NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT) -- A new study suggests Tennessee has some of the weakest anti-bullying laws in the nation, but the same study also notes the state has some of the lowest rates of bullying incidents.
With the country’s children starting a new school year, WMOT reporting partner Wallethub.com decided to determine which states have the worst bullying problem. They compared the states using 17 metrics, including bullying incident rates, truancy costs, and the percentage of students bullied online.
Wallethub analyst Jill Gonzalez says Tennessee ranked 12th overall.
“It (Tennessee) was fourth best with regard to bullying prevalence, not a lot happening there, but it was one of the worst when it comes to anti-bullying laws. So it would seem that, regardless of not having those types of laws bullying is not really that big of a problem there.”
Gonzalez notes that the impact bullying has on an individual doesn’t end with high school graduation.
“According to the Association for Psychological Science, it is those that bully, or are the victims of bullying, that are likely to experience poverty, academic failure, (and) job termination later on in life in their adulthood, so it certainly not something that just stops at elementary or high school.”
Wallethub quotes figures from the National Association of Secondary School Principals to report that the average school can incur more than $2.3 million in lost funding and expenses annually as a result of bullying.
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