Nearly three-fourths of students in Iowa City schools who took a recent survey and identify their gender as non-binary feel that their school is not safe.

The school climate survey, given to students in grades 5-12 in February and March, found 70 percent of survey takers with a non-binary gender identity reported "feeling unsafe in their classes."

The University of Iowa Public Policy Center conducted the survey in partnership with the Iowa City Community School District. The second-annual survey revealed disparities in school experiences based on gender, sexuality and race.

The policy center this year expanded on last year's survey by including students in more grades and adding questions on sexuality and gender identity. The 2016 survey focused on sixth-, eighth- and 11th-graders.

In asking about gender, the 2017 survey gave fifth and sixth grade students the options of listing their gender as "male," "female" and "other, please specify," while seventh through 12th graders had a wider range of choices, including "transgender male," "transgender female," "gender queer/gender-nonconforming," "different identity" and "prefer not to answer." The survey then broke down the reporting categories into male, female and non-binary when categorizing the results.

This year's survey found that that 61 percent of participants who are not heterosexual felt unsafe at school, compared with 38 percent of heterosexual students. Forty-two percent of female students and 38 percent of male students reported feeling unsafe.

Sarah Bruch, the policy center's director of social and education policy, presented the survey results at a school board meeting Tuesday. She said the disparities in the safety data based on non-binary gender and sexuality are troubling.

“It’s probably also problematic that the other numbers (of students who feel safe) are not higher, as well," Bruch said.

However, Bruch said non-binary and non-heterosexual students at Iowa City schools are not alone in their experiences.

“Across the nation, people are reporting quite large disparities in how these students are experiencing schools," she said.

In Iowa City, the survey also indicated 69 percent of non-binary participants thought teachers treat students of all gender identities with respect. Overall, 92 percent of participants reported that their teachers respected all genders and sexual orientations.

And 86 percent of non-binary participants reported hearing hurtful comments about gender from other students.

A report on the survey results indicated that 5,203 students responded to the survey, resulting in a 65 percent response rate. Not all students answered every question.

Among respondents, 82 students identified as non-binary, or 2 percent. Eight percent of respondents, or 376 students, identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual or asexual.

The survey was anonymous, and data were not reported for groups with less than 10 students in order to ensure student anonymity, the report said.

Compared with 2016, some areas saw improvement. More students from low-income families reported people of a similar background were included in classroom materials, and fewer Asian students reported being without a mentor at school.

However, some areas worsened. Twenty-two percent of black students who responded reported that they have a race-matched mentor, compared with 32 percent last year.

Last year's survey found that that most students reported having positive experiences at school, but that black, multiracial and other minority students were more likely to have negative experiences.

This year, 23 percent of black students reported feeling unable to share their views in class due to their race. A quarter of multiracial students who responded to the survey said "their school is not a welcoming and safe place."

In response to last year's survey, the policy center identified three key focus areas: students' relationships with teachers and mentors, inclusive school environments and disciplinary environments.

A task force looked into implementing a school-wide restorative justice approach to discipline and student-teacher relationships and implicit bias training for teachers.

Bruch said next steps include evaluating the effects of these approaches. As with last year, the center will also distribute school-specific survey data in the form of individual school profiles. The center plans to visit schools to help explain the results, she said.

Kingsley Botchway, the district's equity and engagement director, said that, while the data from the policy center are extremely helpful, the results this year were "somewhat glaring."

“This is concerning, and we need to work towards really kind of building system and programmatic changes," he said.

Reach Holly Hines at hhines2@press-citizen.com or at 319-887-5414, and follow her on Twitter: @HollyJHines.