POLICY LETTERS: October 26, 2010 to Colleagues from the Office for Civil Rights

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS           October 26,  2010   Dear  Colleague:   In  recent  years,  many state  departments  of  education  and local  school  districts  have  taken   steps  to  reduce  bullying  in  schools.   The U.S.  Department  of Education  (Department)  fully   supports  these  efforts.   Bullying  fosters a  climate  of  fear  and disrespect  that  can  seriously   impair  the  physical  and  psychological  health  of its  victims  and  create  conditions  that  negatively   affect  learning,  thereby  undermining  the  ability  of  students  to achieve  their  full  potential.   The  movement  to adopt  anti ‐bullying  policies  reflects schools’  appreciation  of  their  important   responsibility  to  maintain  a  safe  learning  environment  for all  students.  I  am  writing  to  remind  you,  however,  that  some  student  misconduct  that  falls  under  a  school’s  anti ‐bullying  policy  also  may  trigger  responsibilities  under  one  or  more  of the  federal  antidiscrimination  laws  enforced   by  the  Department’s  Office  for  Civil  Rights  (OCR).  As discussed  in  more  detail below,  by  limiting   its  response  to  a  specific  application  of  its  anti ‐bullying  disciplinary  policy,  a  school  may  fail  to   properly  consider  whether  the  student  misconduct  also  results  in  discriminatory  harassment.   The  statutes  that  OCR  enforces  include  Title  VI  of  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1964 1 (Title  VI),  which  prohibits  discrimination  on  the  basis  of race,  color,  or  national  origin;  Title  IX  of  the  Education   Amendments  of  1972 2 (Title  IX),  which  prohibits  discrimination  on  the  basis  of sex;  Section  504  of  the  Rehabilitation  Act  of 1973 3 (Section  504);  and  Title  II  of  the  Americans  with  Disabilities   Act  of  1990 4 (Title  II).   Section 504  and  Title  II  prohibit  discrimination  on  the  basis  of disability. 5   School  districts  may  violate  these  civil  rights  statutes  and  the Department’s  implementing   regulations  when peer  harassment  based on  race,  color,  national  origin,  sex,  or  disability  is   sufficiently  serious  that  it  creates  a  hostile  environment  and such  harassment  is encouraged,   tolerated,  not adequately  addressed,  or  ignored  by school  employees. 6   School  personnel  who   understand  their  legal  obligations  to  address  harassment  under these  laws  are  in the  best   position  to  prevent  it  from  occurring  and to respond  appropriately  when  it  does.   Although  this   letter  focuses  on the  elementary  and  secondary  school context,  the legal  principles  also  apply   to  postsecondary  institutions  covered  by  the  laws  and  regulations  enforced by  OCR.     Some  school  anti ‐bullying  policies  already may  list classes  or  traits  on  which  bases bullying  or   harassment  is specifically  prohibited.  Indeed,  many schools  have  adopted  anti‐bullying  policies  that  go  beyond  prohibiting  bullying  on  the  basis  of traits  expressly  protected  by  the  federal  civil   1 Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. Page 2 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       rights laws  enforced  by  OCR—race,  color,  national  origin,  sex,  and  disability—to  include such   bases  as  sexual  orientation  and  religion.   While this  letter  concerns  your  legal  obligations  under   the  laws  enforced  by  OCR,  other  federal,  state, and  local  laws  impose  additional  obligations  on   schools. 7  And,  of  course,  even  when  bullying  or  harassment  is not  a  civil  rights  violation,   schools  should  still  seek  to  prevent  it  in  order  to protect  students  from the  physical  and   emotional  harms  that  it  may  cause.        Harassing  conduct may  take  many  forms,  including  verbal  acts  and  name ‐calling;  graphic  and  written  statements,  which  may  include  use  of  cell  phones  or the  Internet;  or  other  conduct  that   may  be  physically  threatening,  harmful,  or  humiliating.   Harassment  does  not  have  to  include   intent  to  harm,  be  directed  at  a  specific  target,  or  involve  repeated  incidents.   Harassment  creates  a  hostile  environment  when the  conduct  is  sufficiently  severe,  pervasive,  or  persistent   so  as  to  interfere  with  or limit  a  student’s  ability  to  participate  in  or benefit  from  the  services,   activities,  or  opportunities  offered by  a  school.   When such  harassment  is based  on  race,  color,   national  origin,  sex,  or  disability,  it violates  the  civil  rights  laws  that  OCR  enforces. 8    A  school  is  responsible  for  addressing  harassment  incidents about which  it knows  or  reasonably   9 should have  known.   