Park City schools need a change at the top due to a lack of response to harassment over race, sex, and antisemitism

Do we care about antisemitism in our schools? Do we care about bullying? Do we care about harassment over how someone sexually identifies? What about harassment over religion or national origin?

I think we should care. But apparently, our school district hasn’t and maybe doesn’t.

;tldr The United Office of Civil Rights said the Park City School District likely allowed harassment with a number of groups.

*********************************************************************

Today, the US Department Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a letter to the Park City School District informing them of the resolution to seven harassment complaints filed with the OCR. According to the letter, “The complainants alleged that the District was on notice of and failed to respond promptly or effectively to student-to-student harassment based on one or more prohibited bases at Ecker Hill Middle School (EHMS), Treasure Mountain Junior High School (TMJH), and Park City High School (PCHS) (the three Schools) in school year (SY) 2021-22 and SY 2022-23.”

When looking at these OCR complaints, over the two school years, and three schools, the complaint identifies harassment related to children from Jewish ancestry, sexual orientation, race, and disability. The OCR documented over 180 cases of such harassment in Park City schools.

Let’s get specific from the letter from the OCR to Park City Superintendent Gildea:

“The seven complaints alleged that ongoing and various types of student-to-student harassment
based on race, national origin, disability, and sex created hostile environments for students at
EHMS, TMJH, and PCHS. Six of the seven complaints OCR investigated alleged race-based
harassment, three of the seven complaints alleged antisemitic harassment against students in
violation of Title VI’s prohibition of discrimination based on national origin (shared Jewish
ancestry), three of the complaints alleged sex-based harassment, and two of the complaints
alleged disability-based harassment. As detailed below, OCR found documentary and witness
evidence of over 180 reported incidents of students harassing other students at the three Schools
during SYs 2021-22 and 2022-23, and the vast majority were based on race (77), national origin
(27 involving antisemitism), or sex (at least 80), including slurs, threats, name-calling, jokes,
gestures, symbols, and assaults. For example, EHMS alone documented 58 incidents of students
engaging in race-based harassment, nine incidents involving antisemitic harassment, and 55
incidents of sex-based harassment, for a total of at least 122 documented incidents of harassment
in one school over just two school years. OCR also found four documented reports of disability
harassment – three at EHMS and one at TMJH – and a possible hostile environment for at least a
few students with disabilities.“

Hostile environment. Hostile environment. Hostile environment.

That’s how our most vulnerable are treated.

Later in the letter, the OCR SAYS,

“The information OCR has reviewed to date confirms that, at least in specific incidents (including as illustrated in 11 examples discussed below), these responses were insufficient to end the harassment or prevent its recurrence, as evidenced by ongoing harassment based on race, national origin, and sex at the three Schools. District employee responses during interviews with OCR underscored the inefficacy of the District’s responses. Most employees OCR interviewed said they were unaware of what the District had done in response to student-to-student harassment based on protected statuses, eight employees told OCR that the District had not done enough to address such harassment, and 10 employees told OCR that their school had not done enough.”

So, let’s talk about the findings. The OCR says:

“OCR received seven harassment complaints against the District in a span of less than five
months between January and June 2023 involving three of its seven schools. During school year
(SY) 2022-23, the District served 4,350 students in four elementary schools; one middle school
for grades six and seven (EHMS), with 705 students; one junior high school for grades eight and
nine (TMJH), with 772 students; and one high school for grades 10 to 12 (PCHS), with 1,221
students. The districtwide student population was 74.1% White, 18.8% Latino, 5.3% multi-racial,
1.2% Asian, 0.5% Black, 0.1% American Indian, and 0.04% Pacific Islander.

