Laws Concerning Harassment And Discrimination
I. Constitutional Amendments
A. 14 Amendment, Equal Protection Clause - reinforces the principal that all students have a right to safe schools.
II. Federal Civil Rights Laws
A. Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - prohibits discrimination in employment and educational activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion and sex.
B. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 - prohibits sex discrimination, sexual harassment (opposite or same-sex), and unfair treatment of pregnant students.
C. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - prohibit disability discrimination.
D. Age Discrimination Act of 1975 - prohibits age discrimination.
E. Title II of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 - prohibits disability discrimination by public entities, including public school districts, whether or not they receive Federal financial assistance.
III. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34
A. 100.3(a) - prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
B. 100.7(e), 106.71, & 104.61 - prohibits retaliation against persons who report discrimination or harassment.
C. 104.7 - requires the designation of employees to coordinate compliance with Section 504.
D. 106.8 - requires the designation of employee to coordinate compliance with Title IX.
IX. State Laws
A. California Assembly Bill 537 (2000) - "No person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, color, mental or physical disability or any basis that is contained in the prohibition of hate crimes set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 422.6 or the Penal Code." (Penal Code 422.6(a) includes race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation).
B. California Assembly Bill 1785 (2000) - This bill states the intent of the Legislature that public schools:
1. Have access to supplemental resources to combat bias based on membership in specified groups or classifications and to respond to acts of hate-violence and bias-related incidents.
2. Include hate-motivated incident and hate crimes as part of the California Safe Schools Assessment, effective July 2001.
3. Combat bias of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation¬Öand prevent and respond to act of hate-violence and bias-related incidents.
The State Governing Board is required to revise state curriculum frameworks and guidelines and moral and civic education curricula to include human relations education, fostering and appreciation of California's diversity and discouraging discriminatory attitudes and practices.
V. Legal Precedents
A. Doe v. University of Illinois (7th Circuit, 1998) - a school could be held liable for the harassment of a student by another student when the school knew about the harassment but failed to take meaningful action "plausibly directed to putting an end" to the harassment.
B. Kate S. v. McCaffrey (Ninth Circuit, 1998) - held that schools have a duty under Title IX to take reasonable steps to remedy a known hostile environment created by peer harassment.
C. Morse v. Regents of the University of Colorado (10th Circuit, 1998) - held that the University could be liable for the harm suffered as a result of sexual harassment and the hostile environment created by a fellow student.
D. Nabozny v. Podleny (7th Circuit, 1996) - it is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause for a public school to refuse to protect a Gay student from gay bashing and harassment (the school district settled for nearly $1 million in damages).
Exhibit LINDEN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
version: February 19, 2003 Linden, California