U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Sexual Harassment Compliance Review of San Diego Unified School District

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that the San Diego Unified School District in California entered into a resolution agreement to remedy violations OCR found of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The agreement also resolves a concern that OCR identified about the district’s fulfillment of its obligations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II).

After examining 253 reports and complaints of sexual harassment of students over three school years, OCR found that the district more often than not did not fulfill its Title IX regulatory requirement to equitably respond to allegations of sexual harassment of its students. These failures led to serial perpetration of harassment with insufficient district response, leaving district students vulnerable to the sex discrimination in school that Title IX forbids. 

In addition, the district failed to evaluate whether allegations of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, violated Title IX and caused discrimination on the basis of sex for affected students; failed to redress effects of confirmed sexual harassment on affected students; and failed to provide notice of outcomes of investigations on an equitable basis to all parties.

While evaluating the district’s responses to sexual harassment under Title IX, OCR identified a concern that the district may have denied students a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in violation of Section 504 and Title II. OCR learned that the district received notice regarding students with disabilities who were alleged perpetrators as well as targeted students, and that district files included information about escalating disability-based behaviors that caused sexual harassment and about students with disabilities who repeatedly perpetrated, or were victims of, sexual harassment. 

These case files included no information showing the district’s fulfillment of its Section 504 and Title II obligations to: (1) evaluate students whose behaviors indicated a reason to suspect a disability, (2) reevaluate students with disabilities when it has notice that their existing supports and accommodations may not be effective to serve their disability-based needs, or (3) evaluate the impact on students’ receipt of a FAPE when students with disabilities have been subjected to harassment.

OCR notes that during the course of this compliance review, the district has developed a new office of compliance and hired additional staff to support its Title IX compliance work. The district commitments to resolve this compliance review include:

• Conducting a review of previous incidents or reported student-to-student and employee-to-student sexual harassment to determine whether further action is needed to provide an equitable resolution of the incidents and to ensure nondiscrimination with respect to students with disabilities;
• Providing annual age-appropriate training to all students in grades 3-12 about how to recognize and report sexual harassment and receive supportive measures and remedies;
• Administering annual climate surveys of parents, students, and district employees with respect to sexual harassment in district schools;
• Ensuring its policies prohibiting sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and its Title IX grievance procedures comply with Title IX;
• Annually training district employees on their Title IX obligations to respond to reports and complaints of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, as well as their Section 504 and Title II obligations for students with disabilities;
• Implementing an OCR-approved system and policy for maintenance of data and records related to reports, complaints, and investigations of sexual harassment; and,
• Ensuring the district fulfills its Title IX obligations when law enforcement is involved in responding to sexual harassment of students.

“Through today’s resolution, San Diego Unified commits to overhaul its response to allegations of sexual harassment to ensure all its students learn safely and without sex or disability discrimination,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “OCR looks forward to working with the district to redress serial perpetration, protect students with disabilities from being preyed upon, and ensure that district students can expect to focus on learning without unlawful sexual harassment.”

The letter of resolution and the resolution agreement are available on OCR’s website.