l U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957. It is directed to: Investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices. Study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice. Appraise federal laws and policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice. Serve as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. Submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress. Issue public service announcements to discourage discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws. Members of the Commission: Martin R. Castro, Chairman Abigail Thernstrom, Vice Chair Roberta Achtenberg Todd Gaziano Gail Heriot Peter Kirsanow Dina Titus Michael Yaki U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 624 Ninth Street, NW Washington, DC 20425 (202) 376-8128 www.usccr.gov This report is available on disk in ASCII Text and Microsoft Word 2007 for persons with visual impairments. Please call (202) 376-8110. U. S. Commission on Civil Rights Peer-to-Peer Violence and Bullying Examining the Federal Response September 2011 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL The President The President of the Senate The Speaker of the House On behalf of the United States Commission on Civil Rights I am pleased to transmit this report, Peer-to-Peer Violence and Bullying, Examining the Federal Response, pursuant to Public Law 103-419. The purpose of the report is to examine the role played by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice in addressing peer-to-peer discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, disability, sex and/or LGBT status. To that end, the Commission gathered enforcement data from the Departments of Education and Justice and convened a day-long briefing on the subject of peer-to-peer violence and bullying. Twenty presenters participated in the briefing. Among the panelists invited to the briefing were: current and former federal government officials, academics, and representatives from a diverse set of advocacy organizations. In addition, the Commission received numerous written submissions from the public, academics, and advocacy organizations. Based on the evidence gathered by the Commission, we conclude that despite the harm that peer-to-peer bullying and harassment due to a student‘s membership in certain classes, such as race, religion, or sexual orientation, current federal laws (and the laws of many states) do not fully protect all students from peer-to-peer bullying and harassment resulting from animus toward their group status. Specifically, the Commission‘s findings, by majority vote, are: 1. Bullying and harassment, including bullying and harassment based on sex, race, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or religion, are harmful to American youth. 2. Current federal civil rights laws do not provide the U.S. Department of Education with jurisdiction to protect students from peer-to-peer harassment that is solely on the basis of religion. 3. The current federal civil rights laws do not protect students from peer-to-peer harassment that is solely on the basis of sexual orientation. To better record the incidence of harassment based solely on sexual orientation or solely on religion, we recommend that the Departments adopt more detailed tracking methods regarding the complaints they receive. To better assist state and local officials to comply with their responsibilities under federal law, we recommend that the Department of Education strive to use consistent language and provide concrete examples in the guidance documents that it produces. On August 12, 2011, the Commission approved this report. The vote was as follows: Commissioners Achtenberg, Castro, Thernstrom and Yaki supported the approval of the report; Commissioners Gaziano, Heriot and Kirsanow opposed the approval of the report; Commissioner Kladney abstained from voting on the report due to the fact that August 12th was his first Commission meeting. For the Commissioners, Martin R. Castro Chairman Table of Contents i TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ...................................................2 Peer-to-Peer Violence in K-12 Public Schools ......................................................................2 What is Bullying? ..................................................................................................................3 What is Harassment Subject to Federal Jurisdiction? ...........................................................4 Peer-to-Peer Violence Generally ............................................................................................5 Sex ..........................................................................................................................................9 Race/National Origin ............................................................................................................12 Disability ..............................................................................................................................14 LGBT ...................................................................................................................................15 Religion ................................................................................................................................21 Legal Protections ..................................................................................................................23 Title IX .........................................................................................................................23 Title VI .........................................................................................................................25 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.............................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 3. FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS: THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION .........................................................................................................................28 The Department of Education‘s Civil Rights Complaint Processing System .........................28 Statistical Data ........................................................................................................................38 CHAPTER 4. FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS: THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE .................................................................................................................................39 The Educational Opportunities Section Investigation Process ...............................................39 Statistical Data ........................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 5. THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER .................................................................................................................................43 CHAPTER 6. JURISDICTION: PEER-TO-PEER VIOLENCE RELATED TO LGBT STATUS AND RELIGION ...................................................................................................48 ii Table of Contents Peer-to-Peer Violence Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ............................48 Peer-to-Peer Student Violence Related to Religion ................................................................56 CHAPTER 7. ADDITIONAL CONCERNS RELATED TO THE FEDERAL RESPONSE ............................................................................................................................62 Enforcement Standards ...........................................................................................................62 Federalism ...............................................................................................................................70 First Amendment ....................................................................................................................76 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................88 COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS AND REBUTTALS ..................................................90 Statement of Chairman Martin R. Castro ................................................................................90 Statement of Vice Chair Abigail Thernstrom ..........................................................................96 Statement of Commissioner Roberta Achtenberg..................................................................100 Dissent and Rebuttal Statement of Commissioners Gaziano and Kirsanow .........................128 Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot ..............................................................181 Statement of Commissioner Michael A. Yaki .......................................................................214