In some  situations,  harassment  may be  in  plain  sight,  widespread,  or  well‐ known  to students  and staff,  such  as harassment  occurring in  hallways,  during  academic  or   physical  education  classes,  during  extracurricular  activities, at  recess,  on a  school  bus,  or   through  graffiti  in  public  areas.   In these  cases, the  obvious  signs  of  the  harassment  are  sufficient  to  put  the  school  on  notice.   In other  situations,  the  school  may  become  aware  of  misconduct,  triggering  an  investigation  that  could  lead to  the  discovery  of  additional  incidents  that,  taken  together,  may constitute  a  hostile  environment.   In  all  cases,  schools  should  have   well‐ publicized  policies prohibiting  harassment  and procedures  for  reporting  and  resolving  10 complaints  that  will  alert  the  school  to  incidents  of harassment.       When  responding  to  harassment,  a school  must  take  immediate  and  appropriate  action  to   investigate  or  otherwise  determine  what  occurred.   The specific  steps  in  a  school’s  investigation   will  vary  depending  upon  the  nature  of  the  allegations,  the  source  of  the  complaint,  the  age  of   the  student  or  students  involved, the  size  and  administrative  structure  of  the  school,  and  other   factors.   In all  cases,  however,  the  inquiry  should  be  prompt,  thorough,  and  impartial.        If  an  investigation  reveals  that  discriminatory  harassment  has occurred,  a school  must  take   prompt  and  effective  steps  reasonably  calculated  to  end  the  harassment,  eliminate  any  hostile   7 Page 3 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       environment  and  its effects,  and  prevent  the  harassment  from recurring.   These duties  are a  school’s  responsibility  even  if  the  misconduct  also  is covered  by  an  anti ‐bullying  policy,  and  regardless  of  whether  a student  has  complained,  asked  the  school  to  take  action,  or  identified   the  harassment  as a  form  of discrimination.      Appropriate  steps  to  end  harassment  may include  separating  the  accused  harasser  and the   target,  providing  counseling  for  the  target  and/or  harasser,  or  taking  disciplinary  action  against  the  harasser.   These steps  should  not  penalize  the  student  who  was  harassed.   For example,  any   separation  of  the  target  from  an  alleged  harasser  should be  designed  to  minimize  the  burden  on  the  target’s  educational  program  (e.g. , not  requiring  the target  to  change  his  or her  class   schedule).       In  addition,  depending  on  the  extent  of  the  harassment,  the school  may  need  to  provide   training  or  other  interventions  not  only  for  the  perpetrators,  but  also  for the  larger  school   community,  to ensure  that all  students,  their  families,  and  school  staff  can recognize   harassment  if it  recurs  and  know  how  to  respond.   A school  also  may be  required  to  provide   additional  services  to  the  student  who  was  harassed  in  order  to address  the  effects  of  the   harassment,  particularly  if  the  school  initially  delays  in  responding  or  responds  inappropriately   or  inadequately  to  information  about  harassment.   An effective  response  also  may need  to   include  the  issuance  of  new  policies  against harassment  and new procedures  by  which   students,  parents,  and  employees  may  report  allegations  of  harassment  (or wide  dissemination   of  existing  policies  and procedures),  as  well  as wide  distribution  of  the  contact  information  for   the  district’s  Title  IX  and  Section  504/Title  II  coordinators. 11      Finally,  a  school  should  take  steps  to  stop  further  harassment  and prevent  any  retaliation   against  the person  who  made  the  complaint  (or was  the  subject  of the  harassment)  or  against  those  who  provided  information  as  witnesses.   At  a  minimum,  the school’s  responsibilities   include  making  sure that  the  harassed  students and their  families  know how  to  report  any   subsequent  problems,  conducting  follow ‐up  inquiries  to see  if  there  have been  any  new   incidents  or any  instances  of retaliation,  and  responding  promptly  and  appropriately  to  address   continuing  or  new  problems.       When  responding  to  incidents  of  misconduct,  schools  should  keep  in  mind  the following:     • 11 Page 4 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       12 Page 5 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       and aggressively  to the  racial  harassment  when  they  first became  aware  of  it,  the  school   might  have prevented  the  escalation  of  violence  that  occurred. 13  • Over  the  course  of  a  school  year, school  employees  at a  junior  high  school  received   reports  of several  incidents  of  anti ‐Semitic  conduct  at  the  school.   Anti‐Semitic  graffiti,   including  swastikas,  was scrawled  on  the  stalls  of  the  school  bathroom.   When  custodians  discovered  the  graffiti  and  reported  it  to  school  administrators,  the   administrators  ordered  the  graffiti  removed  but  took  no  further  action.  At  the  same   school,  a teacher  caught  two ninth ‐graders  trying  to  force  two  seventh ‐graders  to  give   them  money.   The ninth ‐graders  told  the  seventh ‐graders,  “You  Jews have all  of  the   money,  give  us  some.”   When  school  administrators  investigated  the  incident,  they   determined  that  the seventh‐ graders were  not  actually  Jewish.   The school  suspended   the  perpetrators  for  a  week  because  of  the  serious  nature  of  their  misconduct.   After that  incident,  younger  Jewish  students  started  avoiding  the  school  library and  computer  lab  because  they  were  located  in  the  corridor  housing  the  lockers  of  the  ninth ‐graders.   At  the  same  school,  a group  of  eighth ‐grade  students  repeatedly  called  a  Jewish  student   “Drew  the  dirty  Jew.”   The responsible  eighth ‐graders  were  reprimanded  for  teasing  the   Jewish  student.     The  school  administrators  failed  to recognize  that  anti ‐Semitic  harassment  can  trigger   responsibilities  under  Title  VI.   While  Title  VI  does  not  cover  discrimination based  solely   on  religion, 14 groups  that face  discrimination  on  the  basis  of actual  or perceived  shared   ancestry  or  ethnic  characteristics  may  not be  denied  protection  under  Title  VI  on  the   ground  that  they  also share  a  common  faith.  These  principles  apply  not  just  to  Jewish   students,  but  also  to students  from any  discrete  religious  group that shares, or  is   perceived  to  share,  ancestry  or ethnic  characteristics  ( e.g. , Muslims  or Sikhs).   Thus,   harassment  against students  who are  members  of  any  religious  group  triggers  a  school’s   Title  VI  responsibilities  when  the  harassment  is based  on  the  group’s  actual  or perceived   shared  ancestry  or ethnic  characteristics,  rather  than  solely  on  its  members’  religious  practices.   A school  also  has  responsibilities  under  Title  VI  when  its  students  are  harassed  based  on  their  actual  or perceived  citizenship  or  residency  in  a country  whose   residents  share  a  dominant  religion  or  a  distinct  religious  identity. 15     13 Page 6 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       Page 7 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       In this  example,  the  school  employees  failed  to recognize  that  the “hazing”  constituted   sexual  harassment.   The school  did  not  comply  with  its Title  IX  obligations  when  it  failed  to  investigate  or  remedy  the  sexual  harassment.   The conduct  was  clearly  unwelcome,   sexual  (e.g. , sexual  rumors  and  name  calling),  and  sufficiently  serious  that  it  limited  the   student’s  ability  to  participate  in  and  benefit  from the  school’s  education  program (e.g. ,  anxiety  and declining  class  participation).       The  school  should  have  trained  its  employees  on  the  type  of  misconduct  that   constitutes  sexual harassment.   The school  also  should  have  made  clear  to  its  employees   that  they  could  not  require  the  student  to  confront  her  harassers.   Schools may  use  informal  mechanisms  for  addressing  harassment,  but  only  if  the  parties  agree  to  do  so   on  a  voluntary  basis.  Had  the  school  addressed  the  harassment  consistent with  Title IX,  the  school  would  have,  for  example,  conducted  a thorough  investigation  and  taken   interim  measures  to separate  the  student  from  the  accused  harassers.   An effective   response  also  might  have included  training  students  and employees  on  the  school’s   policies  related to  harassment,  instituting new  procedures  by  which  employees  should   report  allegations  of harassment,  and  more  widely  distributing  the  contact  information   for  the  district’s  Title  IX  coordinator.   The school  also  might  have offered  the  targeted   student  tutoring,  other academic  assistance,  or  counseling  as  necessary  to  remedy  the   effects  of  the  harassment. 16      Title  IX:   Gender ‐Based  Harassment      • Over  the  course  of  a  school  year, a  gay  high  school  student  was called  names  (including   anti ‐gay  slurs  and  sexual  comments)  both  to  his  face  and  on  social  networking  sites,  physically  assaulted,  threatened,  and  ridiculed  because  he  did  not  conform  to   stereotypical  notions of  how  teenage  boys  are  expected  to  act  and  appear  (e.g.,   effeminate  mannerisms,  nontraditional  choice  of  extracurricular  activities,  apparel,  and  personal  grooming  choices).   