bully | James Howe | Elementary |
Queen of the Toilet Bowl | Frieda Wishinksky | Middle |
Rat and Tiger | Keiko Kasza | |
Responding to Cyber Bullying: An Action Tool for School Leaders | Jill Joline Myers, Donna McCaw, and Leaunda Hemphill | All levels |
Say Something | Peggy Moss | Elementary |
Secret of the Peaceful Warrior: A Story About Courage & Love | Dan Millman | Elementary/Middle |
Shrinking Violet | Cari Best | |
Simon’s Hook: A Story About Teases and Put-Downs | Karen Gedig Burnett | Elementary |
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon | Patty Lovell | Preschool/Elementary |
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes | Chris Crutcher | Young Adult (may not be appropriate for young readers) |
Sticks and Stones | Beth Goobie | Middle/High |
Stop Picking on Me | Pat Thomas | Preschool/Elementary |
Tangerine | Edward Bloor | Young Adult (Role of adults, families and schools in bullying situations – may not be appropriate for young readers) |
Thank You, Mr. Falker | Patricia Polacco | Elementary |
The Balancing Girl | Berniece Rabe | |
The Bully Blockers Club | Teresa Bateman | Elementary |
The English Roses | Madonna | Elementary |
The Girls | Amy Goldman Koss | Elementary/Middle |
The Hating Book | Charlotte Zolotow | |
The Hundred Dresses | Eleanor Estes | Elementary/Middle |
The Juice Box Bully | Sornson/Dismondy | Elementary |
The Recess Queen | Alexis O’Neill | Elementary |
The Revealers | Doug Wilhelm | Elementary/Middle |
The Secret Language of Girls | Frances O’Roark Dowell | Elementary/Middle |
The Wimp | Kathy Caple | |
Trouble in the Barkers’ Class | Tomie dePaola | |
Trouble Talk | Trudy Ludwig | Elementary |
Weslandia | Paul Fleischman | |
Words Are Not For Hurting | Elizabeth Verdick | Preschool/Elementary |