Rising Anti-Asian Harassment in U.S. Schools Sparks Concerns Over Safety

Hai Au Huynh was frustrated after months of trying to address racial harassment against her two sons at a Houston-area elementary school. Despite filing grievances and meeting with school officials, she said the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) failed to condemn the incidents or ensure her children’s safety.

Speaking at a November 2021 board meeting, Huynh described multiple racist incidents, including her sons being subjected to racial slurs on their school bus and one child discovering a swastika drawn on his shirt after a class celebration. "My Asian-American children have been the target of several racist attacks in CFISD this past year," she told the board. "My 8- and 11-year-old should not have to repeatedly tell other children why it is wrong to use racist slurs."

Community organizer Sarah Syed, representing the advocacy group Woori Juntos, supported Huynh’s claims, calling the incidents part of a broader pattern of systemic racism in the district. "This is not an isolated incident of racism, but one of institutional systemic racism that must also be addressed at the instructional and administrative levels," she said.

Huynh’s experiences reflect a wider issue of anti-Asian harassment in U.S. public schools. While some families have begun speaking out—prompted in part by a surge in anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic—many incidents go unreported due to fear, normalization of harassment, or lack of language access.

Federal data suggests that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students face racially motivated harassment at rates roughly proportional to their enrollment, with about one in 20 such cases involving AAPI students. However, experts warn that underreporting is significant. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights notes that many hate crimes go unreported, and language barriers may deter some victims from reporting.

The Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection shows that in CFISD, four Asian students were reported bullied or harassed due to racial bias over a decade, with incidents recorded in 2011-12, 2017-18, and 2020-21. Yet advocates argue that these numbers likely undercount the true prevalence of such incidents.

The federal government requires schools to track and address racially motivated harassment, but gaps remain in enforcement and reporting. The FBI’s hate crime data, for example, relies on voluntary participation from law enforcement agencies, many of which report zero incidents. Additionally, verbal harassment is often normalized to the point where victims may not consider it worth reporting.

Huynh, who experienced racism as a child in Philadelphia, has taken a proactive approach with her sons, discussing historical cases like Vincent Chin and Tommy Le to help them understand systemic discrimination. "We’re going to be called all these names because it’s not the first time that it will happen," she told them. Despite the challenges, she encouraged them to speak up, emphasizing that raising awareness could pressure authorities to act.

The CFISD did not respond to requests for comment. Experts say that stronger accountability measures, better data collection, and culturally competent responses are needed to address the issue effectively. Without these, advocates warn, the cycle of harassment and underreporting will continue.