UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

October 26, 2010

Dear Colleague:

In recent years, many state departments of education and local school districts have taken

steps to reduce bullying in schools.  The U.S. Department of Education (Department) fully

supports these efforts.  Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously

impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively

affect learning, thereby undermining the ability of students to achieve their full potential.  The

movement to adopt anti‐bullying policies reflects schools’ appreciation of their important

responsibility to maintain a safe learning environment for all students.  I am writing to remind

you, however, that some student misconduct that falls under a school’s anti‐bullying policy also

may trigger responsibilities under one or more of the federal antidiscrimination laws enforced

by the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  As discussed in more detail below, by limiting

its response to a specific application of its anti‐bullying disciplinary policy, a school may fail to

properly consider whether the student misconduct also results in discriminatory harassment.

The statutes that OCR enforces include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 19641 (Title VI), which

prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin; Title IX of the Education

Amendments of 19722 (Title IX), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex; Section 504

of the Rehabilitation Act of 19733 (Section 504); and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities

Act of 19904 (Title II).  Section 504 and Title II prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.5

  

School districts may violate these civil rights statutes and the Department’s implementing

regulations when peer harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability is

sufficiently serious that it creates a hostile environment and such harassment is encouraged,

tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school employees.6

  School personnel who

understand their legal obligations to address harassment under these laws are in the best

position to prevent it from occurring and to respond appropriately when it does.  Although this

letter focuses on the elementary and secondary school context, the legal principles also apply

to postsecondary institutions covered by the laws and regulations enforced by OCR.

Some school anti‐bullying policies already may list classes or traits on which bases bullying or

harassment is specifically prohibited.  Indeed, many schools have adopted anti‐bullying policies

that go beyond prohibiting bullying on the basis of traits expressly protected by the federal civil

1 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq. 2 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. 3 29 U.S.C. § 794. 4 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq. 5 OCR also enforces the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq., and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C.

§ 7905.  This letter does not specifically address those statutes. 6 The Department’s regulations implementing these statutes are in 34 C.F.R. parts 100, 104, and 106.  Under these federal civil rights laws and

regulations, students are protected from harassment by school employees, other students, and third parties.  This guidance focuses on peer

harassment, and articulates the legal standards that apply in administrative enforcement and in court cases where plaintiffs are seeking

injunctive relief.   

Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. 

[OCR-00056]

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 2‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

rights laws enforced by OCR—race, color, national origin, sex, and disability—to include such

bases as sexual orientation and religion.  While this letter concerns your legal obligations under

the laws enforced by OCR, other federal, state, and local laws impose additional obligations on

schools.7

  And, of course, even when bullying or harassment is not a civil rights violation,

schools should still seek to prevent it in order to protect students from the physical and

emotional harms that it may cause.    

Harassing conduct may take many forms, including verbal acts and name‐calling; graphic and

written statements, which may include use of cell phones or the Internet; or other conduct that

may be physically threatening, harmful, or humiliating.  Harassment does not have to include

intent to harm, be directed at a specific target, or involve repeated incidents.  Harassment

creates a hostile environment when the conduct is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent

so as to interfere with or limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services,

activities, or opportunities offered by a school.  When such harassment is based on race, color,

national origin, sex, or disability, it violates the civil rights laws that OCR enforces.8

A school is responsible for addressing harassment incidents about which it knows or reasonably

9 should have known.   In some situations, harassment may be in plain sight, widespread, or

well‐known to students and staff, such as harassment occurring in hallways, during academic or

physical education classes, during extracurricular activities, at recess, on a school bus, or

through graffiti in public areas.  In these cases, the obvious signs of the harassment are

sufficient to put the school on notice.  In other situations, the school may become aware of

misconduct, triggering an investigation that could lead to the discovery of additional incidents

that, taken together, may constitute a hostile environment.  In all cases, schools should have

well‐publicized policies prohibiting harassment and procedures for reporting and resolving

10 complaints that will alert the school to incidents of harassment.    

