(JTA) — The U.S. Department of Education has concluded an investigation into the Park City, Utah, public school district over reports of anti-Semitic harassment and other forms of discrimination, and the district will improve anti-bias training and prevent future hate incidents. to the federal government, which has agreed to report it.
This is only the second resolution agreement. Such a conclusion in a Title VI “common ancestry” anti-Semitic discrimination case is that The department has been flooded with new investigations in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.. Both of the resolved cases involve allegations that predate October 7, and neither appears to involve Israel.
The Park City case also involved discrimination based on disability status, gender, and many other issues, and the district received more than 180 reports of discrimination between 2021 and 2023.
According to local reports, the first accuser in the Park City case was Season Kane, a Jewish parent.cain A complaint was filed with the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights in February 2023.; the case was opened later that month.
Kane said her daughter, then a middle school student, was the victim of anti-Semitic bullying when another student yelled “KKK” to her face.investigation It was later expanded to include multiple other racist and discriminatory incidents in the district..
In announcing Wednesday's resolution, OCR said the school district “repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of racially-based and anti-Semitic harassment” and, among other things, “repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of racially-based and anti-Semitic harassment identified by the district.” failed to take effective steps to end a hostile environment based on .
Over the next two years, the district will investigate all incidents of harassment, conduct climate assessments, notify students and parents of harassment prohibitions, conduct more thorough anti-harassment training for staff and students, and implement all agreed to report its handling of harassment complaints to OCR. .
In a letter to parents, district Superintendent Jill Gildea said the study found that “harassment and discrimination among students based on race, national origin (including anti-Semitism), sex, and sexuality are the most common. “This highlights the issues within the secondary school regarding incidents that were mostly verbal.” hindrance. ” Long statement and Q&A about settlement agreement posted on district website There was no other mention of anti-Semitism.
The mountain resort city of Park City, home to the Sundance Film Festival, is home to a small Jewish community year-round. There is one Reform synagogue and one Chabad center in the area.Local resident has fought the district's efforts to promote diversity and equity initiatives.Local reports call them a form of “surrender” and say they are biased against conservatives.
Since October 7, Concerns About OCR’s Other Successful Anti-Semitism Resolution Agreements Delaware K-12 public school districts, agreed to similar terms with Park City. Unlike Park City, Delaware also agreed to financially compensate Jewish families affected by anti-Semitic bullying for mental health-related expenses. The bureau also ended anti-Semitism investigations into some prominent universities, including Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, citing simultaneous lawsuits filed against the schools by Jewish students.
In addition to the dozens of “common ancestry” cases pending before October 7, OCR has initiated more than 80 such cases since the start of the war. Many involve allegations of anti-Semitism or Islamophobia related to the war on college and K-12 campuses.
