Bullying has become a growing problem in schools, especially for students in the gay community. But a settlement reached in a discrimination lawsuit brought by six teenagers against the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota offers some hope. Federal officials say the settlement should serve as a “blueprint” for other schools when dealing with the harassment and bullying of students who are gay or perceived to be gay.
As the StarTribune reports, the settlement, which was approved 5-1 Monday night by the Anoka-Hennepin School Board, creates a five-year anti-harassment partnership between the district and the U.S. departments of Justice and Education:
“The settlement requires the district to create a comprehensive data system, offer training for students and staff, seek out and rectify “hot spots” for bullying and harassment, make progress reports to the Justice Department, add the positions of equity coordinator and Title IX coordinator to oversee its efforts, and designate a liaison at each middle and high school. Some of those efforts had already been undertaken by the district.”
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez called the settlement a “comprehensive blueprint for sustainable reform that will enhance the district’s policies, training and other efforts to ensure that every student … is free from sex-based harassment.”
The agreement settles a civil rights investigation that began in November 2010 as well as two lawsuits filed this past summer by six current or former students who claimed harassment based on either their real or perceived sexual orientation.
“I feel alive,” said plaintiff Brittany Geldert at a Minneapolis news conference. “I can live the life I was meant to live and not dwell in the past.”
Source: StarTribune
Heather Rudow is a staff writer for Counseling Today. Email her at hrudow@counseling.org.