The dangers of bullying are even greater for students whose backgrounds can make them the targets of harassment. Students face disproportionate levels of bullying due to their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, disability, and more. 44% of teenagers with developmental disabilities experienced bullying. Black students reported 37% of race-based bullying incidents, despite making up only 15% of the student population. 34% of Muslim students reported that bullying negatively impacted their physical or mental health. 78% of Sikh students reported being bullied at school, with nearly half rarely reporting bullying.
LGBTQ+ students are particularly vulnerable to bullying and harassment. According to the education advocacy organization GLSEN, 83% of LGBTQ+ students reporting that they have been bullied or assaulted at school and as a result, 32.3 percent of LGBTQ+ students report that they have missed at least one day of school in a given month because they felt unsafe at school, and 11.3 percent of all LGBTQ+ students missed
4 or more days of school in a month.
In recent years, Jewish students have faced greater degrees of bullying and harassment at school, corresponding with rising hate and antisemitism in society. According to Anti-Defamation League data from 2024, 71% of Jewish parents reported that their child encountered antisemitism in the classroom. The Anti-Defamation League's 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents reported 860 total antisemitic incidents in American K-12 schools, making up 9% of all antisemitic incidents nationwide.
In this Congress, Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) re-introduced the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 1810/S. 986). The bill would protect every student by requiring that all schools receiving federal funds adopt an anti-bullying policy and that their anti-bullying policies address bullying that occurs based on a student's race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), sex characteristics (including intersex traits), disability, or religion. Additionally, the bill would require the Department of Education to collect, evaluate, and report data on bullying and harassment to identify more effective ways to protect students and improve school climates.
Urge your representatives to stand up for students and prevent bullying by supporting the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 1810) (S. 986).
Jewish Values
A fundamental tenant of Judaism is that all human beings are created b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. When we recognize that all human beings reflect the divine image, it is very clear that bullying of all kinds is totally unacceptable. Our Jewish values and traditions further elaborate on the issue of bullying. The Torah commands that "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself."- Leviticus 19:18. The Talmud teaches that "Anyone who humiliates another in public, it is as though he were spilling blood" (Bava Metzia 58b:12). We must also remember that in trying to combat bullying against and within our communities, we must work to end all forms of bullying because, in Rabbi Hillel's famous words, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" (Pirkei Avot 1:14).
For more information
For more information on this issue, contact Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Mason Purdy at mpurdy@rac.org.
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