Although no federal law directly addresses bullying, in some cases, bullying overlaps with discriminatory harassment when it is based on race, national origin, color, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), age, disability, or religion. Federally-funded schools (including colleges and universities) have an obligation to resolve harassment on these bases.

The types of discrimination prohibited in schools are the same types of discrimination that federal civil rights laws prohibit. A school that fails to respond appropriately to harassment of students based on a protected class may be violating one or more civil rights laws enforced by the ED and the DOJ, including:

• Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

What are a school’s obligations regarding harassment based on protected classes?

Anyone can report harassing conduct to a school. When a school receives a complaint they must take certain steps to investigate and resolve the situation.

• Take immediate and appropriate action to investigate or otherwise determine what happened.
• Inquiry must be prompt, thorough, and impartial.
• Interview targeted students, students or staff alleged to have engaged in harassment, and witnesses, and maintain written documentation of investigation.
• Communicate with targeted students regarding steps taken to end harassment.
• Check in with targeted students to ensure that harassment has ceased.
• When an investigation reveals that harassment has occurred, a school should take steps reasonably calculated to:
  • End the harassment,
  • Eliminate any hostile environment,
  • Prevent harassment from recurring,
  • As appropriate, remedy the effects of the harassment, and
  • Prevent retaliation against the targeted student(s), complainant(s), or witnesses.

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