Student Was Repeatedly Racially Harassed and School District Failed to Stop It
Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced a settlement agreement with Pine City Public Schools after finding multiple students repeatedly bullied and harassed a seventh grader because of her race.
Pine City Public Schools violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act because the district knew of the harassment and did not take timely and appropriate action to stop it or prevent further harassment from occurring.
Under the agreement, Pine City Public Schools must pay the student $65,000 and make changes to its policies and procedures to prevent future harassment.
Ways schools can take action
When students took the most recent Minnesota Student Survey, 54% reported being bullied in the past month.
To support students and teachers in creating learning environments that are free from discrimination, school districts can take the following actions to prevent and address harassment and bullying:
- Review results from the Minnesota Student Survey to determine what’s working and how school districts can better resolve harassment, bullying, and discrimination.
- Proactively train students, educators, and school leaders on both how to prevent and how to respond to harassment and discrimination.
- Make sure school policies around harassment, bullying, and discrimination are clear and transparent, and that the policies are immediately followed.
- To prevent further harm, provide support to students being harassed and to students engaging in the harassment.
- When possible, work with student groups, nonprofits, and other community members to support students who are experiencing bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
In the news
 We want to hear from Minnesotans who believe they experienced discrimination.
The first step is to complete this online form.
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