When responding to harassment, a school must take immediate and appropriate action to

investigate or otherwise determine what occurred.  The specific steps in a school’s investigation

will vary depending upon the nature of the allegations, the source of the complaint, the age of

the student or students involved, the size and administrative structure of the school, and other

factors.  In all cases, however, the inquiry should be prompt, thorough, and impartial.   

  

If an investigation reveals that discriminatory harassment has occurred, a school must take

prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment, eliminate any hostile

7 For instance, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has jurisdiction over Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000c (Title IV), which

prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin by public elementary and secondary schools and public

institutions of higher learning.  State laws also provide additional civil rights protections, so districts should review these statutes to determine

what protections they afford (e.g., some state laws specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation). 8 Some conduct alleged to be harassment may implicate the First Amendment rights to free speech or expression.  For more information on the

First Amendment’s application to harassment, see the discussions in OCR’s Dear Colleague Letter: First Amendment (July 28, 2003), available at

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/firstamend.html, and OCR’s Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance:  Harassment of Students by School

Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties (Jan. 19, 2001) (Sexual Harassment Guidance), available at

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html. 9 A school has notice of harassment if a responsible employee knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, about the

harassment.  For a discussion of what a “responsible employee” is, see OCR’s Sexual Harassment Guidance. 10 Districts must adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of student and employee sex and

disability discrimination complaints, and must notify students, parents, employees, applicants, and other interested parties that the district

does not discriminate on the basis of sex or disability.  See 28 C.F.R. § 35.106; 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b); 34 C.F.R. § 104.7(b); 34 C.F.R. § 104.8; 34

C.F.R. § 106.8(b); 34 C.F.R. § 106.9.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 3‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

environment and its effects, and prevent the harassment from recurring.  These duties are a

school’s responsibility even if the misconduct also is covered by an anti‐bullying policy, and

regardless of whether a student has complained, asked the school to take action, or identified

the harassment as a form of discrimination.  

Appropriate steps to end harassment may include separating the accused harasser and the

target, providing counseling for the target and/or harasser, or taking disciplinary action against

the harasser.  These steps should not penalize the student who was harassed.  For example, any

separation of the target from an alleged harasser should be designed to minimize the burden

on the target’s educational program (e.g., not requiring the target to change his or her class

schedule).   

In addition, depending on the extent of the harassment, the school may need to provide

training or other interventions not only for the perpetrators, but also for the larger school

community, to ensure that all students, their families, and school staff can recognize

harassment if it recurs and know how to respond.  A school also may be required to provide

additional services to the student who was harassed in order to address the effects of the

harassment, particularly if the school initially delays in responding or responds inappropriately

or inadequately to information about harassment.  An effective response also may need to

include the issuance of new policies against harassment and new procedures by which

students, parents, and employees may report allegations of harassment (or wide dissemination

of existing policies and procedures), as well as wide distribution of the contact information for

the district’s Title IX and Section 504/Title II coordinators.11   

Finally, a school should take steps to stop further harassment and prevent any retaliation

against the person who made the complaint (or was the subject of the harassment) or against

those who provided information as witnesses.  At a minimum, the school’s responsibilities

include making sure that the harassed students and their families know how to report any

subsequent problems, conducting follow‐up inquiries to see if there have been any new

incidents or any instances of retaliation, and responding promptly and appropriately to address

continuing or new problems.   

When responding to incidents of misconduct, schools should keep in mind the following:

• The label used to describe an incident (e.g., bullying, hazing, teasing) does not

determine how a school is obligated to respond.  Rather, the nature of the conduct itself

must be assessed for civil rights implications.  So, for example, if the abusive behavior is

on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability, and creates a hostile

environment, a school is obligated to respond in accordance with the applicable federal

civil rights statutes and regulations enforced by OCR.

• When the behavior implicates the civil rights laws, school administrators should look

beyond simply disciplining the perpetrators.  While disciplining the perpetrators is likely

a necessary step, it often is insufficient.  A school’s responsibility is to eliminate the

11 Districts must designate persons responsible for coordinating compliance with Title IX, Section 504, and Title II, including the investigation of

any complaints of sexual, gender‐based, or disability harassment.  See 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a); 34 C.F.R. § 104.7(a); 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(a).

