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SALT LAKE CITY — Some people think of bullying as a rite of passage, or dismiss sexual harassment in school as ignorance. But that kind of behavior is in violation of a public school student's civil rights.
National leaders are in Salt Lake City for a two-day conference, working with about 40 state education officials to train public school officials on civil rights, harassment and bullying. They hope to get districts to update their policies with new federal guidelines.
Many of the conference sessions focus on Title IX and Title IV. It boils down to, if a public school student is being sexually harassed or bullied because of their race or ethnicity, it violates their federal civil rights.
Canyons School District civil rights officer Melissa Flores is attending the conference. She says it takes more than just discipline.
Schools need to know how to protect themselves, which is more complicated than 'don't do that.'
–Kathy Rigsby
"You have to educate. You have to educate on the harmful effects of what the action is, and you have to educate on what the process is in your district to combat that kind of hostility," Flores said. "If we want to create good citizens, you educate them on the standard they will be held to in life."
She says the Federal Office of Civil Rights has informed educators that if a child does not feel safe at school, that violates their civil right to a free and public education.
Kathy Rigsby, director of the Region 8 Equity Assistance Center based in Denver says when it comes to sexual harassment, "Schools need to know how to protect themselves, which is more complicated than ‘don't do that.'"
- 1972 - Passed into law
- 1975 - Regulations came out
- 1978 - Compliance required
"So many school districts don't have as much knowledge about Title IX and related issues that would perhaps make their jobs easier," she added.
This conference is for Wasatch Front schools. More training conferences will be held around the state this summer. Districts must have a bullying and harassment policy in place, but the new guidelines from the Office of Civil Rights mean those districts must update their policies.
"Bullying policies are like a will," Rigsby said. "They must constantly be updated, just to make sure that what you are providing is what you can do."
She said conference attendees will get a flash drive with "Dear Colleague" letters from the Office of Civil Rights. "Those are incredible guidance for districts. And it will have the current information on Title IX," she said.
