Madison School Bullying Reports Jumped 30%. Research Shows What Actually Prevents It.

Wisconsin's school safety tip line received 6,946 tips during the 2024-2025 school year. That's a 30% increase from the year before. The number one reported issue, by a wide margin: bullying.

That number deserves a second read. Not because the increase is surprising (anyone paying attention in Madison could have guessed), but because of what it means. Nearly 7,000 times this year, a kid or parent or teacher picked up a phone or opened a website and said: something is wrong at school.

Trisha Kilpin, head of the Wisconsin Office of School Safety, called it a good thing. "We're starting to prevent problems from growing very early," she told WUWM. "We'd rather rectify things at an early point rather than let them grow." She's right that more reporting is better than silence. But the volume still says something about what Madison kids are dealing with every day.

If you're a parent in Madison, you're caught between two realities. The reporting is increasing, which means kids are speaking up. That's progress. But the bullying itself hasn't stopped. Your child still has to walk into school tomorrow. And for many kids, the social skills gap left by the pandemic has made peer conflict even harder to manage.

So what is the school district actually doing about it? And is it enough?

MMSD's bet: restorative discipline instead of suspensions

In 2014, the Madison Metropolitan School District replaced its zero-tolerance code of conduct with the Behavior Education Plan (BEP). The old system was, by the district's own admission, "highly exclusionary with significant dependence on suspension and expulsion and totally void of articulated proactive strategies."

The numbers backed that up. In the 2011-2012 school year, MMSD issued approximately 4,300 out-of-school suspensions. Nearly 3,000 of those went to African-American students, in a district where Black students make up 18% of enrollment. A first fight could result in anywhere from zero to five days of suspension depending on the school. Two more fights triggered an automatic expulsion recommendation.

The BEP changed the philosophy. Instead of "what rule was broken and what punishment fits," the approach asks: what happened, who was affected, and how do we repair the harm?

The district built the plan around four foundations: Culturally Responsive Teaching, Restorative Justice, Social Emotional Learning, and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). In October 2021, MMSD went further. They stopped suspending elementary students entirely.

What restorative discipline actually looks like in practice

Most parents hear "restorative justice" and don't know what that means for their child on a Tuesday afternoon. Here's what it looks like at two different levels.

Scenario: a 4th grader pushes and name-calls a classmate at recess

Under the old system, this was straightforward. The student gets sent to the principal's office. The parent gets a phone call. Depending on the severity, one to three days of suspension. The student misses class, falls behind academically, and comes back to the same social dynamics that caused the problem.

Under MMSD's Behavior Education Plan, here's what happens instead:

The behavior is classified as a Level 1 or Level 2 incident (classroom-managed or support staff-managed). Because this is an elementary student, out-of-school suspension is off the table entirely under the 2021 moratorium. Instead, a support staff member facilitates a conversation between the two students. They use what the district calls a "restorative circle" process.

The student who pushed is asked: What happened? What were you thinking at the time? Who was affected by what you did? The student who was pushed is asked: What did you think when it happened? How has this affected you? What do you need to feel safe?

Together, the students and the facilitator develop an agreement. Maybe the student who pushed writes a letter, commits to a specific behavior change, or joins additional social-emotional learning sessions. Teachers also use "Zones of Regulation" to help both kids identify and manage their emotional states: green (regulated, ready to learn), yellow (stress building), red (anger, loss of control), blue (tired, sad). The goal is teaching the student who pushed to recognize when they're shifting from green to yellow and giving them a tool to use before they reach red.

There's no suspension. There's no missed class time. The idea is that the student learns something instead of just being removed.

Scenario: a middle schooler is cyberbullied by a group of peers

This is more complex. Cyberbullying often involves multiple students, evidence on devices, and behavior that happens outside school hours.

Under the BEP, this typically falls at Level 3 or Level 4. For middle schoolers, Level 3 can mean one to three days of out-of-school suspension (the moratorium only applies to elementary students). But the plan requires an intervention before progressing to the next response level for repeat behavior. In practice, the school's Student Services Team gets involved. That's a group of teachers, support staff, and administrators who meet regularly to review individual situations.

The school contacts parents of all students involved. Staff facilitate separate conversations first, then a mediated circle if appropriate. The victim is asked what they need to feel safe returning to school. The students who cyberbullied are guided through understanding the impact of their behavior. Not just "that was wrong." The facilitator helps them confront how it felt for the person on the other end.

After any out-of-school suspension, a Readmit Conference is required. Parents and students attend. The purpose, according to the district, is to "reconnect with the school community in a positive way." The school develops a written plan for re-entry.

The BEP also has an Anti-Bullying Reporting Form and a "What to Expect After Bullying Is Reported" resource to set expectations for families. The plan distinguishes between bullying (involving an imbalance of power and repeated behavior) and conflict (a disagreement between peers of relatively equal standing), and teaches students the difference.

Where this approach is working -- and where it's falling short

There's genuine progress to acknowledge. In the first year after the BEP launched, out-of-school suspensions dropped more than 40%. Students collectively gained back 1,900 instructional days that would have been lost to suspension. That's equivalent to more than 10 full school years of learning. Grades K-1 recorded zero suspensions. Grades 2-3 had only 15 total.

Schools that went deep with restorative practices (regular circles, trained staff, strong PBIS systems) showed improved climate indicators for both students and staff.

But here's the honest picture. An internal evaluation found the BEP "has not experienced the progress the district hoped to achieve, and many outcomes are not meeting expectations."

Less than half of MMSD teachers said the plan aligns with their beliefs and values. At the high school level, only 41% agreed. Leia Esser, an MMSD director, acknowledged the district "underestimated what it takes to shift adult beliefs and values."

