LISTEN: Justice Department, NY Civil Liberties Union revolutionize Title IX interpretation

[FROM THE NYCLU WEB-SITE] — In a settlement approved today by a federal judge, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Department of Justice and a Herkimer County school district agreed on a series of reforms to protect students from bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender expression.

LISTEN HERE: Justice Department Intervenes In Gay Rights Suit

The NYCLU sued the Mohawk Central School District in August on behalf of a student who alleged that he was repeatedly harassed, threatened and physically assaulted at school for being gay and not conforming to gender stereotypes. The civil rights lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, maintained that district officials were aware of the bullying and did nothing to stop it. The School District denied the allegations in the complaint.

“We applaud the school district for making this commitment to protect all students from bullying and harassment,” said NYCLU Senior Staff Attorney Corey Stoughton, lead counsel on the case. “We look forward to working with district officials and the Department of Justice on implementing these important reforms, and hope that they will inspire other school systems to confront bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming students.”

As part of the settlement, the school district agreed to reforms that should protect all students in Mohawk schools:

• The school district has enlisted the support of the Anti-Defamation League and will begin training staff on appropriate ways to address issues of harassment;
• It will review its policies and procedures governing harassment based on sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation;
• And it will report to the New York Civil Liberties Union, who represented the student in the lawsuit, as well as the Department of Justice on these efforts as well as its ongoing response to complaints of discrimination and harassment.