When it comes to bullying, students in rural schools experience higher rates of harassment than students in suburban and urban schools, according to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Education that examined crime and safety on campus.
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2015 found that, in 2014, students residing in rural areas had higher rates of total victimization at school, with 53 victimizations per 1,000 students.
This is almost double the rates for students residing in suburban areas, which was 28 incidents per 1,000 students. At the same time, the rate for students attending school in urban areas was 32 victimizations per 1,000 students.
The report revealed that 8 percent of all bullying cases occur aboard student transportation. While not directly indicated as a factor, students in rural areas often spend longer amounts of time riding on the school bus to and from school.
As dire as all this seems, it bears mentioning the report discovered that the overall victimization rate has drastically reduced over the years.
“Between 1992 and 2014, the total victimization rate at school declined 82 percent, from 181 victimizations per 1,000 students in 1992 to 33 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2014. The total victimization rate away from school declined 86 percent, from 173 victimizations per 1,000 students in 1992 to 24 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2014,” the report stated.
Compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, the report stipulated that ‘at school’ includes “the school building, on school property, on a school bus and, from 2001 onward, going to and from school.”
