MJP –
The United States Department of Education stated on Friday that the San Diego Unified School District did not adequately address student complaints of sexual harassment. As a result, the department and the district agreed to improve how the district handles such claims going forward.
Examining 253 student reports and complaints over three years, education authorities concluded “that the district more often than not did not fulfill its Title IX regulatory requirement to equitably respond to allegations of sexual harassment of its students.”
The complaints encompassed the school years from 2017–18 through 2019–20, during which time U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten was the superintendent of SDUSD. They included allegations of wrongdoing by both district staff and students.
According to the findings of the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education, the school district was found to have neglected its duties in responding fairly to claims of sexual harassment and assault, in not coordinating its actions through its designated Title IX coordinator, and in not implementing fair and timely grievance procedures for complaints.
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The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has committed to several measures to enhance its handling of sexual harassment complaints as part of its agreement with the State Department of Education.
These include conducting an annual assessment of past complaints to determine if any additional measures are required to address them, teaching students in grades 3–12 sexual harassment awareness and reporting skills, and educating district employees on their responsibilities in responding to such reports.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education Catherine E. Lhamon stated, “Through today’s resolution, San Diego Unified commits to overhaul its response to allegations of sexual harassment to ensure all its students learn safely and without sex or disability discrimination.”
(Lhamon, 2017). “OCR looks forward to working with the district to redress serial perpetration, protect students with disabilities from being preyed upon, and ensure that district students can expect to focus on learning without unlawful sexual harassment.”
