According to the San Diego School District’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted first in 2005 and again in 2007, 13 percent of San Diego high school and middle school students are harassed because of perceived sexual orientation.

The percentage stayed virtually the same between 2005 and 2007, said San Diego school district superintendent Carl Cohn.

“We asked that same question this past year and had a similar 12 to 13 percent response,” Cohn said.

Speaking to about 30 people Friday morning at the San Diego LGBT Center (The Center), Cohn discussed the study’s implications and the district’s response.

“One of the things that we’re doing is putting this data in front of our high school and middle school administrators and talking with them about what that 12 to 13 percent might look like in real terms,” Cohn said.

The harassment ranges from anti-GLBT language to bullying, and, in some cases, physical assault.

The 2005 National School Climate Survey, conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), found that nearly three quarters of GLBT secondary school students frequently hear the words “faggot” or “dyke” at school. The report also found that nearly 20 percent of anti-GLBT language heard by GLBT students came from teachers or school staff; and 20 percent of GLBT secondary school students reported having been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation.

Some GLBT students, staff and allies have taken matters into their own hands creating Gay Straight Alliances. Five out of sixteen San Diego high schools have already formed GSAs, Cohn said.

“One of the things that is so important to me is that we create a safe workplace for students and for staff in our district,” Cohn said, adding, “Now, I’m not naïve enough to think that we’ve arrived and that there isn’t a lot that’s still going on that’s negative, that threatens youngsters, but I also think we’ve made progress in the overall tone of the district.”

Policies against harassment and discrimination of GLBT students are in place, Cohn said.

“Obviously we have a Title IX nonsexual harassment and nondiscrimination policy. It promotes educational equity; it eliminates discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex and sexual orientation,” Cohn said.

The concern is how those policies are applied.

To mend the gap between policy and procedure, the district has emphasized training. The district’s physical education, health and athletics office recently entered a five-year partnership with the American Psychological Association to train its staff about the health issues of its GLBT students, Cohn said.

In addition, all high school staff will receive GLBT awareness training beginning this February.

The district is also developing a resource binder for staff that will include information about anti-discrimination laws, policies, and articles.

“This project will focus on building and enhancing a school climate of tolerance and acceptance,” Cohn said.

Cohn, who will be retiring at the end of this year, joined San Diego Unified School District in July 2005. Prior to leading San Diego Unified, Cohn worked for 10 years as the superintendent for Long Beach Unified School District.

One strategy that Cohn found useful during his time with the Long Beach district was meeting with GLBT students and school counselors at The Center in Long Beach.

“We would sit and talk and listen to real students about what they were experiencing in our schools, and that seemed to be the most valuable thing in terms of taking a measure of where we are and what we should be doing to make things better for students,” Cohn said.

The same strategy could be used to address GLBT students’ grievances in San Diego, Cohn said.

“It’s not too late, even though I am leaving at the end of December, to bring in students along with high school counselors and sponsor a dialogue on what’s really going on in terms of where the rubber meets the road in our district,” Cohn said.

While Cohn has only been with the district for more than two years, the number of reported grievances during his tenure has decreased substantially.

“When I arrived to the district, the amount of grievances ran 40 pages. So that’s what I inherited when I came in the door … that level of conflict is now a single page that covers all the existing grievances inside the school district,” Cohn said.

Cohn’s hope “is to leave the district better than [he] found it.”

Audience responses to Cohn were positive.

“I thought his responses were good. He gave an overview of GLBT issues,” said John Lockhart.

“It’s unfortunate that he chose to be a short timer,” said Jess Murphy, who attended the Community Coalition Breakfast at The Center, where Cohn spoke last week. “The district could have used a few more years of his leadership.”