State: Violence, bullying incidents down in public schools

New Jersey education officials say overall incidents of violence in public schools are down, as are incidents of bullying. The details are included in the Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse report

News 12 Staff

Oct 14, 2015, 3:14 AM

Updated 3,257 days ago

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New Jersey education officials say overall incidents of violence in public schools are down, as are incidents of bullying.
The details are included in the Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse report released Tuesday. It notes the declines reported for the 2014-2015 school year come as anti-bullying programs and training programs have increased.
The annual report shares self-reported incidents from districts that include violence, vandalism, weapons offenses, substance offenses, and harassment, intimidation and bullying.
Schools reported 18,332 violent incidents overall, a 4 percent decrease from the 2013-14 school year. About one-third of all incidents were categorized as harassment, intimidation, or bullying, which is down 5 percent.
The report shows the number of bullying incidents peak at the middle school level, as seen in previous years.