Giving Compass' Take:

• A third of students reported being bullied in the 2017-18 school year in a YouthTruth Student Survey. White students and students of color reported different levels of bullying and different causes. 

• How does self-reporting impact data collection? How can funders use this data to address bullying at the school and district level? 

• Learn how bullying expands past schools. 

A third of students reported that they experienced bullying during the 2017-18 school year — up from a fourth in previous school years, according to survey results released by YouthTruth Student Survey, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization.

Schools in which the majority of students are white were more likely to report bullying than those where students of color make up the majority — 36% compared to 32%. In schools with more students of color, however, white students still reported experiencing more bullying.

In schools where students of color represent the majority, more than three-fourths of both groups say they think the way they look is the primary reason why they are bullied. There were small differences between white students’ responses and those from students of color regarding other possible factors. White students were more likely to list where they’re from and sexual orientation as reasons for being bullied, while students of color were more likely to say family income, disability and religion were the reasons.

The biggest difference between the two groups in reasons for bullying was race, with 27% of white students saying that was the reason compared to 36% of students of color.

Read the full article about bullying by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.