Table 229.70.

Number of hate crimes occurring at public schools, percentage of schools reporting any hate crimes, and percentage reporting hate crimes motivated by specific types of bias, by school level: 2015-16 and 2017-18

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Type of bias	2015-16												2017-18
	Total, all public schools1			School level2									Total, all public schools1			School level2
				Primary school			Middle school			High school						Primary school			Middle school			High school
1	2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9
Number of hate crimes
Total, all hate crimes	3,200		(950)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	1,400		(400)	5,700	!	(1,800)	‡		(†)	1,900		(370)	1,100		(260)
Percent of schools reporting hate crimes
Total, any hate crimes3	1.0		(0.20)	‡		(†)	1.6	!	(0.50)	3.6		(0.74)	1.9		(0.28)	0.7	!	(0.30)	4.2		(0.55)	4.5		(0.78)
Hate crimes motivated by bias against      a specific characteristic4
Race or color	0.6		(0.17)	‡		(†)	0.7	!	(0.26)	2.1		(0.59)	1.6		(0.25)	0.7	!	(0.30)	3.2		(0.49)	3.2		(0.60)
National origin or ethnicity	0.3	!	(0.09)	‡		(†)	0.6	!	(0.26)	1.1	!	(0.35)	0.9		(0.21)	0.6	!	(0.28)	1.9		(0.38)	1.7		(0.43)
Sex	0.1	!	(0.05)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.6	!	(0.30)	0.4	!	(0.15)	‡		(†)	0.5	!	(0.25)	0.7	!	(0.26)
Religion	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.4		(0.12)	‡		(†)	1.2		(0.34)	0.6	!	(0.23)
Disability	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.3	!	(0.10)	‡		(†)	0.8	!	(0.29)	‡		(†)
Sexual orientation5	0.3		(0.08)	‡		(†)	0.5	!	(0.23)	1.5		(0.43)	0.6		(0.14)	‡		(†)	1.4		(0.35)	1.5		(0.34)
Gender identity6	0.2	!	(0.08)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.7	!	(0.27)	0.4		(0.11)	‡		(†)	0.9	!	(0.29)	0.8		(0.22)

†Not applicable.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

1 Total includes data for combined schools, which are not shown separately because they did not meet reporting standards. Combined schools include those with all combinations of grades (including K-12) that do not correspond to the definition of a primary, middle, or high school.

2 Primary schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8. Middle schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9. High schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 9.

3 In the total percentage of schools reporting any hate crime, each school that reported one or more hate crimes is counted only once, even if the school reported multiple hate crimes and hate crimes motivated by multiple types of bias.

4 Schools that reported hate crimes motivated by multiple types of bias are counted separately under each type of bias reported.

5 Sexual orientation was defined as "one's emotional or physical attraction to the same and/or opposite sex."

6 Gender identity was defined as "one's inner sense of one's own gender, which may or may not match the sex assigned at birth."

NOTE: A hate crime was defined as a "committed criminal offense that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity." Hate crimes are also known as bias crimes. "At school" was defined as including activities that happen in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Respondents were instructed to include incidents that occurred before, during, or after normal school hours or when school activities or events were in session.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015-16 and 2017-18 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2016 and 2018. (This table was prepared September 2019.)