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 4‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

hostile environment created by the harassment, address its effects, and take steps to

ensure that harassment does not recur.  Put differently, the unique effects of

discriminatory harassment may demand a different response than would other types of

bullying.

Below, I provide hypothetical examples of how a school’s failure to recognize student

misconduct as discriminatory harassment violates students’ civil rights.12  In each of the

examples, the school was on notice of the harassment because either the school or a

responsible employee knew or should have known of misconduct that constituted harassment.  

The examples describe how the school should have responded in each circumstance.

Title VI:  Race, Color, or National Origin Harassment

• Some students anonymously inserted offensive notes into African‐American students’

lockers and notebooks, used racial slurs, and threatened African‐American students who

tried to sit near them in the cafeteria.  Some African‐American students told school

officials that they did not feel safe at school.  The school investigated and responded to

individual instances of misconduct by assigning detention to the few student

perpetrators it could identify.  However, racial tensions in the school continued to

escalate to the point that several fights broke out between the school’s racial groups.   

In this example, school officials failed to acknowledge the pattern of harassment as

indicative of a racially hostile environment in violation of Title VI.  Misconduct need not

be directed at a particular student to constitute discriminatory harassment and foster a

racially hostile environment.  Here, the harassing conduct included overtly racist

behavior (e.g., racial slurs) and also targeted students on the basis of their race (e.g.,

notes directed at African‐American students).  The nature of the harassment, the

number of incidents, and the students’ safety concerns demonstrate that there was a

racially hostile environment that interfered with the students’ ability to participate in

the school’s education programs and activities.   

Had the school recognized that a racially hostile environment had been created, it

would have realized that it needed to do more than just discipline the few individuals

whom it could identify as having been involved.  By failing to acknowledge the racially

hostile environment, the school failed to meet its obligation to implement a more

systemic response to address the unique effect that the misconduct had on the school

climate.  A more effective response would have included, in addition to punishing the

perpetrators, such steps as reaffirming the school’s policy against discrimination

(including racial harassment), publicizing the means to report allegations of racial

harassment, training faculty on constructive responses to racial conflict, hosting class

discussions about racial harassment and sensitivity to students of other races, and

conducting outreach to involve parents and students in an effort to identify problems

and improve the school climate.  Finally, had school officials responded appropriately

12 Each of these hypothetical examples contains elements taken from actual cases.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 5‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

and aggressively to the racial harassment when they first became aware of it, the school

might have prevented the escalation of violence that occurred.13

• Over the course of a school year, school employees at a junior high school received

reports of several incidents of anti‐Semitic conduct at the school.  Anti‐Semitic graffiti,

including swastikas, was scrawled on the stalls of the school bathroom.  When

custodians discovered the graffiti and reported it to school administrators, the

administrators ordered the graffiti removed but took no further action.  At the same

school, a teacher caught two ninth‐graders trying to force two seventh‐graders to give

them money.  The ninth‐graders told the seventh‐graders, “You Jews have all of the

money, give us some.”  When school administrators investigated the incident, they

determined that the seventh‐graders were not actually Jewish.  The school suspended

the perpetrators for a week because of the serious nature of their misconduct.  After that

incident, younger Jewish students started avoiding the school library and computer lab

because they were located in the corridor housing the lockers of the ninth‐graders.  At

the same school, a group of eighth‐grade students repeatedly called a Jewish student

“Drew the dirty Jew.”  The responsible eighth‐graders were reprimanded for teasing the

Jewish student.   

