Schools report 11% decrease in bullying INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana schools reported an 11% decrease in bullying incidents for the 2025-2026 school year compared to the prior school year. This is the second straight year that Indiana school corporations have reported a drop in bullying inc idents. Indiana schools are required by law to track bullying and, at the end of each school year, report those numbers to the Indiana Department of Education.   A new report shows Indiana schools reported 6,010 incidents during the 2025-2026 school year. 45% verbal bullying 30% physical 9% social/relational (damaging someone’s reputation) 8% electronic/written 8% combination of categories Sara Kumfer, public policy and advocacy director at the Marion County Commission on Youth, says it’s important for school districts to be transparent when it comes to bullying. “I think it’s important for parents to be aware of kind of what’s going on, especially if you’re a parent of a child who has dealt with bullying, to make sure that that instance has been recorded and that you know as a parent that the schools are taking accountability,” said Kumfer. Sara Kumfer, public policy and advocacy director at the Marion County Commission on Youth, during an interview with I-Team’s Kara Kenney. (Circle City Broadcasting Photo) For the 2025-26 school year, 1,053 of 2,001 schools reported zero bullying incidents, or about 53%. “I think it’s really important for the school-by-school district data to be posted, so that parents and students can go in, check out their schools, and kind of question whether or not you know these numbers seem to be accurate,” said Kumfer. Overall, the numbers are down 11% from last year. “A decrease in reported incidents doesn’t mean that there’s a decrease in actual bullying, and so that’s something that it’s important to be cognizant of,” said Kumfer.  “It’s a huge toll to your mental health… that’s something I really admire about young people these days, is they talk about the importance of mental health.” Prompted by an Indiana I-Team Investigation that found many Indiana schools reported zero incidents of bullying, in 2018, the Governor signed a new law that allows the Indiana Department of Education to audit schools if parents suspect they’re not being truthful about bullying. IDOE has conducted six audits since the law took effect. Indiana’s I-Team is working to learn more information about the outcome of those audits, including which schools were audited. “An audit specifically looks at any reported discrepancies in the data to ensure incidents are accurately reported by school districts,” said Emily Price, a spokesperson for IDOE in an email to Indiana’s I-Team. “Our review only corrects the documentation of those incidents and has no disciplinary impact on the schools or student(s) involved.” If you feel your school district is not being truthful about its bullying, you can fill out this discrepancy form.    The Indiana Department of Education says it has been working to increase compliance with the bullying reporting law and sent frequent reminders to superintendents, principals, school safety specialists and counselors. ...read more read less