Press Release
☷U S Department of Education s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution Addressing Responses to Harassment Based on Race Sex and Disability and to Antisemitic Harassment in Park City School District in Utah
U.S. Department of Education ( By Press Release office)
Mar 22,2024
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On March 20 , 2024 , the Park City School District in Utah made a deal to resolve an investigation by the U . S . Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ( OCR ) into seven complaints of harassment that were filed in 2023 . The complaints claimed that students at the district’s middle school , junior high , and high school were experiencing ongoing harassment based on race , nationality , disability , and gender , which created a hostile environment . The district agreed to address the issues identified by OCR and ensure compliance with various civil rights laws when responding to harassment . OCR found that the district received over 180 reports of students harassing each other based on race , nationality , disability , and gender during the 2021 - 22 and 2022 - 23 school years . While the district took some action to address the harassment , such as disciplining the students responsible , they failed to adequately address the repeated harassment of Black , Asian , and Jewish students , as well as harassment based on gender . OCR also found that the district failed to investigate allegations of race - based and antisemitic harassment , failed to end the hostile environments caused by such harassment , and failed to provide complainants with information on how to report sexual harassment . Additionally , the district ' s Title IX coordinator did not keep all the required records of the district ' s responses to reports of sexual harassment . These failures by the district left students without effective support in dealing with derogatory language , physical assaults , and harassment based on race , nationality , and gender . OCR also had concerns about the district ' s record - keeping practices and their inadequate response to harassment of Latino students and students with disabilities . The district has agreed to address the violations and compliance concerns identified by OCR by reviewing incidents of harassment based on race , national origin , sex , and disability in the 2022 - 23 school year . They will also update districtwide policies and procedures , implement new forms for tracking reports of harassment , and provide training for employees on Title IX coordination . Additionally , they will conduct a climate assessment focused on student - to - student harassment and educate students and parents on how to report harassment . The district will report back to OCR on their response to reports and complaints of harassment in the following school years . OCR Assistant Secretary Catherine E . Lhamon stated that the agreement ensures that all students can learn without facing discriminatory harassment in schools . The resolution letter and agreement can be found on the Office for Civil Rights website .
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