(Courtesy: The YouthTruth Student Survey)

A national survey shows that 1 in 4 students experienced bullying, and those who identify as something other than male or female are bullied at slightly higher rates.

The YouthTruth Student Survey, released Tuesday by the San Francisco-based education nonprofit, found that more than 48,000 students — or 25 percent — surveyed in 34 states said they were victims of bullying.

This is the second bullying report by YouthTruth, which this time looked at students’ self-reported gender identity to see how it factored into incidents of bullying.

That is particularly timely because of the recent series of legislation involving bathrooms, the proliferation of gender-neutral bathrooms in schools, and the increased awareness of trans-inclusive issues at schools. Also, October is National Bullying Awareness Prevention Month.

• See the full report here: YouthTruth Student Survey
• Details of last year’s report from The 74.
• Bullying resources and handouts.
• Check out an interactive map of LA Unified schools to find out how safe students and teachers feel at each school.
• How to use the map to find your school’s safety rating.
• Where students say bullying is a problem — elementary schools top the list in LA Unified.

Having a specific focus on gender orientation can help better target where anti-bullying efforts should be focused, said YouthTruth Executive Director Jen Wilka.

“Bullying is an issue that can often be difficult for students to talk about, which heightens the importance of anonymous, candid student feedback,” Wilka said in an email. “These findings illustrate that bullying is prevalent in the lives of many students, and that some students may be experiencing bullying differently than their peers.”

The 1-in-4 statistic is similar to last year’s results, which surveyed 80,000 students. Here are highlights of this year’s survey of 180,000 students in grades five through 12:

•    22 of the male students and 30 percent of female students reported being bullied.
•    44 percent of the students identifying in another way reported being victims of bullying.
•    73 percent reported being verbally harassed.
•    Most bullying happened in person.
•    61 percent of girls and 62 percent of those who identified as other than male or female reported social harassment, compared to 45 percent of boys.
•    Nearly half of the students cite their appearance as the reason they are bullied.
•    17 percent report being bullied because of race or skin color, while 15 percent said it was because of their perceived sexual orientation.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to ending online and offline bullying noted the importance of the survey findings. Joseph Clementi co-founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation, named after his son who was cyberbullied to the point of suicide.

“These latest YouthTruth findings on bullying are crucial to understanding bullying as a public health epidemic that touches children of every school at every grade level. It has been shown that bullying can lead to a host of negative behaviors, from poor grades to drug abuse and depression,” Clementi said.

YouthTruth partners with groups across the country to use student, family, and school staff feedback on the themes in education by using technology and data. The survey is being used as a learning tool for teachers, principals, and students with sample discussion questions at the end.

“All students have the right to feel safe at school,” Wilka noted. “We hope that this data helps to spark conversations and inform anti-bullying efforts.”

A campaign that was coordinated by the LAUSD Human Relations Commission.

LA Unified has a Human Relations Commission, but it may be one of the district’s best-kept secrets.

Their meetings aren’t listed on any of the school district’s calendars; more than 40 percent of the meetings last year didn’t have a quorum; and the department overseeing it once had 31 employees but is now down to two.

“When you hear the anti-immigration rhetoric going on during this presidential campaign, and hear the legitimate fears that children and their families are expressing in the district, you know that the work of the commission is more important now than ever,” said Allan Kakassy, a retired high school teacher appointed to the commission by school board member George McKenna. “But there is hardly any outreach, and nobody really knows that it is going on.”

The Commission on Human Relations, Diversity & Equity, also known as the LAUSD Human Relations Commission, is made up of an appointee from each school board member as well as representatives from the major unions, the city and county human relations commissions, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Anti-Defamation League and other community representatives.

“Students and teachers are very concerned about bullying and there’s an element of that in the presidential campaign that seems to encourage it,” Kakassy said. “And there are so many ways to do it with social media. These are things we discuss at our meetings.”

Last year, the group discussed issues such as the renewed push to make ethnic studies an A-G requirement, all-gender restrooms, library books with more inclusive religious diversity and school safety issues.

“At every meeting we are discussing issues that are in the headlines right now, and we are trying to figure out how to help the district support the students with the greatest needs,” Kakassy said.

The ethnic studies issue is a passion project for LA Unified teacher and activist Jose Lara, who often attends the commission meetings and is working on implementing the classes in the district and throughout the state. Lara was disappointed that LA Unified disbanded the Ethnic Studies Committee last year, until he and the commission pushed for the meetings to resume this year in an effort to make the class an elective in the A-G curriculum. Meanwhile, Lara is working on getting ethnic studies added to the statewide curriculum as an elective in a bill now before Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor vetoed a similar bill last year that would have made it a requirement.

When it was created in 2005, the Office of Human Relations, Diversity & Equity that oversees the commission had a director, five specialists, one classified employee, 16 youth relations employees and eight student-to-student staff specialists. By 2008 all the positions had been eliminated except for two human relations specialists.

Judy Chiasson, director Human Relations, Diversity & Equity, said the commission will be introducing three new members at the next meeting Thursday. The group will also hear a presentation about social-emotional learning and how it is being used in the district.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 in the Blue Room next to the LA Unified School Board auditorium at 333 South Beaudry Ave. The meeting is open to the public.

LAPD Detectives Donna Wheeler and Jennifer Cohen show their TS tattoos in honor of a bullied boy.

An LA Unified anti-bullying campaign for at-risk youth that includes an innovative arts program culminated today in an emotional speech by a father, whose 11-year-old son killed himself after being bullied. Students, teachers, even police officers had tears in their eyes at Bret Hart Preparatory Middle School.

For some of the officers, it got personal. Los Angeles Police Detective Donna Wheeler rolled up her sleeve and showed the tattoo she and about half a dozen others now wear to show support for the father’s anti-bullying campaign. It’s a heart with the initials TS, for Ty Smalley.

“We were very moved by the story and what Kirk Smalley is doing is doing for youth, and this is the only tattoo I have,” said Det. Wheeler. Her colleague, officer Jennifer Cohen, added, “We were amazed by him.”

LAPD’s Southeast Division connected with the non-profit Venice-based P.S. ARTS program and launched a pilot program with a $40,000 grant from the California Endowment. It’s the division’s first collaboration with an arts program, and it hopes to replicate it in other LAUSD schools, particularly in the southeast and southwest sections of Los Angeles, Wheeler said.

As a helicopter flew over the school and sirens wailed in the background, Wheeler, who is the division’s community relations supervisor, said, “This is the kind of thing these kids have to deal with every day. Helicopters, shootings, violence, crime. With this program, we have been able to get them away from the trauma these see every day. And bullying comes at them from all directions.”

Wheeler smirked and admitted, “I used to be a bully.”

The program for the South Los Angeles students involves police officers and students working together on a 20-week after school theater program in which the students write the play and perform it. As part of the program, they bring in guest speakers, like Smalley, to inspire and motivate the students.

Lui Sanchez, who runs the Inside Out Community Arts after-school program for P.S. ARTS, said he met Det. Wheeler in 2012. They immediately hit it off and developed the LAPD Jeopardy Program, a gang prevention/intervention program for boys and girls ages 8 through 17 and their parents. They identified 24 students to get involved.

“The arts gives them tools to look inward and how to express and control their emotions,” Sanchez said. “It builds their confidence and it built trust in the police and showed them how to resolve bullying.”

Kirk Smalley talks about his son’s suicide after being bullied.

Roland Zee worked with the students and officers and said he definitely saw some ups and downs. “Students got to say what was on their minds about racism, bullying, the police,” Zee said. “But the police got to see the students in a different light, and the students got to see the police in a different light. The students wrote the plays, cast it and did the choreography, music and songs. We hope to continue this here and many other schools.”

Police officers and teachers said they have seen vast improvements in attitudes of students in the neighborhood who might have turned to crime or dropped out of school.

“Our aim is to be a catalyst for lifelong change,” said Kristen Paglia, the chief executive officer of P.S. ARTS. “Students develop understanding and skills in our theater program that will be instrumental in making the best decisions for themselves, like staying in school and being engaged contributors to their families and communities.”

Smalley is part of the Stand for the Silent campaign that was started in 2010 by a group of students from Oklahoma State University after they learned of Ty’s suicide, which followed two years of bullying.

At today’s meeting, five Bret Hart students read tributes, holding photographs of students who had committed suicide after being bullied. Then, Smalley talked about his son’s suicide, which led him to tears.

“I’m here to tell you guys what happened to Ty and to make sure it does not happen to another family,” Smalley said. He pointed to the students and asked, “How many of you have been bullied?”

At least 80 percent of the hundreds of children in the auditorium raised their hands.

“How many of you are bullies?” Smalley asked.

A handful of students raised their hands.

Smalley said, “I love you both, I love you all, but you know that some of you can become heroes if you stand up against it.”

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The full report from the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) reflects interviews with more than 600 Muslim students, ages 11 to 18. It found that 55 percent of Muslim students have suffered at least one form of religion-based bullying. That’s twice as high as the national average of students reporting being bullied at school, the report said.

The students were asked about how comfortable they felt at their schools and in portraying their Muslim identity in that environment, as well as about their experiences with bullying and teacher discrimination.

Among girls who wear a hijab, the Islamic headscarf, 29 percent reported being offensively touched by another student, and 27 percent reported being discriminated by their teacher.

The report gives recommendations for laws that Congress can pass, guidelines for teachers and ways parents and schools can help.

“Today, anti-Muslim rhetoric has become so acceptable that parents and students feel that it is a normal part of being a Muslim in America,” said Fatima Dadabhoy, CAIR-LA Senior Civil Rights attorney and the lead author of the report.

Eric Garcetti Avoids Schoolyard Tussle With Wendy Greuel
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See also: LA School Report, Annenberg News, LA Times

LAUSD Superintendent Fires Lemon Teachers
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Education Coalition Wants to Stay Course in L.A. Unified
A coalition of groups, including the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, has launched an effort to put education at the center of the mayoral race and civic attention. LA Times
See also: LA School Report

Operation Back in School Sweeps up Truant Kids
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Parents Choose Unique School Takeover Model in ‘Trigger’ Vote
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See also: LA Times, LA School Report

Garcetti and Greuel Trade Barbs on Union Support on Eve of Debate
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Gates’ Warning on Test Scores
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Here’s Why Students in Los Angeles Aren’t Going to College
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Qualified Math Teachers Elusive for Struggling Students, Studies Find
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When a Teacher Is 2 Feet Tall
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Alemany Enjoys Unified State at Championship Assembly
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Bullies Shoot 8th Grade Student With BB Gun in Class, Victim Says
LA school district police plan to investigate a shooting incident at a Carson middle school where a BB gun injured a 13-year-old student. NBC LA

Obama Budget Would Allocate $75 Billion Over Next Decade to Preschool
In an ambitious and highly anticipated budget plan, President Barack Obama called Wednesday for allocating $75 billion over the next 10 years to expand public preschool by raising the federal tax on tobacco products. EdSource

O.C. Olympians Raise the Bar for L.A. Kids
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Michelle Rhee Hires Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
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A New Play About…LAUSD School Lunch?
The play’s high school may be fictional, but the story stuff that comprises it is anything but. Howard spent the better part of a year traveling to various high schools throughout the LAUSD, speaking to both students as well as food service professionals. LA Weekly

California’s New Taxes Are Paying for Pensions
Last November, California politicians persuaded voters to support a proposed seven-year, $50 billion tax increase, largely on the vow that the money would go to public education. Now, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has announced that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System requires an extra $4.5 billion a year for 30 years — $135 billion — and that the money will have to come from some combination of school districts and the state. Bloomberg Opinion

Boys’ Volleyball: A Proud Coach at Van Nuys High
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Calif., Texas, and N.C. Districts Tapped As Broad Prize Finalists
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Schools Need Local Funding Control
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Bringing Babies to the Classroom to Teach Empathy, Prevent Bullying
Roots of Empathy, first started in 1996 in Toronto and introduced into U.S. schools in 2007, aims to build more peaceful and caring societies by increasing the level of empathy in children. In the last six years, the program has spread to California, New York and other parts of Washington. PBS NewsHour

Hold Districts Accountable for Restoring Funding for the Arts
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Family Members of Accident Victims Sue LAUSD
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LAUSD Charters Would Lose Funding Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Budget
Wilbur Elementary got $230,000 in state grants when it converted to a charter last fall. Now, administrators at Wilbur and other affiliated charters, nearly all of them in the San Fernando Valley, are struggling with the news that they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants if lawmakers approve Gov. Jerry Brown’s new formula for funding public education. LA Daily News

L.A. Charter School Aims to Toss Out Students With Fake Addresses
Officials at Carpenter Community Charter, a top-notch elementary, think 120 children are enrolled fraudulently. They want to make room for students who live in the neighborhood. LA Times

Try a Different tack: Hold Teachers Responsible for Education Quality
The logic of the reformers seems to be that teachers unions are so wrongheaded, and the citizenry sufficiently tired of fights about seniority and teacher evaluation, that putting forward a slate of school board candidates is the way to change the balance of power in the school district and mute the pesky union.  But the strategy hasn’t worked. EdSource Opinion

Over-Praising Preschool
Obama wants the government to fund a free year of pre-kindergarten, but studies don’t back up his claims of long-term benefits. LA Times Opinion

L.A. Schools Falling Apart, Literally
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State Board to Discuss Districts’ Request for NCLB Waiver
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Sequestration Special Education Cuts May Put Disabled Californians at Risk
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Defining Bullying Down
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No Pay to Play or Learn at Public Schools
Public schools must provide the clay used in art class, but they can charge a student for taking home his or her finished sculpture. Playing sports is considered part of the educational mission, so schools have to cover all the costs – including uniforms – but attending a game is just for fun so students can pay admission. EdSource