The school administrators failed to recognize that anti‐Semitic harassment can trigger

responsibilities under Title VI.  While Title VI does not cover discrimination based solely

on religion,14 groups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared

ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the

ground that they also share a common faith.  These principles apply not just to Jewish

students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is

perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).  Thus,

harassment against students who are members of any religious group triggers a school’s

Title VI responsibilities when the harassment is based on the group’s actual or perceived

shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than solely on its members’ religious

practices.  A school also has responsibilities under Title VI when its students are

harassed based on their actual or perceived citizenship or residency in a country whose

residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious identity.15    

In this example, school administrators should have recognized that the harassment was

based on the students’ actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic identity as Jews

(rather than on the students’ religious practices).  The school was not relieved of its

responsibilities under Title VI because the targets of one of the incidents were not

actually Jewish.  The harassment was still based on the perceived ancestry or ethnic

characteristics of the targeted students.  Furthermore, the harassment negatively

affected the ability and willingness of Jewish students to participate fully in the school’s

13 More information about the applicable legal standards and OCR’s approach to investigating allegations of harassment on the basis of race,

color, or national origin is included in Racial Incidents and Harassment Against Students at Educational Institutions:  Investigative Guidance, 59

Fed. Reg. 11,448 (Mar. 10, 1994), available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/race394.html.    14 As noted in footnote seven, DOJ has the authority to remedy discrimination based solely on religion under Title IV.     15 More information about the applicable legal standards and OCR’s approach to investigating complaints of discrimination against members of

religious groups is included in OCR’s Dear Colleague Letter:  Title VI and Title IX Religious Discrimination in Schools and Colleges (Sept. 13, 2004),

available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religious‐rights2004.html.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 6‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

education programs and activities (e.g., by causing some Jewish students to avoid the

library and computer lab).  Therefore, although the discipline that the school imposed

on the perpetrators was an important part of the school’s response, discipline alone was

likely insufficient to remedy a hostile environment.  Similarly, removing the graffiti,

while a necessary and important step, did not fully satisfy the school’s responsibilities.  

As discussed above, misconduct that is not directed at a particular student, like the

graffiti in the bathroom, can still constitute discriminatory harassment and foster a

hostile environment.  Finally, the fact that school officials considered one of the

incidents “teasing” is irrelevant for determining whether it contributed to a hostile

environment.

Because the school failed to recognize that the incidents created a hostile environment,

it addressed each only in isolation, and therefore failed to take prompt and effective

steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment and prevent its recurrence.  In

addition to disciplining the perpetrators, remedial steps could have included counseling

the perpetrators about the hurtful effect of their conduct, publicly labeling the incidents

as anti‐Semitic, reaffirming the school’s policy against discrimination, and publicizing the

means by which students may report harassment.  Providing teachers with training to

recognize and address anti‐Semitic incidents also would have increased the

effectiveness of the school’s response.  The school could also have created an age‐

appropriate program to educate its students about the history and dangers of anti‐

Semitism, and could have conducted outreach to involve parents and community groups

in preventing future anti‐Semitic harassment.

Title IX:  Sexual Harassment

• Shortly after enrolling at a new high school, a female student had a brief romance with

another student.  After the couple broke up, other male and female students began

routinely calling the new student sexually charged names, spreading rumors about her

sexual behavior, and sending her threatening text messages and e‐mails.  One of the

student’s teachers and an athletic coach witnessed the name calling and heard the

rumors, but identified it as “hazing” that new students often experience.  They also

noticed the new student’s anxiety and declining class participation.  The school

attempted to resolve the situation by requiring the student to work the problem out

directly with her harassers.   

Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which can include

unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or

physical conduct of a sexual nature.  Thus, sexual harassment prohibited by Title IX can

include conduct such as touching of a sexual nature; making sexual comments, jokes, or

gestures; writing graffiti or displaying or distributing sexually explicit drawings, pictures,

or written materials; calling students sexually charged names; spreading sexual rumors;

rating students on sexual activity or performance; or circulating, showing, or creating e‐

mails or Web sites of a sexual nature.   

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 7‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

In this example, the school employees failed to recognize that the “hazing” constituted

sexual harassment.  The school did not comply with its Title IX obligations when it failed

to investigate or remedy the sexual harassment.  The conduct was clearly unwelcome,

sexual (e.g., sexual rumors and name calling), and sufficiently serious that it limited the

student’s ability to participate in and benefit from the school’s education program (e.g.,

anxiety and declining class participation).   

