The issue of bullying has become a national conversation over the past few years. Many viral videos have shed light on the issue and it even hit our own backyard.
Recently, a Woodland mother pulled her three children from T.L. Whitehead Elementary School after they endured months of bullying. Trina Stabler said all three of her kids have come home with bruises and says she has done "everything that I can do" trying to find answers.
Stabler is not the only parent searching for answers. Many viewers wanted to know about the number of penalties and severity of penalties given to students who are bullying.
Well, here's what we found out:
A California Department of Education 2016-17 statewide report collected data on educational code sections (From July 1 to June 30) for grades K-12. The report was split into four categories: Total Count of Offenses Committed, Count of Offenses Resulting in an Expulsion, Count of Offenses Resulting in a Suspension, and Count of Offenses Resulting in a Disciplinary Diversion.
In the report, there were 33 different named offenses, and bullying made the top 10 in the total count of offenses committed with 13,339. Of those, 9,929 resulted in suspensions while just 161 ended up as expulsions.
Also, there were 3,249 cases resulting in a disciplinary diversion, which is described as an "outcome that is not a suspension or an expulsion."
Below is a breakdown of a few local school districts' total offenses committed during the 2016-17 school year (each school district is different in size):
Only the Twin Rivers School District expelled one person over bullying, according to the report.