With the rise of hate crimes since Election Day, parent activists want New York City Department of Education to take action to combat discrimination in the schools. NY1's Education Reporter, Lindsey Christ, filed the following report.

Parents, activists, and elected officials took to the steps of the Department of Education on Thursday to demand all 135,000 public school employees to be trained in how to fight bias.

"If anywhere they need to be able to reach out and get resources and support, it's within our schools," says Tiffany Jones of The Black Institute.

The advocates say that following the caustic presidential campaign, many families feel targeted. 

"We are under attack right now in so many ways, and the chilling effect from insensitive comments by staffers and teachers in our schools," says City Council Member Carlos Menchaca. "Or kids bullying other kids, and no one doing anything about it is really eroding the trust and the safety that our kids need to learn in our schools."

The City Council this week passed a resolution reaffirming the city's commitment to remain a so-called Sanctuary City, a safe haven for immigrants, regardless of their legal status.

The NYPD says hate crimes have soared 115 percent in the city since Election Day, a spike that some advocates blame on emboldened supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.

Parents and elected officials say they don't have numbers showing an increase in such incidents in schools, but anecdotal evidence suggests it's a problem.

About half of the 1.1 million students are from immigrant families and about 10 percent are Muslim. The advocates say they also worry about bias against Jewish students, LBGTQ students, and female students.

A spokesperson says the schools chancellor believes all schools should be safe havens but would not commit to requiring all staff undergo training.

The city says it has hired nearly 500 new guidance counselors, social workers, and mental health consultants over the past two years.

However, Maria Gil says her six daughters are struggling after the election and do not feel comfortable talking about it at school.

"There's not an administrator, there's nobody in the schools that can give the support to these little children," says Gil.