Legal References

Legal References:

NEA Legal Guidance on Students’ Rights

https://www.nea.org/resource-library/legal-guidance-students-rights

U. S. Department of Education

Religious Discrimination – US Department of Education

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religion.html

 

Know Your Rights: Title VI and Religion

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/know-rights-201701-religious-disc.pdf

Online Resources Related to Religion and Bullying

Know Your Rights about Religious Expression at School

Addressing Bullying Based on Diversity, Race and Religion

Instructional Resources for Teaching about Religion

Additional Resources

American Educational Research Association. (2013). Prevention of Bullying in Schools, Colleges, and Universities: Research Report and Recommendations (Washington, D.C.: AERA).

Gardner, R.S., Soules, K., & Valk, J. (2017). “The Urgent Need for Teacher Preparation in Religious and Secular Worldview Education,” Religious Education, 112(3), 242-254.

Guo, Y. (2011). “Perspectives of Immigrant Muslim Parents Advocating for Religious Diversity in Canadian Schools,” Multicultural Education, Vol 18, no 2, 55-60.

Mogahed, D., & Chouhoud, Y. (2017). American Muslim Poll 2017: Muslims at the Crossroads (Dearborn, Mich.: Institute for Social Policy and Understanding).

Rogers, J., Franke, M., Yun, J.E., Ishimoto, M., Diera, C., Geller, R., Berryman, A., & Brenes, T. (2017). Teaching and Learning in the Age of Trump: Increasing Stress and Hostility in America’s High Schools (Los Angeles, Calif.: UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access).

Teaching Tolerance Staff. (Summer 2017). “A Matter of Life and Death – Two Scholars Make the Case for Teaching Religious Literacy,” Teaching Tolerance, Issue 56.

StopBullying.gov. (2018). Diversity, Race & Religion, web page (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

Religious Discrimination

The civil rights laws enforced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) protect all students, regardless of religious identity, from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age. None of the laws that OCR enforces expressly address religious discrimination. However, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) protects students of any religion from discrimination, including harassment, based on a student’s actual or perceived:

  • shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or
  • citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.

For example, OCR can investigate complaints that students were subjected to ethnic or ancestral slurs; harassed for how they look, dress, or speak in ways linked to ethnicity or ancestry (e.g. skin color, religious attire, language spoken); or stereotyped based on perceived shared ancestral or ethnic characteristics. Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh students are examples of individuals who may be harassed for being viewed as part of a group that exhibits both ethnic and religious characteristics.

Other federal agencies enforce laws that expressly prohibit religious discrimination by schools, colleges, and universities. For example, complaints of religious discrimination in employment can be brought to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in housing (including dormitories) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and by public schools and colleges to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Policy Guidance
Learn about different types of guidance documents, including how to comment on significant guidance.

 Other OCR Resources

 Examples of OCR Case Resolutions Involving Religious Discrimination Claims

• Fremont Unified School District, CA (09-13-5001)                     Letter and Agreement

• Henrico County Public Schools, VA (11-10-1244)                      Letter and Agreement

• Huntington Beach City School District, CA (09-14-1437)           Letter and Agreement

• Minneapolis Public Schools, MN (05-13-1202)                          Letter and Agreement

• Owatonna Public Schools, MN (05-10-1148)                             Letter and Agreement

• Polk County School District, FL (04-14-1664)                            Letter and Agreement

• St. Cloud Area School District, MN (05-10-1146)                       Letter and Agreement

• Vestal Central School District, NY (02-11-1270)                         Letter and Agreement

• Whittier College, CA (09-11-2013)                                             Letter and Agreement

Other Federal Government Resources

Religious Diversity as a Civil Rights Issue

Very little research has investigated bullying based on religious differences. In these types of bullying situations, the act may have more to do with negative attitudes and stereotypes about how someone expresses their beliefs and have less to do beliefs themselves. Nevertheless, when bullying based on religion occurs in a severe, pervasive or persistent manner, it can be considered harassment under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act (AERA, 2013). When schools do not adequately address harassment, they may be in violation of civil rights laws, sometimes requiring intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorizes the Attorney General to address certain equal protection violations based on religion, among other bases, in public schools and institutions of higher education. The Educational Opportunities Section works to ensure that all persons regardless of their religion are provided equal educational opportunities. The Section’s work includes addressing discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion, and spans all religious affiliations. For examples, view the cases list.

RELIGION

Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish School Board (E.D. La.) Summary       Brief in Support       Brief in Opposition       Order

Fostering programs that help to establish positive and healthy values for youth sports, such as the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and Character Counts, is important.5,51 The six pillars of character, ie, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship can be modeled by all adults who interact with children in sports.51 These pillars can be the building blocks for establishing sportsmanship and cooperation in the youth sports community. A reference list of organizations promoting a positive youth sports environment is provided in Table 5.[1]

[1] https://charactercounts.org/about-character-counts/