Minn. school district settles bullying lawsuits | Fox News
Minn. school district settles bullying lawsuits | Fox News
COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Minnesota's
largest school district on Monday voted to settle a pair of lawsuits
over a policy that was criticized for failing to protect gay students
from bullying.
The Anoka-Hennepin School Board
approved the settlement 5-1 at its meeting Monday evening. The district
agreed to a long list of measures to help prevent and address sex-based
harassment at its middle and high schools, including hiring consultants
and working with federal authorities to ensure the district complies
with the terms. The district's insurance carrier will pay the six
current and former students named in the lawsuits a total of $270,000,
and the district will tap about $500,000 of its own funds to implement
the agreement.
Superintendent Dennis Carlson told
reporters the agreement "helps us move forward as a district to a better
day for all students. When we have finished this process, we believe we
will have developed a model that all school districts can follow."
The
students sued the district last summer over a policy requiring staff to
remain neutral when the topic of sexual orientation came up in the
classroom. The plaintiffs claimed the policy was a gag order that
prevented teachers from effectively protecting gay and lesbian students.
The
neutrality policy came under fire after six students in the district
committed suicide in less than two years. It was replaced last month
with one that requires teachers to foster a respectful learning
environment for all students. The new policy also says teachers
shouldn't try to persuade students to adopt any particular viewpoint
when contentious political, religious, social or economic issues come
up.
The lone school board member to vote against the
settlement, Kathy Tingelstad, resigned in protest, expressing concern
about the costs and saying it set a bad precedent.
The
chairman of the school board, Tom Heidemann, said the settlement
"likely saved the district millions of dollars and many years of ongoing
litigation." He said the consent decree builds on the district's
efforts to combat bullying, and begins a new five-year partnership with
the U.S. Justice Department.
However, Tingelstad
said the district had been "drug through the mud" by advocacy groups
based outside the state. She didn't take questions from reporters, but
she appeared to be referring to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the
National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represented the students, and
other groups from across the country that have weighed in on the debate.
"Like
a target of bullying, I choose to leave this situation, by resigning,
instead of fighting back against the out-of-state bullies," Tingelstad
said.
The school board adopted the new policy after
months of debate and several public hearings before impassioned
audiences split between critics of the old policy and conservative
parents and community members who believe homosexual conduct is immoral.
Some defended the old policy as a way to prevent public schools from
spreading what they consider "homosexual propaganda."
In
the lawsuit, the six plaintiffs contended the district failed to
protect them from severe bullying and harassment, including physical
abuse and verbal slurs. Four of the plaintiffs identify themselves as
gay or bisexual and two do not.
Some of the student-plaintiffs and their parents who were present for Monday's vote hailed it as an important move forward.
"I
see change coming and I'm real excited for it," said Dylon Frei, a
ninth-grader at Anoka High School who identifies himself as gay and said
things have been getting better for him in recent months as the debate
has unfolded.
The proposed settlement was reached
between the district and the plaintiffs. The Department of Justice,
which began a civil rights investigation, and the U.S. Department of
Education's Office for Civil Rights were involved in developing the
consent decree, which still needs formal approval from a federal judge.
The
extent to which bullying and sexual orientation contributed to the six
suicides was a matter of dispute. A parent of one student said her son
was bullied for being gay, and gay advocacy groups say some of the
others were also bullied. Some but not all were identified by family or
friends as gay or were perceived by their peers as gay.
The district changed its anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies in October 2010.
For
the 2011-2012 school year, the district launched a new anti-bullying
campaign. It called for staff to be in the halls and other places where
students congregate, and for them to immediately stop bullying and
report perpetrators.
Anoka-Hennepin has about 39,000 students in more than 35 schools north of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Minnesota's
largest school district on Monday voted to settle a pair of lawsuits
over a policy that was criticized for failing to protect gay students
from bullying.
The Anoka-Hennepin School Board
approved the settlement 5-1 at its meeting Monday evening. The district
agreed to a long list of measures to help prevent and address sex-based
harassment at its middle and high schools, including hiring consultants
and working with federal authorities to ensure the district complies
with the terms. The district's insurance carrier will pay the six
current and former students named in the lawsuits a total of $270,000,
and the district will tap about $500,000 of its own funds to implement
the agreement.
Superintendent Dennis Carlson told
reporters the agreement "helps us move forward as a district to a better
day for all students. When we have finished this process, we believe we
will have developed a model that all school districts can follow."
The
students sued the district last summer over a policy requiring staff to
remain neutral when the topic of sexual orientation came up in the
classroom. The plaintiffs claimed the policy was a gag order that
prevented teachers from effectively protecting gay and lesbian students.
The
neutrality policy came under fire after six students in the district
committed suicide in less than two years. It was replaced last month
with one that requires teachers to foster a respectful learning
environment for all students. The new policy also says teachers
shouldn't try to persuade students to adopt any particular viewpoint
when contentious political, religious, social or economic issues come
up.
The lone school board member to vote against the
settlement, Kathy Tingelstad, resigned in protest, expressing concern
about the costs and saying it set a bad precedent.
The
chairman of the school board, Tom Heidemann, said the settlement
"likely saved the district millions of dollars and many years of ongoing
litigation." He said the consent decree builds on the district's
efforts to combat bullying, and begins a new five-year partnership with
the U.S. Justice Department.
However, Tingelstad
said the district had been "drug through the mud" by advocacy groups
based outside the state. She didn't take questions from reporters, but
she appeared to be referring to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the
National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represented the students, and
other groups from across the country that have weighed in on the debate.
"Like
a target of bullying, I choose to leave this situation, by resigning,
instead of fighting back against the out-of-state bullies," Tingelstad
said.
The school board adopted the new policy after
months of debate and several public hearings before impassioned
audiences split between critics of the old policy and conservative
parents and community members who believe homosexual conduct is immoral.
Some defended the old policy as a way to prevent public schools from
spreading what they consider "homosexual propaganda."
In
the lawsuit, the six plaintiffs contended the district failed to
protect them from severe bullying and harassment, including physical
abuse and verbal slurs. Four of the plaintiffs identify themselves as
gay or bisexual and two do not.
Some of the student-plaintiffs and their parents who were present for Monday's vote hailed it as an important move forward.
"I
see change coming and I'm real excited for it," said Dylon Frei, a
ninth-grader at Anoka High School who identifies himself as gay and said
things have been getting better for him in recent months as the debate
has unfolded.
The proposed settlement was reached
between the district and the plaintiffs. The Department of Justice,
which began a civil rights investigation, and the U.S. Department of
Education's Office for Civil Rights were involved in developing the
consent decree, which still needs formal approval from a federal judge.
The
extent to which bullying and sexual orientation contributed to the six
suicides was a matter of dispute. A parent of one student said her son
was bullied for being gay, and gay advocacy groups say some of the
others were also bullied. Some but not all were identified by family or
friends as gay or were perceived by their peers as gay.
The district changed its anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies in October 2010.
For
the 2011-2012 school year, the district launched a new anti-bullying
campaign. It called for staff to be in the halls and other places where
students congregate, and for them to immediately stop bullying and
report perpetrators.
Anoka-Hennepin has about 39,000 students in more than 35 schools north of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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