The school should have trained its employees on the type of misconduct that

constitutes sexual harassment.  The school also should have made clear to its employees

that they could not require the student to confront her harassers.  Schools may use

informal mechanisms for addressing harassment, but only if the parties agree to do so

on a voluntary basis.  Had the school addressed the harassment consistent with Title IX,

the school would have, for example, conducted a thorough investigation and taken

interim measures to separate the student from the accused harassers.  An effective

response also might have included training students and employees on the school’s

policies related to harassment, instituting new procedures by which employees should

report allegations of harassment, and more widely distributing the contact information

for the district’s Title IX coordinator.  The school also might have offered the targeted

student tutoring, other academic assistance, or counseling as necessary to remedy the

effects of the harassment.16   

Title IX:  Gender‐Based Harassment  

• Over the course of a school year, a gay high school student was called names (including

anti‐gay slurs and sexual comments) both to his face and on social networking sites,

physically assaulted, threatened, and ridiculed because he did not conform to

stereotypical notions of how teenage boys are expected to act and appear (e.g.,

effeminate mannerisms, nontraditional choice of extracurricular activities, apparel, and

personal grooming choices).  As a result, the student dropped out of the drama club to

avoid further harassment.  Based on the student’s self‐identification as gay and the

homophobic nature of some of the harassment, the school did not recognize that the

misconduct included discrimination covered by Title IX.  The school responded to

complaints from the student by reprimanding the perpetrators consistent with its anti‐

bullying policy.  The reprimands of the identified perpetrators stopped the harassment

by those individuals.  It did not, however, stop others from undertaking similar

harassment of the student.    

As noted in the example, the school failed to recognize the pattern of misconduct as a

form of sex discrimination under Title IX.  Title IX prohibits harassment of both male and

female students regardless of the sex of the harasser—i.e., even if the harasser and

target are members of the same sex.  It also prohibits gender‐based harassment, which

may include acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility

based on sex or sex‐stereotyping.  Thus, it can be sex discrimination if students are

harassed either for exhibiting what is perceived as a stereotypical characteristic for their

16 More information about the applicable legal standards and OCR’s approach to investigating allegations of sexual harassment is included in

OCR’s Sexual Harassment Guidance, available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 8‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

sex, or for failing to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity.  Title

IX also prohibits sexual harassment and gender‐based harassment of all students,

regardless of the actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of the

harasser or target.   

Although Title IX does not prohibit discrimination based solely on sexual orientation,

Title IX does protect all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

(LGBT) students, from sex discrimination.  When students are subjected to harassment

on the basis of their LGBT status, they may also, as this example illustrates, be subjected

to forms of sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX.  The fact that the harassment

includes anti‐LGBT comments or is partly based on the target’s actual or perceived

sexual orientation does not relieve a school of its obligation under Title IX to investigate

and remedy overlapping sexual harassment or gender‐based harassment.  In this

example, the harassing conduct was based in part on the student’s failure to act as

some of his peers believed a boy should act.  The harassment created a hostile

environment that limited the student’s ability to participate in the school’s education

program (e.g., access to the drama club).  Finally, even though the student did not

identify the harassment as sex discrimination, the school should have recognized that

the student had been subjected to gender‐based harassment covered by Title IX.

In this example, the school had an obligation to take immediate and effective action to

eliminate the hostile environment.  By responding to individual incidents of misconduct

on an ad hoc basis only, the school failed to confront and prevent a hostile environment

from continuing.  Had the school recognized the conduct as a form of sex discrimination,

it could have employed the full range of sanctions (including progressive discipline) and

remedies designed to eliminate the hostile environment.  For example, this approach

would have included a more comprehensive response to the situation that involved

notice to the student’s teachers so that they could ensure the student was not

subjected to any further harassment, more aggressive monitoring by staff of the places

where harassment occurred, increased training on the scope of the school’s harassment

and discrimination policies, notice to the target and harassers of available counseling

services and resources, and educating the entire school community on civil rights and

expectations of tolerance, specifically as they apply to gender stereotypes.  The school

also should have taken steps to clearly communicate the message that the school does

not tolerate harassment and will be responsive to any information about such

conduct.17   

Section 504 and Title II:  Disability Harassment

• Several classmates repeatedly called a student with a learning disability “stupid,” “idiot,”

and “retard” while in school and on the school bus.  On one occasion, these students

tackled him, hit him with a school binder, and threw his personal items into the garbage.

