OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
education programs and activities (e.g., by causing some Jewish students
to avoid the library and computer lab). Therefore, although the discipline
that the school imposed on the perpetrators was an important part of the school’s
response, discipline alone was likely insufficient to remedy a hostile environment.
Similarly, removing the graffiti, while a necessary and important step, did
not fully satisfy the school’s responsibilities. As discussed above, misconduct
that is not directed at a particular student, like the graffiti in the bathroom,
can still constitute discriminatory harassment and foster a hostile environment.
Finally, the fact that school officials considered one of the incidents “teasing”
is irrelevant for determining whether it contributed to a hostile environment.
Because the school failed to recognize that the incidents created a hostile
environment, it addressed each only in isolation, and therefore failed to take
prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment and
prevent its recurrence. In addition to disciplining the perpetrators, remedial
steps could have included counseling the perpetrators about the hurtful effect
of their conduct, publicly labeling the incidents as anti-Semitic, reaffirming
the school’s policy against discrimination, and publicizing the means by which
students may report harassment. Providing teachers with training to recognize
and address anti-Semitic incidents also would have increased the effectiveness
of the school’s response. The school could also have created an age-appropriate
program to educate its students about the history and dangers of anti-Semitism,
and could have conducted outreach to involve parents and community groups in
preventing future anti-Semitic harassment.
Title IX: Sexual Harassment
- Shortly after enrolling at a new high school, a female student had
a brief romance with another student. After the couple broke up, other
male and female students began routinely calling the new student sexually
charged names, spreading rumors about her sexual behavior, and sending
her threatening text messages and e-mails. One of the student’s teachers
and an athletic coach witnessed the name calling and heard the rumors,
but identified it as “hazing” that new students often experience. They
also noticed the new student’s anxiety and declining class participation.
The school attempted to resolve the situation by requiring the student
to work the problem out directly with her harassers.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which can include
unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal,
or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Thus, sexual harassment prohibited
by Title IX can include conduct such as touching of a sexual nature; making
sexual comments, jokes, or gestures; writing graffiti or displaying or distributing
sexually explicit drawings, pictures, or written materials; calling students
sexually charged names; spreading sexual rumors; rating students on sexual
activity or performance; or circulating, showing, or creating e-mails or Web
sites of a sexual nature.
Last Modified: 10/26/2010