As a  result,  the student  dropped  out  of  the  drama  club  to   avoid  further  harassment.   Based on the  student’s  self‐ identification  as  gay  and the   homophobic  nature  of  some  of  the  harassment,  the school  did not  recognize  that  the  misconduct  included  discrimination  covered  by  Title  IX.   The  school  responded  to  complaints  from  the  student  by reprimanding  the  perpetrators  consistent  with  its  anti ‐ bullying  policy.   The  reprimands  of  the  identified  perpetrators  stopped  the harassment   by  those  individuals.  It  did  not,  however,  stop  others  from  undertaking  similar   harassment  of the  student.        As  noted  in the  example,  the  school  failed  to recognize  the  pattern  of  misconduct  as  a   form  of sex  discrimination  under  Title  IX.   Title  IX  prohibits  harassment  of both  male  and  female  students  regardless  of  the  sex  of  the  harasser— i.e., even  if  the  harasser  and  target  are  members  of  the  same  sex.   It also  prohibits  gender‐based harassment,  which  may  include  acts of  verbal,  nonverbal,  or physical  aggression,  intimidation,  or  hostility   based  on  sex  or  sex ‐stereotyping.   Thus, it  can  be  sex  discrimination  if  students  are  harassed  either  for  exhibiting  what  is  perceived  as  a  stereotypical  characteristic  for their   16 Page 8 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       sex, or  for  failing  to  conform  to  stereotypical  notions of  masculinity  and  femininity.   Title  IX  also  prohibits  sexual  harassment  and gender‐ based harassment  of all  students,   regardless  of  the  actual  or perceived  sexual  orientation  or  gender  identity  of  the   harasser  or target.       Although  Title  IX  does  not  prohibit  discrimination  based  solely  on  sexual  orientation,   Title  IX  does  protect  all  students,  including  lesbian,  gay,  bisexual,  and  transgender   (LGBT)  students,  from  sex  discrimination.   When students  are subjected  to  harassment  on  the  basis  of their  LGBT  status,  they  may  also,  as  this  example  illustrates,  be  subjected  to  forms  of  sex  discrimination  prohibited  under  Title  IX.   The  fact  that  the  harassment  includes  anti‐LGBT  comments  or  is  partly  based  on  the  target’s  actual  or perceived   sexual  orientation  does  not  relieve  a  school  of  its  obligation  under  Title IX  to  investigate   and  remedy  overlapping  sexual  harassment  or  gender‐ based harassment.   In this   example,  the harassing  conduct was  based  in  part  on  the  student’s  failure  to  act  as   some  of  his  peers  believed  a  boy  should  act.   The  harassment  created a  hostile   environment  that  limited  the  student’s  ability  to  participate  in  the  school’s  education  program  (e.g. , access  to the  drama  club).  Finally,  even  though  the  student  did  not   identify  the  harassment  as sex  discrimination,  the  school  should  have  recognized  that   the  student  had  been  subjected  to gender ‐based  harassment  covered by  Title  IX.       In  this  example,  the  school  had  an obligation  to  take  immediate  and  effective  action  to   eliminate  the  hostile  environment.   By  responding  to  individual  incidents  of  misconduct   on  an  ad  hoc  basis  only, the school  failed  to  confront  and  prevent  a  hostile  environment  from  continuing.   Had the  school  recognized  the  conduct  as  a  form  of sex  discrimination,   it  could  have  employed  the  full  range  of  sanctions  (including  progressive  discipline)  and  remedies  designed  to  eliminate  the  hostile  environment.   For example,  this approach   would  have  included  a  more  comprehensive  response  to  the  situation  that  involved   notice  to  the  student’s  teachers  so  that  they  could  ensure  the student  was  not   subjected  to any  further  harassment,  more  aggressive  monitoring  by  staff  of the  places   where  harassment  occurred, increased  training on  the  scope  of  the  school’s  harassment  and  discrimination  policies,  notice  to  the  target  and  harassers  of  available  counseling   services  and  resources,  and educating  the entire  school  community  on  civil  rights  and  expectations  of  tolerance,  specifically  as  they  apply  to  gender  stereotypes.   The  school   also  should  have  taken  steps  to  clearly  communicate  the  message  that  the  school  does   not  tolerate  harassment  and will be  responsive  to  any  information  about  such  conduct. 17      Section  504  and  Title  II:   Disability  Harassment     • Several  classmates  repeatedly  called  a  student  with a  learning  disability  “stupid,” “idiot,”   and  “retard”  while  in  school  and on  the  school  bus.  On one  occasion,  these  students   tackled  him, hit  him  with  a  school  binder,  and threw  his  personal  items into the  garbage.    