The suspension numbers rebounded after that initial drop. Middle and high school suspensions returned to pre-BEP levels within a few years. The district spent $10.4 million implementing the plan over three years, and racial disparities actually widened. African-American students became 10.3 times more likely than white students to receive out-of-school suspensions, up from 8 times before the BEP. That's more than double the national average of 3-4 times.

Child development expert David Osher, reviewing the plan, said the district was "not paying enough time to help people get good at what they do." He recommended honoring teachers' concerns while investing more in professional development.

I'm not sharing this to trash the district's approach. Restorative practices, when implemented well, work. The research is clear on that. But implementation has been uneven. Some schools have trained, supported staff running effective circles. Others don't. And if your kid is at one of the "others," the policy on paper doesn't help much.

What the research says actually prevents bullying

This is where it gets interesting. A 2025 study published in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being interviewed 35 young people about their experiences with bullying. What caused it, what protected them, and what actually worked to prevent it.

Three findings stand out:

First, the protective factors that mattered most weren't rules or punishments. They were relationships. Family support. Friendships outside the bullying context. Teachers who paid attention and intervened. One participant put it bluntly: "I'm really close to them...I could always rely on them." Kids who had strong relationships at home and at least one safe social environment outside school weathered bullying with less long-term damage.

Second, physical activity and structured hobbies created what the researchers called "safe meeting spaces." Environments where bullying didn't happen and where kids could build identity and confidence apart from school social hierarchies. One participant said: "I played a lot of soccer, so there you never had to worry that there would be bullying, there you were able to focus on the soccer." The activity itself mattered less than the structure. A place where social rules were different, where competence was visible, and where adults were present and engaged.

Third, empathy-based programs outperformed punishment-based ones. Finland's KiVa anti-bullying program, which combines empathy training, peer support, and awareness of group dynamics, has been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial of 234 schools. Results: a 14-15% reduction in both self-reported bullying and victimization. The odds of being a victim were 1.5 times higher in control schools than in KiVa schools. And 98% of identified victims who went through the KiVa process reported their situation improved.

The common thread: bullying prevention that works addresses the whole child. Confidence, empathy, sense of belonging. Not just behavior in isolation.

Why BJJ addresses both sides of the equation

This is where I want to connect the research to something practical. Because the data points in two directions at once: kids need more empathy, and kids need more confidence. Those sound like they might conflict. They don't.

A 2020 longitudinal study in the European Journal of Sport Science tracked 113 youth over five months and found that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners showed a decline in aggression alongside increases in self-control and pro-social behavior. Not one or the other. Both. (The study also tracked MMA practitioners, who showed increased aggression -- the training method matters.)

Think about what happens in a BJJ class for kids. Your child is paired with a partner. They have to read that partner's body language. If they apply a technique too hard, their partner taps, and they let go. Immediately. No exceptions. If their partner applies something too hard, your child learns to communicate: tap, reset, continue. Every roll is a negotiation between two people about force, boundaries, and respect.

That's empathy training. Not the kind where a teacher reads from a worksheet. The kind where your child feels it in their body.

At the same time, your child is building real physical competence. They learn how to control a situation without panicking. A 2024 study of 420 BJJ athletes found that training experience correlated with higher self-control, resilience, grit, and self-efficacy. The study was on adults, but the discussion references earlier research showing BJJ improved "emotional symptoms and hyperactivity/inattention" in children over just 12 weeks. (We wrote about that ADHD research separately.)

Here's what I see at our academy. A kid who's been training for six months carries themselves differently. Not with aggression. With calm. They've been squeezed, pinned, and submitted hundreds of times in training, and they've survived every one. When a bully gets in their face at school, they don't panic. They know what confrontation feels like. They know they can handle it. That confidence, more than any technique, is what changes the dynamic.

The bullying research backs this up. The 2025 study found that "athletic ability" and "personal bravery" were among the protective factors that mattered most to young people who had been bullied. Not because they fought back (few did), but because knowing they could handle themselves physically gave them the confidence to stand their ground socially. To make eye contact. To say "stop" and mean it.

What you can do this week

The school district is trying. Restorative practices are the right direction. But implementation is inconsistent, and your child is in school right now. Not in some future version of MMSD where every teacher is fully trained in restorative circles.

So here's what you can control:

Talk to your kid tonight. Not "how was school?" (which always gets "fine"). Try: "Did anything happen today that made you uncomfortable?" or "Was anyone left out at recess?" The 2025 study found that kids who had open, trusting relationships with parents were significantly more protected against lasting harm from bullying. But most kids don't volunteer this information. You have to ask specific questions.

Build a safe space outside school. The research is consistent: kids who have at least one structured environment where they feel competent and connected do better. Where the social rules are different from school. A martial arts class. A robotics team. A music program. Something where your child builds identity and friendships independent of school hierarchies. If your kid has been drifting out of organized activities, this matters more than you might think.

Know what your school is actually doing. MMSD's Behavior Education Plan is public. Read it. Ask your child's teacher: "What does restorative practice look like in your classroom?" Some teachers are doing this well. Some barely have the training to do it at all. Your awareness changes the conversation.

Address both sides. Your child needs empathy (the ability to understand how others feel) and confidence (the belief that they can handle difficult situations). Programs that build both through structured physical engagement with peers, where respect and self-control are practiced rather than just discussed, produce the best outcomes.

If you're looking for that kind of program in Madison, I'd like to talk with you about what we do. Our kids BJJ program and kids self-defense classes are built around exactly this: physical confidence paired with partner-based training that requires empathy, communication, and self-control. It's structured, it's supervised, and it's a community where your kid belongs.

You can also check out our intro program below. Two weeks, full access, and a free uniform so your child can try it without a long-term commitment.

Your kid doesn't need to wait for the school system to get it right. You can start building their confidence and empathy this week.

-Coach Alex, Journey Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy