Harrassment of queer students still high in California, study shows

A report issued yesterday by the California Safe Schools Coalition shows that harrassment of students who are queer -- or perceived to be so -- is still rife in California schools. More than 200,000 students are harrassed annually, the report said.

The report analyzed data from the California Healthy Kids Survey, or CHKS, a broad-based state survey, and an independent companion survey conducted by the Safe Schools Coalition that measured the effectiveness of school anti-harassment practices. ... "Data from the CHKS show that these 200,000 students harassed on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation are three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe, more than twice as likely to be depressed, to consider suicide or to make a plan for suicide," explained Stephen Russell, Ph.D., director of the Davis center.

The state's larger media outlets missed the story, by the way.