Federal investigators have concluded that an Arizona district school board failed to protect a middle school student from antisemitic harassment by classmates.
The US Department of Education said in a statement that the Tempe area Kyrene School District did not respond appropriately to months of antisemitic harassment experienced by an Altadena Middle School student, which was a violated of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
According to the investigation by the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the harassment took place over the course of five months, both on school grounds and online and was perpetrated by nine classmates.
The OCR said nine students harassed the Jewish girl, making jokes about the Holocaust and disparaging her for being Jewish. She also said that they made "sexually charged" statements about Judaism.
“The harassment the student experienced and the district’s failure to provide the student with a safe school environment caused her to suffer significant and enduring academic and emotional harm,” the Department of Education said. “OCR also found that the harassment the district failed to address persisted school wide.”
While the district confirmed the harassment occurred, the investigation found that it did not assess whether it “negatively impacted other students” and did not take any widespread measures to address antisemitic bullying until several months after confirming it was taking place, which “allowed a potential hostile environment to persist in the school.”
“As a result of these failures, OCR determined that the district permitted the student to be subjected to a hostile environment based on her Jewish ancestry that was sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it interfered with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the school’s program.”
Based on a resolution agreement, the district pledged to take measures to ensure that all its programs and activities are free from discrimination “based on race, color, or national origin (including based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics).”
“As we see a distressing rise in reports of antisemitism on campuses across the country, I commend Kyrene School District #28 for committing today to take essential steps to ensure that no other students will have to suffer antisemitic harassment or other harassment based on their shared ancestry,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon.