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Documents show Iowa has limited data on school bullying

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September 13th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ā€” Iowa has been collecting data on school bullying for several years, but there are no complete numbers available and the agency tracking the information says it has limited staffing and funding to handle some of the work.

The Iowa Department of Education says it may seek legislative action to remedy the issue, after a review by The Associated Press shows years of bullying data is limited and more recently, missing for dozens of school districts.

Department spokeswoman Staci Hupp says the agency revamped its data collection system recently to gather better information, but the process has also resulted in inconsistent data. Gov. Terry Branstad has made anti-bullying efforts a legislative priority. When asked about the incomplete data, a spokesman said the governor is considering options, but he didn’t elaborate.