The seven complaints alleged that ongoing and various types of student-to-student harassment
based on race, national origin, disability, and sex created hostile environments for students at
EHMS, TMJH, and PCHS. Six of the seven complaints OCR investigated alleged race-based
harassment, three of the seven complaints alleged antisemitic harassment against students in
violation of Title VI’s prohibition of discrimination based on national origin (shared Jewish
ancestry), three of the complaints alleged sex-based harassment, and two of the complaints
alleged disability-based harassment. As detailed below, OCR found documentary and witness
evidence of over 180 reported incidents of students harassing other students at the three Schools
during SYs 2021-22 and 2022-23, and the vast majority were based on race (77), national origin
(27 involving antisemitism), or sex (at least 80), including slurs, threats, name-calling, jokes,
gestures, symbols, and assaults. For example, EHMS alone documented 58 incidents of students
engaging in race-based harassment, nine incidents involving antisemitic harassment, and 55
incidents of sex-based harassment, for a total of at least 122 documented incidents of harassment
in one school over just two school years. OCR also found four documented reports of disability
harassment – three at EHMS and one at TMJH – and a possible hostile environment for at least a
few students with disabilities.

OCR’s investigation of these complaints consisted of reviewing the District’s harassment and
student discipline policies and procedures, the three Schools’ websites, student-parent
handbooks, employee training materials, and records related to specific incidents of harassment
(e.g., communications, witness statements, interview notes, and discipline records). Additionally,
OCR had the District run a search of all employees’ email accounts for messages that contained
any one of 58 keywords (e.g., “Nazi,” “swastika,” “racism,” “LGBTQ,” “sexual harassment,”
etc.) and were sent or received since July 1, 2021; then, OCR reviewed the voluminous emails
produced. Next, OCR asked all employees who work at the three Schools, via an emailed survey,
about incidents of students engaging in harassment based on protected statuses and the schools’
and District’s responses to such harassment. OCR received 121 survey responses, including from
52 employees at EHMS, 28 at TMJH, and 41 at PCHS.

Then, OCR interviewed 47 individuals employed by the District during SY 2022-23, including
18 who worked at EHMS, 12 who worked at TMJH, 14 who worked at PCHS, and three who
worked in the District’s Central Office. Interviewees at each school included, at a minimum, the
principal and assistant principals, at least one counselor, employees who were involved in
responding to specific incidents of harassment, and employees who provided information about
harassment in a response to OCR’s survey. OCR also interviewed seven former District
employees, 18 parents of current or former District students, seven current District students, and
five other local community members.

These interviews, OCR’s review of thousands of pages of District records, and employee survey
responses confirmed that student-to-student harassment based on race, national origin (shared
Jewish ancestry), and sex at TMJH, EHMS, and PCHS, of which the District had actual notice,
created a hostile environment for Black students, Asian students, Jewish students, and many
students based on sex, including LGBTQI+ students, during SYs 2021-22 and 2022-23. In
response to this harassment, the District and three Schools disciplined some of the harassers and
took some actions to prevent recurrence of harassment generally, such as providing additional
training for administrators, sending mass emails to parents of students at EHMS, producing
videos about harassment at TMJH, initiating a “standing together against hate” campaign at
PCHS, and conducting presentations or holding discussions about harassment at EHMS, TMJH,
and PCHS. The information OCR has reviewed to date confirms that, at least in specific
incidents (including as illustrated in 11 examples discussed below), these responses were
insufficient to end the harassment or prevent its recurrence, as evidenced by ongoing harassment
based on race, national origin, and sex at the three Schools. District employee responses during
interviews with OCR underscored the inefficacy of the District’s responses. Most employees
OCR interviewed said they were unaware of what the District had done in response to student-to-
student harassment based on protected statuses, eight employees told OCR that the District had
not done enough to address such harassment, and 10 employees told OCR that their school had
not done enough.

Additionally, OCR identified concerns regarding the District’s compliance with Title VI and
Section 504. Specifically, OCR identified concerns regarding the District’s responses to
harassment and possible hostile environments for Hispanic students and students with disabilities
at the three Schools (including as illustrated in the twelfth example discussed below). As
discussed near the end of this letter, OCR also found evidence of student-to-student harassment
based on race and sex at the District’s four elementary schools, which were not the focus of
OCR’s investigation, raising an additional concern about whether the District promptly and
effectively responded to this harassment as required by Title VI and Title IX.

District records produced to date do not reflect responses sufficient to redress and prevent
recurrence of hostile environments for students at the three Schools”