Indiana public schools, releasing statewide bullying data for the first time this week, reported more than 9,000 bullying incidents for the 2013-2014 school year.

Of the 9,396 incidents reported, 44 percent were verbal incidents and 21 percent were physical, according to an IndyStar article. 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, told IndyStar it's too early to assess the state's bullying based on the initial data. But he said it provides a starting point to understand the extent of the problem.

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

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Article by Celine Provini, EducationWorld Editor