The  student  complained  to his  teachers  and  guidance  counselor  that  he was  continually  being  taunted  and  teased.   School  officials offered  him counseling  services  and  a   17 Page 9 ‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and Bullying       psychiatric  evaluation,  but  did  not  discipline  the  offending  students.   As a  result,  the  harassment  continued.  The  student,  who  had  been  performing  well  academically,   became  angry,  frustrated,  and  depressed,  and  often  refused  to  go  to  school  to avoid  the   harassment.     In  this  example,  the  school  failed  to recognize  the  misconduct  as  disability  harassment  under  Section  504  and  Title  II.   The  harassing  conduct included  behavior  based  on  the  student’s  disability,  and limited  the  student’s  ability  to  benefit  fully  from  the  school’s   education  program (e.g. , absenteeism).   In failing  to investigate  and  remedy  the   misconduct,  the  school  did  not  comply  with  its obligations  under  Section  504  and  Title  II.     Counseling  may  be  a  helpful  component  of  a  remedy  for  harassment.   In this  example,   however,  since  the  school  failed  to recognize  the  behavior  as  disability  harassment,  the  school  did  not  adopt  a  comprehensive  approach  to  eliminating  the hostile  environment.    Such  steps  should  have  at  least  included  disciplinary  action  against  the harassers,   consultation  with  the district’s  Section  504/Title  II  coordinator  to  ensure  a  comprehensive  and  effective  response,  special training  for  staff  on  recognizing  and  effectively  responding  to  harassment  of students  with  disabilities,  and  monitoring  to   ensure  that the  harassment  did not  resume. 18    I  encourage  you  to reevaluate  the  policies  and practices  your  school  uses  to  address  bullying 19  and  harassment  to ensure  that they  comply  with  the mandates  of  the  federal  civil  rights  laws.    For  your  convenience,  the  following  is  a  list  of  online  resources  that  further  discuss the   obligations  of  districts  to  respond  to  harassment  prohibited under  the  federal   antidiscrimination  laws  enforced  by  OCR:     • Sexual  Harassment:   It’s Not Academic  (Revised  2008):   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html      • Dear  Colleague  Letter:   Sexual  Harassment  Issues (2006):   http://www2.ed.gov/about/offi ces/list/ocr/letters/sexhar‐2006.html      • Dear  Colleague  Letter:   Religious  Discrimination  (2004):   http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religious ‐rights2004.html     • Dear  Colleague  Letter:   First  Amendment  (2003):   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/firstamend.html   18 Page 10‐ Dear  Colleague  Letter:  Harassment  and  Bullying       • Sexual  Harassment  Guidance (Revised  2001):   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html      • Dear  Colleague  Letter:   Prohibited  Disability  Harassment  (2000):  http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/lis t/ocr/docs/disabharassltr.html     • Racial  Incidents  and  Harassment  Against Students  (1994):   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/race394.html      Please  also  note  that  OCR  has added  new  data  items  to  be  collected  through  its  Civil  Rights  Data  Collection  (CRDC),  which  surveys  school  districts  in  a variety  of  areas  related  to  civil  rights  in  education.  The  CRDC  now  requires  districts  to  collect  and  report  information  on  allegations  of  harassment,  policies  regarding  harassment,  and discipline  imposed  for  harassment.   In 2009 ‐10,   the  CRDC  covered  nearly  7,000  school  districts,  including  all  districts  with  more  than 3,000   students.  For  more  information  about  the  CRDC  data  items,  please  visit   http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/whatsnew.html .    OCR  is  committed  to working  with  schools,  students,  students’ families,  community  and  advocacy  organizations,  and  other  interested  parties  to  ensure  that students  are not subjected   to  harassment.   Please do  not  hesitate  to  contact  OCR if  we  can  provide  assistance  in  your   efforts  to  address  harassment  or if  you  have  other  civil  rights  concerns.       For  the  OCR  regional  office serving  your  state,  please  visit:   http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov /CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm , or  call  OCR’s  Customer  Service  Team  at  1 ‐800 ‐421 ‐3481.       I  look  forward  to continuing  our  work  together  to  ensure  equal access  to  education,  and  to  promote  safe  and  respectful  school  climates  for  America’s  students.         Sincerely,            /s/    Russlynn  Ali   Assistant  Secretary  for Civil  Rights