New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner has announced that the state Division on Civil Rights has issued a finding of probable cause against the Jackson Township School District for allegedly allowing to prevail a hostile environment in which a bisexual student was repeatedly harassed and threatened because of his sexual orientation and national origin.
Named as sole respondent in the finding of probable cause document is the Jackson school district. Former Jackson student Daniel Jacobson, a self-described bisexual born in Honduras, and Division on Civil Rights Director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo are the complainants, according to a press release issued by the Attorney General.
A finding of probable cause means the state has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion that the conduct of the Jackson school district violated the New Jersey law against discrimination (LAD).
The finding of probable cause comes in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling in February that, under the LAD, students are entitled to the same protections from discrimination and harassment as their adult counterparts are in the workplace. The Supreme Court ruled that school district officials are obligated under the LAD to take “reasonable” steps to address severe or pervasive harassment of students when they are aware of it.
The ruling came in response to an appeal by the Toms River School District of a Division on Civil Rights decision involving a former student who was repeatedly bullied because of his perceived homosexuality. The division determined that the former student had valid cause for action against Toms River schools under the LAD.
According to the press release, Jacobson attended Jackson Memorial High School from September 2002 through his graduation in June 2006. According to an investigation by the Division on Civil Rights, school officials learned as early as 2003 that Jacobson was being subjected to alleged harassment due to his sexual orientation and national origin.
Subsequently, the alleged harassment of Jacobson continued. In November 2005, Jacobson requested a class transfer due to persistent jokes and derogatory comments made about his sexual orientation and national origin by fellow students. On one occasion, the state’s investigation found, two students shouted a derogatory term denoting a homosexual in the presence of a guidance counselor, “who took no action whatsoever.” In May 2006, Jacobson reported to school authorities that four students had followed him to class and threatened to kill him.
According to Vespa-Papaleo, state
investigators have determined that the response of Jackson school administrators during the three-year period in which Jacobson was allegedly harassed included verbal directives to a number of individual students accused of bullying Jacobson and, on one occasion, sensitivity training for three students accused of harassing him in January 2006. Educators met with Jacobson’s parents in the aftermath of another incident, and Jacobson was subsequently isolated from the main school population at lunch time. School officials are also alleged to have blamed some of Jacobson’s victimization on his own conduct.
“Despite repeatedly calling it to the attention of school authorities, the complainant in this case appears to have been exposed to a harassing environment that was, over a period of years, both severe and pervasive,” Vespa-Papaleo said. “In addition, notwithstanding some isolated, after-the-fact responses to specific events involving this young man, the district does not appear to have made a broader effort to develop and maintain a learning climate in which the rights and the dignity of all students were valued and protected.”
Allison Erwin, the communications specialist with the Jackson school district, said she was not in a position to discuss the specifics of this case, but wanted to point out that the information contained in the attorney general’s release is based on an investigation that has not yet included interviews with administrators or staff of the school district.
“In June 2006 the district provided information and documents that were requested by the person filing the complaint. This information began the process of explaining the numerous efforts taken by Jackson administrators to investigate and remedy the student’s claims,” she said. “In particular we outlined the numerous meetings that administrators held with the student and the student’s parents to discuss the complaints.
“We were told we would be given an opportunity to present information relative to the student’s claims during a fact-finding conference, but that conference was postponed by the Division on Civil Rights and we expected it to be rescheduled. It’s a bit puzzling to receive this news before even being given a chance to present our side of the issue,” Erwin said.
“Because we had limited participation in the investigation and because we were denied the right to participate in any fact-finding conference or submit any kind of affidavits, we believe this finding is unfair, unreasonable and completely without merit. We will be filing a motion for reconsideration with the Division on Civil Rights later this month.
“I would also like to point out that this ruling does not mean the district has committed a violation, but rather that the state has determined that the student’s complaint needs to continue along the process. It means that the district is now in a position to be able to provide an adequate defense to the claims,” Erwin said.
“We believe the district demonstrates its commitment to creating and maintaining a learning climate that protects the rights and dignity of all students in a number of ways. Our K-12 curriculum includes specific and meaningful lessons for every grade on tolerance and kindness. Those lessons evolve from simpler lessons in the kindergarten level on using kind words to more sophisticated lessons on tolerance and proper interpersonal communication skills in the older grades.
“We take every report of bullying or harassment very seriously and spare no effort to make sure we are protecting the rights and dignity of all of our students. In order for learning to take place, school has to be a safe and secure environment and we do everything we can to make sure our students have the best environment possible,” she said.
Now that a finding of probable cause has been issued, the matter will be referred for conciliation, a Division on Civil Rights process designed to resolve cases without trial. If conciliation fails, an administrative law judge will conduct a nonjury trial, or hearing on the case, according to the press release.
Under the LAD, respondents found to have committed a violation are subject to a penalty of up to $10,000, provided they have not been convicted of a previous violation within the past five years.