While violence prevention education has increased in U.S. schools, only 1 in 10 schools today require violence prevention discussions in class, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2024 National Conference & Exhibition at the Orange County Convention Center.

Chloe Gao, MD/PhD Candidate and lead research author on “Implementation of Educational Programming and Policies to Prevent Bullying, Sexual Harassment, and Violence in US Schools, 2008-2020,” studied data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from principals and health education teachers regarding efforts their schools made to prevent bullying, sexual harassment and violence.

“Bullying, sexual harassment, and violence can create hostile school environments that negatively impact students’ academic performance, health, and developmental outcomes,” Gao said. “Some students drop out of school in order to avoid these situations, a choice that impacts them for the rest of their lives.”

Two in 3 schools in the U.S. reported at least one violent incident from 2021-2022.

A total of 2,718 schools were included in the data where Gao found 2 out of 5 schools didn’t provide families with information on bullying and sexual harassment. Data further showed that the availability of anti-bullying and sexual harassment educational materials remained low, ranging from 56.2% in 2008 to 61.4% in 2020.

With children spending most of their time in school, the setting provides a unique chance for anti-bullying and harassment education. Despite this, Gao said gaps linger as program quality and availability varies from state to state.

Teen girls were particularly impacted with data showing the percentage of teen girls reporting sexual violence increased from 15% in 2017 to 18% in 2021.

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Gao said the need is urgent for improved anti-bullying and sexual harassment measures, stating schools should be looking into how to best improve policies already in place and implementing them across the board. 

“School is supposed to be a safe place for all. A place children can learn, grow, and play no matter what circumstance they come from,” Gao said. “We need to make sure that we are engaging schools in the fight against youth bullying, sexual harassment, and violence.”

Bullying, sexual harassment, and violence can create hostile school environments that negatively impact students’ learning, mental health, and well-being. However, little is known about the extent to which policies and curricula related to the prevention of bullying, sexual harassment, and violence have been implemented across middle and high schools in the US, and how this has changed over time. The overall purpose of the study was to examine trends in policies and curricula related to the prevention of bullying, sexual harassment, and violence across middle and high schools in the US from 2008 to 2020.

Data were collected from seven cycles (2008-2020) of the School Health Profiles (SHP), a national surveillance system operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey involves two self-administered questionnaires for the principal and lead health education teacher at randomly sampled schools that serve students from grades 6-12 across the US, covering 44-50 states during the study period. Initially, descriptive statistics were compiled, including percentages (%) and counts (n) of schools that had implemented various efforts to prevent bullying, sexual harassment, and violence. Data from states with a participation rate of 70% or higher for each survey year were adjusted through weighting to accurately reflect the characteristics of schools within those states. In instances where states conducted sampling, adjustments were made to the data through weighting to compensate for the probabilities of school selection and instances of non-response. Weighted prevalence estimates were then calculated for schools with programs, policies, and curricula related to preventing bullying, sexual harassment, and violence.

A total of 2718 schools were included in the analytic sample. The inclusion of unintentional injury and violence prevention (safety) measures into assessment tools related to schools’ policies, activities, and programs remained low and unchanged (ranging from 36.6% in 2010 to 40.1% in 2020). Education materials to increase knowledge about preventing student bullying and sexual harassment, including electronic aggression, also remained relatively low (ranging from 62.7% in 2014 to 65.0% in 2020). Furthermore, the extent to which teachers received professional development related to violence prevention remained stable between 56.2% in 2008 to 61.4% in 2020.

Programs, policies, and curricula related to bullying, sexual harassment, and violence in schools remained low and stagnant between 2008 to 2020. Given the rise in school-based violence in recent years, there is an urgent need to scale up preventive interventions, while improving current monitoring practices related to program implementation and quality.