Survey: Minority, LGBTQ students feel less safe in Wisconsin schools

Students of color, students with disabilities, and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender feel less safe and supported at school than their peers, according to a new state analysis of student survey data.

Students from marginalized groups also are more likely to feel anxious and suicidal.

It's the first of many reports state officials are releasing in the deepest look they've ever taken at disparities and mental health based on data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The 2017 survey collected data from over 2,000 high school students in 43 schools around the state. It is conducted every two years in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most recent survey is the first time the state has allowed students to identify as transgender; it did not allow students to identify as gender non-conforming.

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Several disparities are highlighted in the new report:

74 percent of white male students said they felt like they belonged at school. Female students (68 percent), black students (66 percent), Hispanic students (63 percent), and students with disabilities or illness (60 percent) were less likely to feel they belonged.

Students who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender were the least likely to feel they belonged; only 48 percent said they felt they belonged.

While 10 percent of white students said they felt unsafe at school, a quarter of black students said they felt unsafe.

While 40 percent of all students reported significant problems with anxiety, 67 percent of LGBT students reported anxiety.

16 percent of all students said they considered suicide in the last year. About 41 percent of LGBT students considered it.

A spokesman from the Department of Public Instruction said the analysis was prompted by greater attention to these issues in the state, in part due to USA TODAY NETWORK's Kids in Crisis series, and officials hope the data push districts to examine discrimination in their schools.

The Kids in Crisis series has highlighted how discrimination plays a role in the mental health of students of color, transgender students and others.

RELATED: Racism takes toll on mental health of students of color

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Diverse & Resilient, a Wisconsin organization working to end violence against LGBTQ+ people, recently launched a campaign to combat such discrimination with billboards telling youth, "You are beautiful, loved and worthy just as you are." They feature Milwaukee artist Lex Allen, who released a song for the project called "Colors in Bloom."

"Bloom like a lotus," the song goes. "Your colors are better bright."