Departments of Justice and Education Reach Agreement with Tehachapi, California, Public Schools to Resolve Harassment Allegations
WASHINGTON – The Departments of Justice and Education reached a settlement agreement with the Tehachapi Unified School District in Tehachapi, Calif., to resolve an investigation into the harassment of a middle school student based on his nonconformity with gender stereotypes. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 each prohibit harassment based on sex, including harassment based on nonconformity with gender stereotypes and sexual harassment. In September 2010, Jacobsen Middle School student Seth Walsh committed suicide at the age of 13. In October 2010, the Department of Education received a complaint alleging that Walsh had been the victim of severe and persistent peer-on-peer sex-based harassment while he was a student at Jacobsen. After receiving the complaint, the Department of Education initiated an extensive investigation into the circumstances leading to Walsh’s death and, together...