State Survey May Focus on Campus Bullying

Hoping to better measure the extent of bullying in California schools, state education officials are considering adding more questions about campus harassment to a survey given to 450,000 students statewide.

The changes to the California Healthy Kids Survey were recommended by an advisory committee and are under consideration by officials at WestEd, a research group that runs the project.

Although studies on bullying exist, little statewide information to assess the behavior is available, said WestEd program director Greg Austin. The survey will be administered by districts across the state for the second time this year.

“We’re trying to get more of a sense of what’s going on in the school environment and how it affects perceptions of safety,” Austin said. “And we’re trying to get at what might go undetected.”

Bullying has become a hot topic for educators across the nation in response to a recent spate of school shootings by students. In two of those, one in San Diego County and another in Williamsport, Pa., investigators say the teenage shooters talked of being teased and bullied on campus.

A handful of school districts have since implemented or debated zero-tolerance policies on bullying, making penalties for picking on kids just as harsh as those for bringing weapons or drugs to school.

The issue is serious and often underestimated in many districts, said Ventura County schools Supt. Chuck Weis. Any new data to gauge bullying would be helpful in sending a message to school leadership, he said.

“Now that kids who have been bullied have very publicly acted out in violent ways, that sets the standard for kids who are bullied,” Weis said. “Once that happens, we’ve got to react to it.”

The Healthy Kids Survey, administered every other year by school districts to most fifth-, seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders with parental permission, asks dozens of questions about alcohol and drug use, sexual behavior and personal information such as race, ethnicity, height and weight. Responses are anonymous.

Although about 60% of the school districts in the state participate in the survey, it is required only for those receiving competitive tobacco education funding, Austin said. Each district can choose to omit all but one core section of the survey, which deals mostly with basic health and safety questions including exercise habits, diet and safety on campus.

Questions to determine levels of and reasons for bullying would probably be included in the survey’s core section. The information would then be combined with other statistics gathered by the state to present a comprehensive picture.

Most Southern California school districts take part in the survey, particularly larger ones such as Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified.

Reaction to the possible changes was mixed.

“I think it would be extremely beneficial, because there is this code of silence the students have,” said Paul Tonello, assistant principal at Santa Paula High School. “There is this fear factor, and a survey like this could be very eye-opening.”

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District adopted a strict anti-bullying policy in March. Officials there said statistics are fine but cautioned that they must be interpreted carefully.

“It’s going to give more of a sense of what types of bullying activities occur on campus, where they are verbal threats or physical intimidation,” said Jaime Castellanos, an assistant superintendent. “This whole area of bullying is gray.”

But other educators, including Richard Simpson, an assistant superintendent in Thousand Oaks, said he thinks assessment of student safety is better done locally.

“Another report from Sacramento is not going to solve the problem,” he said.

The California Department of Education would have the final say on any survey changes, Austin said. If approved, they could be in place before the next survey is distributed in August.

Other ideas for this year’s survey include adding a question about use of the designer drug Ecstasy--growing in popularity among teenagers at raves. Also under consideration is a question about sexual orientation for inclusion in a portion of the survey that is optional.

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Times staff writer Dennis McLellan contributed to this story.