The student complained to his teachers and guidance counselor that he was continually

being taunted and teased.  School officials offered him counseling services and a

17 Guidance on gender‐based harassment is also included in OCR’s Sexual Harassment Guidance, available at

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 9‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

 

psychiatric evaluation, but did not discipline the offending students.  As a result, the

harassment continued.  The student, who had been performing well academically,

became angry, frustrated, and depressed, and often refused to go to school to avoid the

harassment.

In this example, the school failed to recognize the misconduct as disability harassment

under Section 504 and Title II.  The harassing conduct included behavior based on the

student’s disability, and limited the student’s ability to benefit fully from the school’s

education program (e.g., absenteeism).  In failing to investigate and remedy the

misconduct, the school did not comply with its obligations under Section 504 and Title II.

Counseling may be a helpful component of a remedy for harassment.  In this example,

however, since the school failed to recognize the behavior as disability harassment, the

school did not adopt a comprehensive approach to eliminating the hostile environment.  

Such steps should have at least included disciplinary action against the harassers,

consultation with the district’s Section 504/Title II coordinator to ensure a

comprehensive and effective response, special training for staff on recognizing and

effectively responding to harassment of students with disabilities, and monitoring to

ensure that the harassment did not resume.18

I encourage you to reevaluate the policies and practices your school uses to address bullying19

and harassment to ensure that they comply with the mandates of the federal civil rights laws.  

For your convenience, the following is a list of online resources that further discuss the

obligations of districts to respond to harassment prohibited under the federal

antidiscrimination laws enforced by OCR:

• Sexual Harassment:  It’s Not Academic (Revised 2008):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html  

• Dear Colleague Letter:  Sexual Harassment Issues (2006):

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/sexhar‐2006.html  

• Dear Colleague Letter:  Religious Discrimination (2004):

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religious‐rights2004.html

• Dear Colleague Letter:  First Amendment (2003):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/firstamend.html

18 More information about the applicable legal standards and OCR’s approach to investigating allegations of disability harassment is included in

OCR’s Dear Colleague Letter:  Prohibited Disability Harassment (July 25, 2000), available at

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/disabharassltr.html. 19 For resources on preventing and addressing bullying, please visit http://www.bullyinginfo.org, a Web site established by a federal Interagency

Working Group on Youth Programs.  For information on the Department’s bullying prevention resources, please visit the Office of Safe and

Drug‐Free Schools’ Web site at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS.  For information on regional Equity Assistance Centers that assist

schools in developing and implementing policies and practices to address issues regarding race, sex, or national origin discrimination, please

visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/equitycenters.

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
Page 10‐ Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying

• Sexual Harassment Guidance (Revised 2001):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html  

• Dear Colleague Letter:  Prohibited Disability Harassment (2000):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/disabharassltr.html  

• Racial Incidents and Harassment Against Students (1994):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/race394.html

   

Please also note that OCR has added new data items to be collected through its Civil Rights Data

Collection (CRDC), which surveys school districts in a variety of areas related to civil rights in

education.  The CRDC now requires districts to collect and report information on allegations of

harassment, policies regarding harassment, and discipline imposed for harassment.  In 2009‐10,

the CRDC covered nearly 7,000 school districts, including all districts with more than 3,000

students.  For more information about the CRDC data items, please visit

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/whatsnew.html.

OCR is committed to working with schools, students, students’ families, community and

advocacy organizations, and other interested parties to ensure that students are not subjected

to harassment.  Please do not hesitate to contact OCR if we can provide assistance in your

efforts to address harassment or if you have other civil rights concerns.   

For the OCR regional office serving your state, please visit:

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm, or call OCR’s Customer Service Team

at 1‐800‐421‐3481.   

I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure equal access to education, and to

promote safe and respectful school climates for America’s students.   

   Sincerely,

       /s/

Russlynn Ali

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in 

some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 

as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity 

or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).