This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The number of fistfights breaking out in Utah's high school hallways seems to be declining.
Students reported fewer physical altercations in 2013 than they did in 2003, according to a national report on public school safety released Thursday.
The percentage of Utah teens who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon, or who carried a weapon on school property, also fell over the decade.
But bullying — both online and on campus — has gone up since 2009, despite new laws and state programs aimed at prevention.
And while Utah teenagers are far less likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol than their peers across the country, the percentage of students using marijuana on school property is relatively high.
The annual survey, released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, found both good and bad news for Utah educators.
"We're trying to get on top of this," said Verne Larsen, a safe and healthy schools coordinator for the Utah Office of Education. "The earlier we can recognize things and help kids with life skills, the more we're able to eliminate things later on."
The report details victimization, bullying and school conditions based on data from several federal surveys.
Nationally, more students were victimized at school than away from school in 2013, according to the report. And 3 percent of students from 12 to 18 years old said they were afraid of being attacked on campus or on the way to and from school.
In Utah, 6.9 percent of high school students reported being in a fight in 2013, down from 11.9 percent in 2003.
And 4 percent of high school students reported that they'd tried marijuana on school property — a higher rate than in 12 other states, though the reported overall marijuana use by Utah students was the lowest in the nation, at 7.6 percent.
Larsen said the state has found a recent increase in school marijuana use, which he attributed to the national conversation about decriminalization. Students are aware of the debate, he said, which undercuts prevention efforts.
"When kids hear about it, the perception of the harmful effect of that goes down," he said. "Then the use rate starts going up."
More than one in five students, or 21.8 percent, reported being bullied at school in 2013, up from 18.8 percent in 2009.
And between 2011 and 2013, the percentage of students who reported experiencing electronic bullying inched up from 16.8 percent to 16.9 percent.
Clay Pearce, Granite School District's associate director of prevention and student placement, said bullying has become a hot-button topic, which has helped push new and expanded prevention programs.
Recent changes to state law require school administrators to notify parents of bullying and obtain a signed notification form.
And school districts regularly hold bullying and school safety seminars throughout the year.
"It's been pretty much at the forefront, which is a good thing," Pearce said. "People are more aware of what bullying is."
But technology creates a constantly evolving landscape for bullying, he said, which requires school administrators to adapt.
"I think the challenges are harder now," Pearce added, "but we're doing a better job of addressing it."
School safety training focuses on teaching students to care about themselves, their peers and their community, Larsen said. A safe environment is critical for academics, he added, and efforts to prevent bullying and violence play a significant role in learning.
"If I'm a kid and I'm being picked on and bullied," he said, "I'm not going to learn much during the day."