Brown’s School Funding Formula Lauded, Then Picked Apart at Hearing
To a person, every Assemblymember at a committee hearing Tuesday and the six superintendents who testified at it praised the principles behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed school finance reforms: simplicity, clarity and equity ­­– more money for the state’s neediest children. EdSource

Waiting for Recovery: U.S. Public Schools Continue to Lose Jobs
Since the peak in local public school employment in July 2008, about 361,000 jobs in the sector have been eliminated, roughly half of the 725,000 government jobs lost overall in the same period, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Reuters

Former San Gabriel Student Hosts Bullying Prevention Day
Schools throughout the Los Angeles region Wednesday observed 12 seconds of silence to commemorate the Bullying Prevention Day, created by former San Gabriel Unified School District student Gerry Orz. LA Daily News

Parents Challenge Crenshaw High Shake-Up
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Last of the School Construction Money Going Out
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Perfection: Cleveland High Student, Schuyler Ross, One of Five in the World to Ace AP Biology Test
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County School Board Hears Einstein Charter Proposal
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Ed. Department Focus on English-Learners Seen Waning
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Ex-Gang Member Says He Survived Shooting to Make a Difference in Kids’ Lives
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New CTE Standards Reflect Fast-Moving Tech Changes, Higher Academic Goals
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Representatives, including LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia, City Council Members, and LAUSD student leaders will discuss ways to better prevent bullying in schools by creating policies and resources to support both bullying victims and students who initiate bullying.

For full event details, click here.

LA Schools to ‘Shake It Up’ With the Rest of California
As millions of Californians participate in the “Great California ShakeOut” Thursday, so will students at L.A. Unified. The district uses the day for an annual full-scale emergency drill and an opportunity to teach kids about earthquakes. KPCC

L.A. Unified Partners With Gay Advocates to End Bullying
The initiative, called Project SPIN, seeks to help gay, lesbian and transgender students deal with bullies, and more broadly, to change the district’s culture. LA Times

T.V. Camera Crews to Join Football Players for East L.A. Classic
Next week, the 78th East L.A. Classic between the Roosevelt Roughriders of Boyle Heights and the Garfield Bulldogs of East Los Angeles will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable-the first live broadcast in more than 20 years.  Not everyone, however, has been thrilled with the idea of watching the East L.A. Classic on T.V. Eastsider 

Deschooling California: Postmodern Theory Meets Props 30 & 38
People who care about California’s children watched in horror this week as the battle between Governor Brown and Molly Munger over their dueling education initiatives descended into a Hobbesian war of all against all (with most of the “all” firmly in the governor’s camp). Ed Source (commentary) 

Students Engaged in Justice System Given Guaranteed Entry to School
Even before Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 1088 into law this fall, the Los Angeles Unified School District had enacted its own policy prohibiting its schools from denying  entry to a student solely on the basis that he or she has had involvement with the juvenile justice system. SI&A Cabinet Report

Most local school districts ignore state’s anti-gay bullying law Daily News: None of the six Long Beach area school districts has complied with AB 9’s July 1 deadline, and only one, Long Beach Unified School District, has since met the requirements, a Press-Telegram investigation has found.

Why rush this gutted education bill into law? Modesto Bee (opinion):  In Doe v. Deasy, the judge found that the Los Angeles Unified school district had never obeyed the Stull Act in evaluating teachers.

Gloria Romero’s Revenge NBC/Prop Zero (blog): California’s public employee unions have long prided themselves on their toughness. If a Democratic politician stepped out of line, they would move to punish that politician.

Cortines’ accuser details long friendship that went bad LA Observed:  Scot Graham, the LA Unified leasing chief who has sued ex-superintendent Ramon Cortines for sexual harassment and filed $10 million claim with the district, says he first met Cortines in San Francisco’s gay community in the 1980s.

Why Do Schools Have Friday Off? It’s Admission Day! AOL Brentwood Patch: The Los Angeles Unified School District observes the anniversary on the last Friday of August—it’s a paid holiday for the teachers.

Students rally to beloved Pacoima teacher’s side with blood donations Daily News: While Arlena Tupaz lay in her hospital bed in Panorama City on Saturday, less than 10 miles away her current and former students gathered to lend a hand — actually an arm — for their beloved teacher.

Los Angeles colleges resume $6-billion campus building projects LA Times: Spending on most new construction projects in the Los Angeles Community College District’s $6-billion campus building project has resumed, virtually ending a moratorium that had been the centerpiece of efforts to reform poor planning, questionable spending and other flaws uncovered in the program.