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A new option for dealing with harassment of students who are (or are viewed as ) LGBT
Harassment of students who are, or are viewed as, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT) is common -- but hard to deal with. So it's good news that the US Department of Education (USDOE) has just issued a letter saying that, in serious situations, this type of harassment can be the basis for a complaint against the student's school. The complaint, which can be filed by a student or parent with or without a lawyer, goes to USDOE's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). If the complaint is upheld, OCR will require the school to eliminate the harassment and prevent it from recurring.
To fall within OCR's purview, the harassment must be severe, pervasive, or persistent -- enough to create a "hostile environment" that interferes with the student's education. The school must have reason to know about the harassment, and must have failed to take adequate action. There are also some other conditions noted in the letter.
OCR will also accept complaints of harassment based on race, color, national origin, and gender. (It's actually the "gender" category that potentially includes certain kinds of LGBT-harassment cases.) Click here for more information on OCR, and here for details on how to file a complaint..
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Permalink Reply by LT Tierney on
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A little late to the conversation, but this caught my eye and I wanted to thank Len for posting it. I like that the letter instructs school administrators to develop comprehensive responses to hostile school environments--the message seemed to be geared toward changing school cultures, and not simply relying on harsh discipline to send the message that bulllying won't be tolerated. I only wish that it had been more directly critical of traditional disciplinary responses to bullying and had discussed ways to combat this epidemic without pushing more youth into the school-to-prison pipeline.
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